Dauntless
by Allora Gale
Summary: Lelouch had been quite happy with his life. Sure they were living in obscurity, but he and Nunnally were safe. All of that changes however, when his identity is revealed and Lelouch is forced back into the fold of the Imperial family.
1. Chapter 1:All Good Things Come to an End

**Dauntless**

**A Code Geass Fanfiction**

**By Allora Gale**

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Chapter 1: All Good Things Come to an End

Lelouch paused on his way down the street outside the nearest bank where he had just deposited his latest winnings to take in yet another altercation occurring across the street. There were two armed men – most likely soldiers – violently subduing a middle-aged Eleven man who looked like a street vendor.

Logically, Lelouch knew that he should just move along. These kinds of atrocities happened all over Area Eleven every day and his preventing one incident would do little in the course of the long run. Nor would his efforts be widely acknowledged. And nor would it prevent the soldiers from exacting retribution on the vendor once Lelouch went on his way.

However, to just leave the vendor – Eleven or not – to be viciously assaulted while continuing on his way was simply immoral. It was in his power to at least grant the vendor a short reprieve from the beatings. And most soldiers would think twice about assaulting a Britannian citizen, even if that citizen mouthed them off.

So he crossed the street, hands casually in his pockets, and joined the small group of Britannian spectators that were enjoying the violence.

"Pitiful, isn't it?" Lelouch mused loudly to his neighbor, a man in his mid-twenties in a business suit. "That the only way these soldiers can prove their worth is to beat on an unarmed Eleven. What a sad display of their prowess." He scoffed.

The soldiers paused and turned to look at him, eying him up and down. He was just a skinny teenager. Not a threat. Nevertheless, one of them pointed his baton straight at Lelouch's chest and scowled.

"You some kind of Eleven sympathizer? You feel bad for him?" The man demanded.

"Hardly. I feel worse for you." Lelouch countered without missing a beat. "That the sole purpose of your existence is to brutalize an unarmed civilian is a little sad."

"This Eleven," The soldier said, using his baton to point back at the cowering man on the sidewalk, "Is guilty of deliberately getting into Viceroy Prince Clovis's way. He is mostly likely a terrorist and was attempting to assassinate the prince."

"And here I was laboring under the delusion that we actually had a judicial system." Lelouch drawled after a moment of hesitation.

Was Clovis close then? How close? He scanned his eyes up the street and felt his mouth go dry when they landed upon the royal entourage half a block away observing the violence. For an instant - the briefest of seconds - his eyes met with Clovis' and . . . there was recognition.

"Lelouch?" The prince queried in astonishment even as the student began to turn away.

"Shit." He snarled under his breath and took off running as fast as he could – which was, unfortunately, not very fast. He turned down an alley, knocking over anything he could reach to slow down the inevitable pursuit as he fled.

"Follow him!" He heard Clovis yelling behind him. "Get that student and bring him to me! Prince Clovis la Britannia commands you! Get him!"

"Shit. Shit. Shit." Lelouch gasped as he ran out of the alley and turned towards the nearest train station. He was lucky; there was one already waiting in the station preparing to leave. He scrambled over the ticket barricade, shoving a handful of small bills into the security officer charged with overseeing the ticket-taking's chest before barrelling onto the train. The door slid shut a second behind him and the train lurched forward.

Lelouch stood gasping, hands on his knees as he tried to regain his breath and think. Clovis had seen him. He needed to make a plan. What would Clovis do now? Would he use the media to do the searching for him?

No, that would only make Clovis look like a fool. He had been declared dead seven years ago. If Clovis started proclaiming on the news that he was alive, it would only serve to lose him support. Lelouch could well accept the fact that his family had never been particularly popular amongst the Imperial who's-who.

So that meant that Clovis was restricted to sending his own men searching for him. It was both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand he wouldn't have to worry about any random civilians revealing his identity and location. On the other hand, it meant that the people coming after him were armed combatants and he would have little to no chance of overpowering them to get away.

So what choice did that leave him?

The hard one.

His cover had already been blown and those soldiers had gotten a good look at his school uniform. Nunnally's cover hadn't. He couldn't compromise her. He couldn't risk Clovis finding her too. He would do anything for Nunnally. He would do anything to keep her from being used as a political tool, even if it meant bowing his own head to the Emperor. He pulled out his phone, pressing the first number on his speed dial before bringing it to his ear.

"Sayoko?"

"Master Lelouch." The woman replied calmly. "Are you alright? You sound out of breath."

"Sayoko, I need you to get my sister prepped to leave. Immediately. Pack everything you can into a car and get her out of Ashford Academy. Take her to Reuben's vacation house for now until I can figure something else out. I'll try to get back before you leave, but in case I don't, can you please hand the phone to Nunnally now."

"Will you not be joining us then?" Sayoko asked.

"That's impossible right now."

"I see. I'll get Nunnally."

He heard the gentle swishing of clothes for a moment as Sayoko moved to find her mistress before the phone was handed to her and Nunnally's gentle voice came over the speakers.

"Is something wrong, brother? Sayoko sounded like she was tense." Nunnally asked, immediately picking up on the dire situation.

"I'm sorry." Lelouch said thickly, the words seeming to stick in the back of his throat. "I'm sorry, Nunnally. They saw me. Clovis did. I'm not going to risk them seeing you too. So . . . I'm sending you away for a while with Sayoko."

"Lelouch." Nunnally said softly, "Don't do that. I'll go with you. I don't care where I go so long as it's with you."

"No." Lelouch said firmly. "I won't let you do that. Please, Nunnally, don't fight me on this. Let me protect you."

There was silence on the other side of the line for a long moment as his sister analyzed the situation. "You're going to let them catch you, aren't you?" She accused.

"Hopefully not, but I know I don't stand a chance against armed soldiers." Lelouch mumbled.

"What are you going to tell them about me if you get caught?" Nunnally asked softly.

Lelouch hesitated. The only thing that would absolutely keep her safe, so long as she wasn't discovered was . . . "I'll tell them you died during the war. That I wasn't able to save you." He said firmly, even though just thinking of such an outcome made his heart clench anxiously.

"Oh." Nunnally said, sounding somewhat disappointed. "You've already planned it all out, haven't you?"

"Yes. I'm coming to see you now, but don't wait for me. If I'm not there by the time Sayoko is ready to go, just leave. I'll make sure you're well taken care of, Nunnally."

"I know you will, Lelouch. You've always taken care of me."

"I love you, Nunnally." Lelouch choked while mentally preparing himself for the possibility that this could be the last time he talked to her for a long time.

"Love you too, Lelouch."

He hung up the phone with hands that were slightly trembling. He told himself the tremors were aftershocks from the exertion of running for his life, but he knew it wasn't quite true. Adrenaline only did so much. With a grimace, he shoved his phone into his pocket before getting off at the next stop.

He scanned the crowd furtively and was relieved when he didn't see any soldiers. Quickly, he went to the ticket dispenser and legitimately bought himself a ticket. The last thing he needed was to be caught on the train without paying right now. Then he boarded another train heading away from Ashford and rode it for a half an hour before hopping trains again and riding it to the station closest to the school.

It took him almost an hour to get back to Ashford Academy and he arrived just in time to see Sayoko loading Nunnally into a nondescript black sedan. He took off towards the car, cursing his deficient physical prowess as he began gasping from the exertion. Thankfully, Sayoko was watchful and noticed him pelting across the campus.

"Nunnally." He gasped as he came around the car and sank to his knees next to his sister who was already belted into the back seat. He reached out and hugged her closely, desperately trying to memorize every single thing about her, from the few freckles on her cheeks to the way her hair smelled.

"Lelouch." She whispered, her hands running over his face so she could have some clue as to his expression.

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault." Nunnally murmured soothingly. "But you should come with me."

"I can't. He already saw me. And he recognized me. He knows I'm still alive. If he doesn't find either of us, he'll suspect that you're alive too." Lelouch explained. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Nunnally. I want to be with you. I want to be there to watch out for you, but I can protect you better from far away right now."

Nunnally frowned and Lelouch saw the beginning of tears forming in her eyes. It was time for them to go. If she started crying, his resolve just might shatter and despite his best intentions he might flee with her, knowing full well that he would be putting her in danger.

"You have to go now, Nunnally. Don't ever forget that I love you." Lelouch said, holding firm to his resolve.

"I won't, Lelouch. And be careful." Nunnally said softly. "I still don't want to believe everything you said about what happened after Mother died, but I trust you. And if it's true, you'll need more protection than I will. So you worry about looking after yourself, instead of worrying about me. I'll have Sayoko with me so you won't need to worry. But you won't have anyone."

Lelouch smiled softly. "I'll be careful." He promised as he slowly let go of his sister and got shakily to his feet.

Sayoko bowed respectfully to him. "Don't worry about a thing, Master Lelouch. She'll be well taken care of." The ninja promised before climbing into the front seat of the car and starting up the engine. Lelouch watched despondently as his entire reason for living drove away from him, waiting until it turned the corner off campus and disappeared into the busy Tokyo traffic before turning into the clubhouse.

There were things he needed to do now. Preparations he needed to make.

Without stopping by the Student Council office, he went directly to his room to access his computer. He took a detailed accounting of his finances before transferring the majority of his savings into Sayoko's personal bank account. Still, it wasn't enough. It wasn't nearly enough to provide Nunnally with everything she needed, with the lifestyle she deserved. He would be damned if he left her to live in poverty.

Frowning at the capital left to him, he quickly set up a match before leaving his room.

"Come with me, Rivalz." He ordered as he entered the Student Council office.

"Lelouch!" Milly exclaimed. "You were supposed to be here two hours ago! How are we supposed to get everything ready for the upcoming festival if our own Vice President is shirking his duties?" She demanded before striking him with a rolled up pile of papers.

"Sorry." He said distractedly as his eyes sought out his friend, who was currently hidden behind a towering stack of paperwork. "Rivalz, I need you to drive me somewhere now. Please." He pleaded. Taking public transit now would be too risky. He was almost certain that some of Clovis' men had seen him entering the train station. He had simply been lucky that he hadn't been caught while trying to get back to Ashford.

"Off gambling again?" Shirley demanded disapprovingly. "You know, Lulu, if you actually applied yourself to more useful things, you could achieve a lot."

Lelouch ignored the lecture, instead gesturing impatiently between his friend and the door. Rivalz hesitated, glancing nervously at Milly, as though asking for permission. Milly, for her part, had completely lost her joking facade and was trying to catch his eye.

He glanced at her and nodded almost imperceptibly before Milly's bright, fake smile returned. "Oh, fine!" She exclaimed. "Go on then. A little male bonding time never hurt anyone."

"Really?" Rivalz exclaimed, bewildered. "Thanks, Madame President!" He shouted before sliding away from the table and quickly rushing out of the room before she could change her mind.

Lelouch sent Milly a strained smile before following his friend out and down to where Rivalz kept his bike. He helped Rivalz roll the bike out of storage - a task he usually left for his friend to do - before jumping into the sidecar and pulling his helmet on. Another benefit of getting Rivalz to drive him was that his face would be at least partially obscured so there was a lower chance of being recognized.

"So, what's the big rush, Lelouch?" Rivalz asked as he kick started the bike and slowly pulled out of the parking lot.

"I have a match." Lelouch answered vaguely before giving his friend the address of the nobleman that was to be his opponent.

"Huh." Rivalz said noncommittally, chocking Lelouch's unusual behavior up to nerves about the match.

They were granted access to the nobleman's estate and shown to a large, extravagantly decorated drawing room, at the center of which, a Britannian in his fifties sat in a plush armchair next to a chessboard. He'd chosen white.

"Ah, so this is the infamous L.L." The noble man chuckled. "I have to say, I expected you to be a little older."

Lelouch nodded his head politely. "Duke Granstein." He greeted. "You know what they say about judging a book by it's cover. Though, if you're up for testing me, I propose a change in the odds."

"Oh?" The nobleman asked, quirking his eyebrow in interest.

"Ten to one odds, sir. You will retain the full minute allotted for your turn. I, however, will be restricted to only twenty seconds per turn. I'm willing to bet two thousand pounds."

The nobleman frowned as he studied his opponent for a moment.

"What are you doing, Lelouch?" Rivalz hissed.

He could understand why his friend was nervous. Lelouch had never attempted handicapping himself like this before during a match. But he was strained for time and he needed the money.

"Just watch." Lelouch murmured.

"I accept." Duke Granstein said finally, gesturing for Lelouch to sit across from him.

The game was more difficult that he'd anticipated. It turned out that Duke Granstein was actually a pretty decent chess player and the self-imposed handicap limited Lelouch's ability to think too many turns in advance. Quite honestly, he almost lost. It would have meant he'd lost everything. But at the last moment a sudden wave of inspiration hit him and he managed to trap the Duke's King in checkmate between his only remaining Knight and his Queen.

"Checkmate." He said quietly, his eyes still scanning the board for any conceivable way for the nobleman to escape. There wasn't one.

The Duke chuckled. "Well, you certainly are good." He said before waving his hand to one of his staff members. "Lucy, darling, go get the boy his money."

Lelouch bowed politely a few minutes later as the woman counted out his money and handed it to him. He handed half of the stack to Rivalz, who stared at the unusually large amount for a moment in awe before tucking it into the inside of his jacket and following Lelouch out.

Their next stop was a bank where Lelouch deposited the newly acquired ten grand directly into Sayoko's account.

He was just settling in to the sidecar outside the bank when an exclamation behind him drew his attention. "There he is!"

A soldier was pointing right at him.

"Drive, Rivalz!" He hissed as his friend pulled the bike away from the curb.

"What the hell is going on, Lelouch?" Rivalz demanded as he divided his attention between watching the road and trying to figure out what Lelouch was thinking based on his facial expressions. "Those guys were after you? Do you think Duke Granstein ratted us out? Oh God, my parents will kill me if I get arrested for underage gambling!"

Lelouch frowned, staring firmly down at his hands. He had hoped he'd be able to get a couple more matches in before Clovis' men found him. He had, ideally, hoped to acquire Nunnally at least a hundred thousand pounds before the life he had created for himself was wrested from his grip and replaced with the gilded cage of the Imperial family.

That, however, didn't look like it was going to happen.

"Turn down here." Lelouch said, pointing towards an alley that would pop them out on a one way road. It would at least limit the direction the soldiers could approach him from.

"What's going on?" Rivalz demanded loudly. "We should pull over. We can get in serious trouble for evading these guys!"

"They're after me. Nothing you do at this point makes any difference." He said tiredly.

"Why are they after you? What did you do, Lelouch? This isn't just about gambling, is it? No, the military wouldn't have anything to do with that."

"Rivalz, I want you to promise me you'll take care of the others for me." Lelouch said finally. Involving someone else in his mess was selfish. "Try to keep Milly in line. And keep Shirley from freaking out too much. And make sure Nina doesn't spend all of her time cramped up with that computer."

"What are you talking about, Lelouch?" Rivalz demanded. "You do all that stuff!"

Lelouch sighed. "Pull over."

Rivalz reluctantly complied, torn between compliance with the law and loyalty to his best friend.

"And don't tell anyone about Nunnally. Never mention her again. Understand?" Lelouch ordered, a determined fire in his eyes.

"What? Yeah, okay, Lelouch. But what are you going to do?" Rivalz asked as he rolled to a stop and stared at his friend.

Lelouch slowly unfastened his helmet and got out of the sidecar. "Get out of here, Rivalz." He said dejectedly, as he stepped up onto the sidewalk and waited. "I can handle this on my own."

Rivalz hesitated but complied, gunning the bike's motor back into gear before pulling back out into traffic. He drove to the end of the block before pulling over again, watching Lelouch's still form in his rear view mirror.

Lelouch waited, an oasis of stillness in a sea of moving pedestrians until the soldiers that had been pursuing them emerged from the crowd and hurriedly converged on his location. Just his luck, it was the same two soldiers he'd mouthed off earlier.

"There you are!" One of them shouted, drawing his baton and slamming it into Lelouch's face. "The prince wants to see you, boy."

The impact of the blow staggered Lelouch and almost sent him to the ground. He was caught, however, by the second guard and a pair of handcuffs clicked firmly around his wrists. He didn't resist. It was inevitable. One man could not stand against the might of Britannia. One man could not even stand against a fraction of Britannia.

Rivalz waited until he saw Lelouch get handcuffed before gunning his bike back into motion and speeding back to school. He raced across campus and into the clubhouse, opening the door to the Student Council office so forcefully that it left a dent in the wall.

"Lelouch was just arrested!"

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AN: This is the new beta'd version. I realize now that this massive revision project will end up deleting all of my author's notes. I'll try to save the important bits. Hope you enjoy. Version 2.0 comes with chapter titles.

Revised/beta'd Feb 5, 2012


	2. Chapter 2: The Long Goodbye

Chapter 2: The Long Goodbye

Lelouch grimaced as one of the soldiers forcefully shoved him into the backseat of a car, his head roughly colliding against the door on the far side of the vehicle. He tentatively licked his lip and was thankful that it hadn't split when the soldier had assaulted him. His cheek, however, was swelling and probably already bruised.

One of the soldiers slid into the backseat with him while the other joined the driver in the front.

"Squad Four has acquired the target." The soldier in the front said into a crackling radio as the car pulled away from the curb and joined the flow of traffic.

"So," The soldier in the backseat said, "what's your name, boy?"

_This_ was why he hated the Britannian military so much. They were all mindless goons. Clovis said jump and they jumped. Simple as that. No questions asked. No explanations sought. These oafs didn't even know who their target was.

Feeling rebellious (and more than a little vindictive), he decided to ignore his would-be interrogator, instead turning his head to look out the window. He regret the decision a moment later when the soldier's fist collided solidly with his ribs. He grunted and glared at the soldier.

"Answer the question, boy." The soldier in the front seat insisted. "Before he really gets into it. You could end up in the hospital if you're not careful."

_Good cop, bad cop? How cliché._

"If your prince didn't see fit to apprise you of the situation, I don't know why I should." He retorted scathingly, earning himself another punch – this time to the chest, which sent him into a fit of coughing.

It also caused the brute afflicting the damage to chortle as though the sight of Lelouch in pain was something of the utmost hilarity. Lelouch was comforted, however, because he knew that he'd get every blow back. With interest. Clovis had always been a stickler for preserving the sanctity of the royal family. This man was as good as dead.

"You think you're a real tough guy, don't you, kid." The soldier next to him sneered.

"Not at all." Lelouch gasped as he recovered his breath.

Humphing disdainfully, the soldier crossed his arms over his rather broad chest and leaned back in his seat. "You're just lucky the prince wanted you alive. You'd hate to see what I'd do to you if he didn't, you mouthy bastard."

"And I'd hate to see what he'd do to you if you did kill me." Lelouch mouthed off one last time before resuming looking out the window.

At some point in time during his altercation in the back seat with the soldier, an armed escort of four Knightmares had joined them. Apparently, Clovis didn't want to take any chances of an assassination attempt. Either that or they thought Lelouch had enough resources and men to stage a rescue. Neither outcome seemed likely.

They arrived at Clovis' palace a half an hour later, the presence of the Knightmares taking care of the busy traffic in the downtown area. Really, no one wanted to drive too close to a Knightmare. One wrong move and it was all over and you were crushed by a twelve ton giant fighting robot.

His captors dragged him proudly through the corridors to Clovis' office, the malicious one who'd shared the backseat with him making sure to take long strides so Lelouch had to scramble to keep up despite the pain in his chest.

They approached the door to Clovis' office and his captors announced themselves to one of the prince's assistants as Sirs Jean Carmichael (the good cop) and Evan Pearce (the walking dead man) who had "apprehended and subdued the target". The assistant stared in wide-eyed horror at the sight before her. She, it seemed, had been fully apprised of the situation. In a horrified daze, she tapped on the door to Clovis' office.

"They're here, you're highness." She said weakly into the intercom, her eyes never leaving Lelouch's brutalized face.

Instead of being commanded to enter the office, the door suddenly swung open and Clovis was there. "Lelouch!" He cried joyously. He took one step before coming to a stunned halt in the threshold of the door as he took in his appearance.

Both of the soldier's bent to kneel gracefully in front of their lord. Pearce actually punched the back of Lelouch's knees a second later when he didn't immediately follow suit, sending the teen roughly to his knees.

"Hello, brother." Lelouch said calmly, eyes defiant as he knelt with his back straight and his arms still bound behind him.

"Brother?" Carmichael whispered in stunned disbelief.

For a moment, Clovis didn't move as the blood drained completely from his face as he stared at Lelouch completely aghast. Then he flushed a brilliant shade of furious red and began shouting. "Bartley! Guards! Arrest these men! They've assaulted a member of the Imperial family!" He howled and in a rush of confusion the room was suddenly filled with armed men and Clovis was kneeling in front of Lelouch looking mortified.

"My God, Lelouch, what did these heathens do to you?" Clovis demanded before shouting for the key that would release Lelouch's arms. "Are you alright?"

"I'm sure I'll survive." Lelouch grumbled as he was fussed over by Clovis. The handcuffs were released a moment later and he experimentally flexed his arms, wincing a little as the movement shifted his bruised ribs.

"Execute them!" Clovis snarled when he saw Lelouch's expression. "And someone send for a nurse."

"We didn't know!" Pearce cried suddenly. "We weren't told he was a prince! Who is he?"

Lelouch slowly got to his feet, grimacing when he twinged a tender spot before turning to scowl at the soldiers. "My name . . . is Lelouch vi Britannia, Eleventh Prince of the Holy Britannian Empire."

The room fell silent and even the struggling two soldiers ceased their movements for a moment to stare at Lelouch incredulously. His name, despite his apparent lack of popularity, was still well known it seemed. He was the son of Empress Marianne "the Flash", a military legend. He was also supposed to be dead.

"Nicely done." Clovis chuckled softly. "Very dramatic." He said before draping his arm over Lelouch's shoulder and escorting him into his office, closing the door firmly behind them. "Sit, please, my brother." Clovis said, gesturing towards one of two opposing arm chairs around a small coffee table. "Let me take a look at you."

For a moment Clovis simply stared at him, taking in the way Lelouch had grown, how much he looked like his mother as opposed to his father, and the condition that his soon-to-be-executed soldiers had left him in. "I'm so glad you're alive." Clovis finally breathed. "I searched everywhere for you and Nunnally but I never found a trace of either of you. Tell me, what . . . what happened to Nunnally? Where is she?"

Lelouch forced a slight grimace onto his face, "Nunnally's dead." He said bitterly. "It's difficult for a crippled, blind girl to survive in a war zone."

Clovis made a small sound in the back of his throat, almost like a whimper before reaching across the small coffee table between them to reassuringly clasp Lelouch on the shoulder. "I am so sorry, Lelouch. I tried. Please believe me, I tried to find you. I was here even before they stopped the airstrikes searching for you. I tried to convince Father to postpone the invasion until we'd found and retrieved you two, but he didn't listen to me."

Lelouch bit the inside of his lip to keep himself from scoffing. He couldn't tell if Clovis was telling the truth or was simply trying to comfort him. It was difficult to imagine Clovis willingly entering a war zone for any reason. His brother had always been a narcissist and cared for his own life and his own goals above all others. But then again, he and Clovis had been close when they'd been younger and Clovis had been outraged by the Emperor's treatment of the vi Britannias.

Lelouch had no difficulty, however, believing the part of Clovis' story where the Emperor had refused to rescue them before the airstrikes had begun flattening the country. His father was a merciless bastard and Lelouch hated him.

"It wasn't your fault, Clovis." Lelouch said, deciding to give his half-brother the benefit of the doubt. For now.

"Can I get you anything?" Clovis asked hospitably, "Wine? Scotch? Brandy?"

Lelouch chuckled. "Just water is fine. I am still technically underage."

Clovis scoffed, "You're a prince, Lelouch. The normal rules don't apply to you. And I promise I won't tell anyone that I'm allowing a minor to drink in my presence. So, do you still have your heart set on water?"

"Yes. Just water." Lelouch answered.

"Fine. Fine." Clovis waved airily as he procured a bottle of water from a mini fridge and poured a glass of brandy for himself.

"So . . ." Lelouch began slowly after Clovis had reseated himself, "what are you going to do with me now that you've caught me?"

"You make it sound like you're a felon." Clovis joked, but upon seeing Lelouch's serious expression he changed tactics quickly. "I've already called home. Schneizel is in the process of tracking down our father as we speak. His Majesty has been growing more and more distant over the last couple years. Schneizel is the one who is pretty much running the show now."

"I see." Lelouch said noncommittally before taking a sip of his water.

Clovis sighed. "I'm not going to ask you why you didn't try to contact us after the war. I'm pretty sure I understand."

"You understand nothing!" Lelouch suddenly snarled, despite the part of his mind that was telling him to just shut the hell up and take whatever was to come with mute neutrality. "We were abandoned! We were sent here as nothing more than political bargaining chips and then we were discarded when a better opportunity presented itself. Like broken toys. It was unforgivable."

Silence reigned in the room for a moment as Clovis stared at Lelouch wide-eyed. Yes, he was angry. And his anger was inconsolable. Clovis was, however, saved from trying to come up with a response to his tantrum by the nurse's arrival at the door. He hurriedly bade her to enter and proceeded to make sure that Lelouch was very thoroughly checked over. There was something about Lelouch's anger that sent shivers down one's spine. It was the way his eyes darkened into a brooding violet, like pregnant storm clouds. And quite frankly, Clovis wasn't equipped to deal with it.

Halfway through Lelouch's examination, Schneizel returned Clovis' call.

"Lelouch?" Schneizel asked after demanding Clovis hand over the phone.

"Hello." Lelouch replied, forcing his voice into something halfway pleasant.

"Is it really you, brother?" Schneizel asked.

"It's me." Lelouch affirmed.

"Thank God. I can't wait to see you. Clovis should be making your travel arrangements right now. You've been summoned to Pendragon. Father wants to speak with you. And the rest of us can't wait to see you either. Euphemia is practically jumping off walls." Schneizel informed him.

So, back under the Emperor's heel. What would he be used for this time? Or would the Emperor's patience with him finally be exhausted? Would he find himself the unfortunate victim of an impossible 'terrorist attack'?

"I see. Well, no doubt I'll be seeing you all very soon. Send Euphemia my love, if you see her. That may calm her a little."

"Lelouch . . ." Schneizel hesitated. "Never mind, we'll have plenty of time to talk when you get back home. I'll see you soon."

Clovis waited until the phone was hung up before letting out his frustration.

"Sometimes I just want to slap that guy!" Clovis exclaimed. "Ordering me around like some servant." He grumbled as he sent a message to his private plane.

"He is Prime Minister now, isn't he?" Lelouch asked rhetorically.

"Yeah, yeah," Clovis said, waving his hand airily. "Now, we have three hours until your plane departs. That's not a lot of time for a party so we'll have to do that some other time. What we do have time for is public announcement."

Without consulting Lelouch in the slightest, Clovis began dialing into his phone and contacting his PR people. Within an hour, Clovis' office was filled with cameras, lights, and media people. Lelouch was pushed into a chair where he was assaulted by a makeup artist with a huge brush. By the time she was finished with him, it was impossible to tell that he'd been hit in the face with a baton only hours ago. He was then stuffed into a brand new black suit complete with ruffled collar and an Imperial purple short cape – something he hadn't worn since leaving Britannia over seven years ago.

Clovis was a natural at this kind of stuff. He was everyone's archetypal charismatic leader. He didn't even squint under the harsh stage lights. Lelouch, on the other hand, had spent the last seven years trying to avoid undue attention. So this was not exactly his forte, despite his sometimes dramatic flair.

"To all my Imperial subjects, including all the many cooperative Elevens who choose to serve the Britannian Empire," Clovis began, dramatically throwing his arms out wide.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Ashford Academy, the Student Council was in full panic mode. Shirley was on the phone with the police demanding to know what Lelouch had been charged with. The police officer on the other end of the line had no idea what she was talking about, which figured. Rivalz was pacing while constantly second guessing himself, wishing that he'd never pulled over. He'd almost driven himself to the point of hysteria. Nina may have 'allegedly' hacked into the local police database to determine if they were just giving Shirley the run around.

In the center of all this chaos, Milly leaned against the table with her arms crossed over her chest and a letter crumpled into one hand. She was unnaturally calm, her mouth tugged down into a small frown as she considered what the letter said. She was brooding.

They all paused in their activities when a national address from Prince Clovis interrupted the girlish soap opera that had been playing in the background.

"Rejoice with me today at the rediscovery of one of Britannia's lost treasures!" The prince said, grinning widely. "My brother who was once thought to be dead has returned to us. May I present to you Prince Lelouch vi Britannia! Eleventh prince of the Holy Britannian Empire."

At which point the camera scrolled sideways to reveal . . .

"That's Lulu!" Shirley shrieked as she stared in open amazement at her one true love, phone hanging limply in her hand.

"No. That's impossible. That guy just looks like Lelouch. . ." Rivalz attempted to explain halfheartedly.

"It's true." Milly said quietly, her gaze fixed on the image of Lelouch on the television screen.

"To all of the residents of Area Eleven, both Britannians and Elevens alike," Lelouch said clearly and firmly, "I would like to thank you for the hospitality your country has shown me these last seven years. I am truly grateful that I was able to live amongst you as one of you. A piece of this country will always reside in my heart. But for now, I will be rejoining the rest of my family back in the homeland."

The Student Council members stared at the television, taking in the austere appearance of their Vice President. He looked regal, but cold, in a way. His face was completely neutral and his eyes seemed like they were completely devoid of energy. Dead eyes.

"Poor Lelouch." Milly said sadly, her fist crushing the letter in her hand a little more.

"What do you mean 'poor Lelouch'?" Rivalz exclaimed, "He's a freaking prince. Royalty! What the heck was he doing here with us anyway?"

"Wait, doesn't this mean that Nunnally's a princess?" Shirley asked. "Where is she anyway?"

Milly didn't answer until the transmission was cut off and the television went back to airing the soap opera instead. Then she very carefully and deliberately smoothed out the letter.

"I have a message here from Lelouch, you guys. Please listen while I read it to you." She said softly before beginning to recite the letter.

"_Dear Milly,_

_ First of all, I want to apologize for all of the drama this will create around campus. But I know you love the chaos so really I should be apologizing to the others. My cover was compromised today and so I will, unfortunately, be leaving you. I'm not sure what they're going to do to me yet, so please keep this secret from the others until that comes to light. If my reappearance is never announced, then it is safe to assume that I was taken in secrecy and summarily executed._

_ I have sent Nunnally into hiding and I've erased any trace of her from the school's records. I suppose that it's fortunate that she was so sheltered here. Most of the students here don't even know of her existence. I want you to swear the Student Council to secrecy. I will not have Nunnally turned into a tool for political gain. Nor will I allow her to become a casualty of someone's ambition. Forgive me if this seems harsh, but I will not forgive anyone who betrays me or Nunnally. She should be safe for now and anyone who compromises that will be considered my enemy._

_ With that out of the way, I suppose I can begin my farewells. I don't know if I'll be able to see you again. I don't know if I'll ever be allowed to return to Area Eleven. It ultimately depends on what the Emperor has planned for me. If I can still be useful to him, I think he may forgive this transgression. Though, that man has never been quick to forgive. _

_ Milly, once all of this comes out into the open – or I suppose I should say **if **it comes into the open - please tell the others the real reason that I was hiding amongst all of you. I'm sure that the Imperial family wouldn't want that tale going public so I'll probably have to spin some elaborate fiction to cover their collective rears. You know the whole story, I think. Or at least you know the majority of it as your family became a victim of Imperial ambition along with my own. _

_ You've always been a great friend to me, Milly. You've been my support and my confidante since I came to live with your family. You never faulted or accused us once for putting your family in danger – which I know we did. Your determination to see the brighter side of all things was one of the foundations for our survival here. Thanks to you, we not only survived, but we thrived. I will miss you dearly. Tell your grandfather goodbye for me as well. Hopefully, supposing I don't suddenly die under mysterious circumstances, I will be able to see you again. _

_ Rivalz, you have been my constant companion for the last five years. You've been more than my chauffeur for our slightly illegal pastimes. You've been my wingman – my partner - so I'm charging you with taking care of the others from now on. That means that you're going to have to work hard to keep Milly in line. You can't just let her get away with all of her schemes just because . . . well, I won't reveal that particular secret of yours. Most importantly, make sure you keep them safe. All of you are precious to me, and I regret that I will no longer be able to be there for you. One more thing, Rivalz, please don't waste all of your savings trying to take over our gambling scheme. You're a terrible chess player._

_ Shirley, thank you for always being there to keep me on the right track. I know it may not have seemed like it, but I truly do appreciate that you cared enough to criticize me. You wanted what was best for me, and I understand that. So thank you for caring, Shirley. Growing up as I did, it was rare to find someone who actually cared more about my well-being than about what they could use me for. You are a treasure and I'm sorry that I won't be able to be there anymore. I am going to miss your compassion and constant worrying over me._

_ Nina, you have a brilliant mind and I will miss the in depth, late night talks we sometimes had about politics, philosophy, and the sciences. There were few others who were able to engage me as well as you. Don't ever hold yourself back because you're afraid of the spotlight. The world needs people with the ability to think for themselves. You're one of them, don't hide it. _

_ I'm going to ask that you burn this letter when you're done with it. I've mentioned my sister in it so it poses an inherent threat to her continued anonymity. I'm also going to ask that you try to suppress the chaos that's going to occur if news of who I am gets out. Distract them. You should be able to put it out of their minds with a spectacular festival of some kind. I'm sure you can find something inane to celebrate. _

_ I love you all, my dear friends. _

_ Lelouch Lamperouge_

_ Or rather . . . Lelouch vi Britannia, as that is who I now must be._

The Student Council room fell into a stunned silence for a moment as they processed the contents of the letter.

"So . . . what's the real story then, Madam President?" Shirley asked timidly.

Milly frowned. "When their mother was assassinated for currying the disfavor of some of the other members of the Imperial family – though the attack was blamed on terrorists – Lelouch and Nunnally lost everything. When the Emperor refused to investigate the attack to Lelouch's satisfaction, he renounced his claim to the throne. In response, the Emperor sent Lelouch and Nunnally to Japan to play as political hostages during the Sakuradite Crisis.

"But when Knightmare frames were finally perfected, the Emperor gave up on negotiation and just decided to invade. He abandoned Lelouch and Nunnally in a war zone. The Emperor left them to die." Milly explained. "That's why they never went back to the homeland. As Lelouch understood it, he and Nunnally were nothing more than disposable pawns in the Emperor's game. He wasn't about to go back to be used again. Not of his free will, in any case. I don't think he'll ever be able to forgive his father."

"That's . . . that's horrible." Shirley whispered.

"We've got to rescue him!" Rivalz suddenly exclaimed.

"Don't be an idiot, Rivalz." Nina said softly, "Lelouch knew that there was no going back after his identity was revealed. It's why he left the letter for Milly. He was prepared to go back and be used to make sure that Nunnally was safe. Besides, he's with Prince Clovis now. There's nowhere in all of Area Eleven more secure than where he is now. Are you just going to ask them to hand him over to you?"

"Nina has a point." Milly said. "Lelouch knew what he was doing. He allowed himself to be captured. If he hadn't, he would have gone into hiding with Nunnally."

"Lulu's so gallant." Shirley sighed. "Sacrificing himself for Nunnally's sake."

"Oh yeah," Milly said suddenly, standing up straight and facing the other council members. "I, Milly Ashford, as President of the Student Council, command you never to speak of Nunnally Lamperouge again! You are hereby sworn to secrecy."

"Yeah, because a threat from a royal prince wasn't enough to keep us quiet." Rivalz muttered. "I suppose we should hide all of Nunnally's things so if anyone comes poking around they won't find them."

"Rivalz!" Milly exclaimed before striking him on the head with the letter. "You were sworn to secrecy, remember? But you do have a point. New Student Council activity! Hide or destroy the evidence!"

* * *

Meanwhile, in a military base not too far away, Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald was staring agape at the television where the son of Lady Marianne had just been shown. Alive!

"Jeremiah." Villetta said softly behind him when he didn't move for more than a minute.

He shrugged off her concern and hurried away. Prince Lelouch was alive! The only son of Lady Marianne was alive. And had been hiding all this time? That didn't matter. He had failures to make up for. First for failing to protect the boy's mother. And second for failing to protect Prince Lelouch and his sister Nunnally.

Was Princess Nunnally still alive?

Jeremiah frowned as he made his way through one corridor after another, making his way to the car park. No. If Princess Nunnally were still alive, they would have announced her survival as well. So, he had failed a third time. Three black marks on the ragged remains of his honor. Three sins to atone for.

He drove like a maniac to Clovis' palace, weaving his luxury sport car through traffic as though it hadn't cost more than most Britannians entire yearly gross income. It didn't matter. The car didn't matter. His life didn't matter and neither did the lives of those in the vehicles around him. The only thing that mattered was Prince Lelouch vi Britannia.

When he arrived, however, it was to disappointment.

"Lelouch? Oh, you just missed him, Gottwald." Clovis said airily. "He's already on the plane headed for the homeland."

"Then I respectfully request a temporary leave of absence, your highness." Jeremiah urged.

"Fine, fine." Clovis waved. "Go on then. Just let my people know when you'll be back."

"Thank you, your highness."

* * *

Revised/Beta'd Feb 5 2012


	3. Chapter 3: Reunions, Good or Bad

Chapter 3: Reunions, Good or Bad

Lelouch reclined comfortably in his seat in Clovis' private jet with his fingers steepled in front of him. He had expected this. He had expected to be thrown back into that den of vipers more commonly known as the Imperial family. It was practically a death sentence.

He was quite familiar with his own position within the Imperial hierarchy. His mother had been a commoner. He didn't have a pedigree. The only thing that distinguished him from the masses of other commoners was his father's blood, which he had more or less renounced seven years ago after his mother had died.

They had called him the Peasant Prince when he'd been a boy. When they were feeling particularly malicious, they would call Nunnally the Paperbag Princess. It had always infuriated him. The teasing and mocking had gotten so bad that his mother had had to intervene in her prototype Knightmare. That hadn't improved their already shaky relations with the rest of the Imperial family at all. As far as most of the other branches of the Imperial family were concerned, the vi Britannias were a stain on their family history.

Very few – if any – of his half-siblings would be genuinely pleased to see him again. He still remembered the subtle dances required to navigate the ever-shifting currents of the Imperial court's favor, the lesson drilled into him even as a child. He remembered the pleasant fake smiles everyone wore right up until the second they plunged the knife into your heart. He knew better than to take any of them at face value.

Perhaps the only person he could expect genuine treatment from in Pendragon was his father. The Emperor was unapologetically truthful. He didn't hide his motives or true feelings; he simply told you exactly what you were. An expendable pawn.

He tensed as he contemplated the Emperor's reaction to his resurrection. His father was the one who had who had left them to die. Had the Emperor been hoping they would perish during the violent invasion of Japan? The man certainly hadn't attempted to save them. Was the war with Japan supposed to be his execution? To put a final bloody end to the tainted vi Britannia branch of the Imperial family?

If so, then he couldn't expect anything more than a death sentence from the Emperor. He supposed he should thank Clovis now, for announcing his existence to the world like he had. It would look suspicious if he was suddenly pronounced dead again. Perhaps Clovis had planned that? Would Clovis do that?

The answer was probably yes. Despite acting like an overindulged twit most of the time, Clovis had a good grasp of the way politics worked. He knew that he couldn't directly challenge the Emperor on Lelouch's behalf. He could, however, give the Emperor pause by using the common masses.

So if the Emperor wasn't going to have him executed, that meant he was going to have to make himself useful. He would have to bow his head and grovel at his father's feet. He would have to ask for the opportunity to make himself into another cheap game piece on the Emperor's expansive board.

That act alone would probably completely destroy his pride and dignity. There was no one in this world that he hated more than his father. In fact, there was nothing that he would like to do more than to see that man destroyed for what he had done to the vi Britannias. However, it seemed unlikely that he would be granted his revenge. Charles zi Britannia wasn't stupid. He would know that Lelouch despised him and take proper precautions. Still, he could dream.

Sighing, Lelouch crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in the chair. It was a long flight and it was going to be morning by the time he landed in Pendragon. He was going to be exhausted and jetlagged if he didn't force himself to get some sleep. And agonizing about his upcoming reunion with the rest of the Imperial family wasn't going to solve anything for him. It was going to go badly. He was resigned to that fact. Frowning, he forced his eyes closed and attempted to shut his mind down so that he could get some sleep.

* * *

In the clubhouse at Ashford Academy, the Student Council were sitting in Nunnally's bedroom with a large garbage bin placed in the center. They were meticulously going through the girl's things. Milly had decided that destroying everything might not be such a good idea, so they were divvying up anything that wasn't easily replaceable or held sentimental value to be hidden in each of the Student Council's dorms. All of the princess' remaining clothes were packed to be donated to charity. Her collection of braille books were sent to be burned as they would have been too recognizable if anyone decided to look into the goings on of the Student Council. It could lead to awkward questions, like why the Student Council had braille books when clearly none of the members were blind.

"So . . . Lelouch is out of hot water now, right Milly?" Rivalz wondered as he sorted through a stack of old school assignments. "I mean, it sounded like in the letter that if they announced he was alive it meant he wasn't in trouble."

"I don't know." Milly answered quietly. "I'm worried about him. He's always been terrified of this. Of being caught and having to go back."

"Lelouch? Terrified?" Rivalz questioned. "Yeah right."

"Lelouch was only ten when his mother died and he was sent to Area Eleven." Milly reminisced. "He wouldn't even talk to me for the first month he began staying with us. I don't think he actually expected my grandfather to agree to sheltering them. He didn't trust us for a long time. He was afraid to let people get too close. Even at ten, he understood that he had been used and then abandoned when he was no longer useful."

"I feel so bad for Lelouch." Shirley said sadly. "All this time that we've been friends with him and we didn't really know him at all. I hope he doesn't think that we were just using him for our own gain."

Milly smiled. "Of course he doesn't. He knows that we all genuinely care about both him and his suddenly nonexistent sister. Now then," She said, perking back up. "I hereby declare that it's time for a break. We've already been at this for hours and I'm famished. Let's go make supper."

The others agreed and they made their way to the Lamperouge's newly abandoned kitchen where further progress was interrupted by someone impatiently ringing the doorbell. It was unusual. Usually only members of the Student Council visited the clubhouse when there wasn't an event going on.

When Milly opened the door, she was met by the faces of over a dozen anxious girls.

"Oh my God, Milly! Is it really true? Our Lelouch is really a prince?" One of them demanded.

"He took me to the cross dressers ball two years ago!" Another squealed.

"I knew there was something different about him. He always seemed so refined and regal in everything he did." Yet another boasted.

"Uh . . ." Milly mumbled as she took in the appearance of the crowd. Even as she watched, other girls were joining the group, swelling the ranks of the infatuated fan girls.

"Well come on, Milly! Spit it out! You knew, didn't you?" One of them shouted.

A disturbance in the center of the group drew her attention away from the girls as she watched a man with sandy blond hair shoulder his way through the crowd.

"Hello," He said, glancing up as he pushed his way through to the front of the crowd. "Are you Milly Ashford? I'm Diethard Reid with Hi-TV news. I was hoping you'd consent to an interview."

"What a circus." Milly mumbled before turning to the reporter. "No, I'm sorry I can't do that. His Highness Lelouch expressly forbade me from talking to the press." She lied before turning on the infatuated girls. "As for the rest of you, as President of the Student Council, I hereby order you all to disperse. Go back to your dorms and get on with your lives. Lelouch is gone, move on to a guy you can more realistically obtain. Might I suggest Student Council Treasurer Rivalz Cardemonde. Not only is he cute, funny and loyal, but he has the added benefit of being close friends with Lelouch."

There was much groaning and mumbling, but eventually the crowd did disperse. Except for the reporter who simply stood there calmly, watching the girls go. He waited until they were gone before he approached her again.

"So the rumors were true that you did have contact with Prince Lelouch before his rediscovery. And that your family was the one sheltering him." The man persisted. "Can you tell me why the prince didn't return to the Imperial family before now? He had to know that the royal family was concerned about him. I can make it worth your while."

"Mr. Reid, I believe I already told you that I'm not going to talk to the press. I'm not going to answer your questions. Now, I'm going to have to kindly ask you to leave. And by 'leave', I mean removing yourself and your coworkers from the campus grounds. This is a school. I'm not sure how you were allowed onto school grounds, but I can assure you I will be looking into it. I cannot have strange men wandering around the grounds. For the safety of the students, you understand?"

The reporter smiled coolly before inclining his head to her and turning away. The next day he anonymously submitted an article to a filthy gossip rag about an illicit relationship between the Student Council President and the prince that was in hiding. Revenge was sweet.

* * *

Pendragon was just how he remembered it. Hot and uncomfortable with everyone staring at him like he was some kind of exotic display in a zoo. The rumble of soft whispers – gossip told behind the cover of one's hand – followed him the entire way through the palace as he approached the throne room. The room where _that man_ was waiting for him.

Lelouch clenched his hands into fists as he carried himself forward. The last time he'd entered this room . . .

_"You are dead. You have always been dead to me, dead from the moment you were born."_

That was right. To the Emperor he was nothing more than an animated corpse. An inanimate playing piece that sometimes moved unpredictably. That was all. Even Lelouch could see the danger in that. It was risky when your game pieces were unpredictable. The only way to guarantee his survival was to sacrifice all of his pride and subjugate himself to the Emperor's will.

"Hail, Your Majesty. I, Lelouch vi Britannia, have returned." He said firmly as he sank to one knee in front of the throne with an arm crossed over his chest in fealty.

Aside from a fleeting glance to confirm that the throne was indeed occupied – it would be just like the Emperor to forget that his long lost son was returning to visit him – he hadn't dared to actually look at the man that had caused him and Nunnally so much hardship.

The silence his introduction was met with was deafening and dragged on long enough to make Lelouch squirm. He cautiously glanced up, hiding his gaze through the cover of his bangs to get some clue of what the Emperor was thinking.

His father was sitting straight-backed in his throne, staring intently at Lelouch with a frown on his lips. "And?" The Emperor queried after a long silence.

And what? What exactly did the Emperor want from him? He was already kneeling at the man's feet. Wasn't that enough? No. No, of course not. He had transgressions to make up for. His silence for the last seven years was a betrayal that wouldn't be quickly forgiven. All the same . . .

"And I humbly request your forgiveness."

The Emperor stared at his unruly son, the frown deepening more every second. None of his other children would have dared such audacity. But then, Lelouch had always been different. Headstrong, just like his mother. "Leave us." He commanded, much to the muttered surprise of the members of the court.

Lelouch felt his heart leap into his throat at the order. This couldn't be good if his father didn't want any witnesses. He waited, unmoving in tense silence, as the members of his father's court began making their exits. He waited until every last member was gone and the room was again plunged into stressed silence. And then he waited a little longer as his father rose from the throne and circled him like a vulture around a piece of fresh carrion.

"Stand up, Lelouch." Charles ordered.

Lelouch hesitatingly complied, his heart racing in his chest as he did so. He wouldn't have an excuse for not looking at his father any more. He would have to look the Emperor, a man that he both feared and loathed, in the eye and express his deepest apologies for choosing his own survival and well-being over the deceitful machinations of the Imperial court.

"Where is your sister?" The Emperor demanded as he came to rest directly in front of Lelouch.

Lelouch flinched and averted his gaze. No, he could not look that man in the eye. An excellent liar he may be, but even he couldn't look the Emperor directly in the eye and begin spouting fiction. He hoped the man would interpret it as shame.

"She's dead, Your Majesty." He answered quietly. "There was an airstrike and the building we were in collapsed. I wasn't able to get her out in time." He invented, silently praying to any god or celestial being that it would be believed.

"Is that so?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

There was another pregnant pause that left Lelouch biting on the inside of his lip in his anxiety. "I suppose that was to be expected." The Emperor said finally. "But you were strong and so you survived.

_"I have no use for that weakling."_

That was right. As little as Lelouch had ever meant to his father, Nunnally had meant infinitely less. Lelouch, at least, could be used for political gain. Nunnally was nothing more than a purposeless lump of flesh to the Emperor. Her disabilities had made it impossible for her to even be married off in a politically advantageous pairing.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Lelouch answered obediently, even though he was inwardly seething. He wanted to lash out at his father. He wanted to make that man understand that what he had done was wrong. That the way he treated his children was barbaric and immoral. But he couldn't. Right now, he needed to focus on surviving. And the best way to do that at the moment was just shut up and agree with whatever the Emperor said.

"So why did you return to us, Lelouch?" The Emperor asked.

Lelouch inwardly grimaced. Why, indeed? Ideally, he should spin some kind of story about being held captive by militant terrorists from whose clutches he had just escaped. Except that the Emperor probably already knew all about what had happened back in Area Eleven. The man probably knew that he'd been discovered by Clovis by chance. And that he'd tried to run away before being caught.

So, if that was the case, he should just tell the truth. Being caught in a lie would only serve to cast doubt on everything else he'd said. Like Nunnally's fate.

"I was found by Clovis." He answered reluctantly. "He insisted that I return."

"And if Clovis hadn't found you?" Charles interrogated, his eyes narrowing into a glare.

"Then I would have remained in Area Eleven in obscurity." Lelouch answered.

"Why?"

Lelouch grimaced. This definitely wasn't going to sound good, but he'd already resigned himself to telling the truth. "Because you abandoned me, Your Majesty. Because you sent us to Japan as tools and left us to die during the invasion."

"Heh." The Emperor snorted before clasping Lelouch around the back of the neck and giving him a gentle squeeze. It was the first fatherly gesture Lelouch had ever received from the man and took him completely off guard. "You _are_ strong, Lelouch. And smart. You'll be useful to me."

He was then promptly turned out of the throne room and into the waiting clutches of his siblings.

"Lelouch!" Euphemia cried the moment he opened the door. She threw herself into his arms and hugged him tightly until he had to forcefully break her grip in order to breath. "Oh my God, I'm so happy you're alive!" She gushed as she began touching his hair, his face, his chest, his arms as though trying to reassure herself he wasn't just a phantom.

"Euphemia, give the boy a chance to breath." Cornelia scolded before she gently pushed her sister out of the way and pulled Lelouch into an equally oppressive hug. "It's good to have you back. I dropped everything when I heard the news and came rushing back here to see you."

"Uh, thanks." He mumbled awkwardly before he was passed on to another sibling. He had almost two hundred brothers and sisters. Thankfully, only about sixty of them were present. Even more thankfully, most of them were able to restrain themselves to a simple greeting or a handshake.

"So you came crawling back, huh?" Carline sneered as he approached. Even as a little girl, Carline had been disdainful and abrasive. She had taken it upon herself to be Nunnally's personal tormentor and had done everything in her power to make the two "commoners" miserable. It seemed she hadn't changed.

"Don't be so harsh, Carline." Guinevere chided. "Of course he would come back. He's a prince of the Imperial family. You poor dear. I can only imagine how hard it must have been for you to have to live amongst the riffraff like that."

Of course, that would be Guinevere's main concern. He'd navigated his way through a war zone carrying his blind, crippled sister on his back and she was worried about him having to rub elbows with foreigners. He hated how out of touch with reality most members of the Imperial family were.

Thankfully, he was saved from further conversation with the two by Schneizel. Schneizel handed him a glass of wine before raising his own in salute and dragging him away from the two bitter sisters.

"You look well," Schneizel said conversationally as they made their way through the crowd and out into the Imperial Palace's gardens. "All things considered."

"Thank you." Lelouch said awkwardly. Schneizel had been a mentor to him as a child. It had been Schneizel that had taught him how to play chess. It had been Schneizel that had shown him the first of the very few fencing moves he knew. Schneizel who would read to him books that his mother hadn't deemed appropriate for a boy of his age. Old classics, like _Les Miserables_ and _The Count of Monte Cristo_. Those were treasured memories, but a lot had changed since then.

"Lelouch . . . you hate me, don't you? You hate all of us. All of this." Schneizel said, gesturing back towards the impromptu party and the extravagant palace.

"I'm not sure." He answered honestly.

He was angry, certainly. And spending the rest of his days cooped up in Pendragon listening to the petty dramas of the court unfold all around him wasn't anything he was looking forward to. But did he hate them? Did he actually loath his brothers and sisters for what they were – for what they had been carefully crafted into through the careful conditioning of the court?

If Schneizel had asked if he hated their father, the answer would have been instantaneous. Yes. He loathed Charles zi Britannia with every fibre of his being. He also hated Britannia in and of itself. The Empire was based upon a foundation of Social Darwinism that not only tolerated but encouraged atrocities against the defenceless. The weak were just tools to be used by the strong. Stepping stones. Food.

"I don't hate you, Schneizel." He clarified after a long silence. "Nor do I hate the others. Mostly. They are simply what they were made to be. But the one who made them like that - the crafter of all the seeds of dissension amongst the court, the one that encourages them to abuse their neighbors, to take everything they can without giving anything in return – _him_ I hate."

Let Schneizel do with that what he would. It was practically a treasonous offence to slander the Emperor in such a way. But Lelouch felt no remorse.

"I have to say, I feel the same way, my little brother." Schneizel said after a moment of silence before throwing his arm around Lelouch's shoulders and pulling him into something like a one armed hug. "I'm glad I still have an ally in you. You had the potential to be a very fearsome enemy."

Lelouch chuckled. And so it began. The political scheming. The backstabbing. The constant jockeying for power and attention. And Schneizel was to be his ally, it seemed.

"You know . . . I would have helped you if you had come to me." His brother said after a moment.

"In secret?" Lelouch asked.

"Of course."

Lelouch pondered that for a moment. Like with Clovis, he wasn't completely sure if he could trust Schneizel. Everyone at court had their own goals and their own agendas. But still, there was no point in burning all his bridges.

"Then I wish it had been you that had caught me instead."

* * *

Revised/Beta'd: Feb 5, 2012


	4. Chapter 4: A Bittersweet Homecoming

Chapter 4: A Bittersweet Homecoming

The Aeries Villa.

Home.

Lelouch felt distinctly nauseous as he stepped out of the car and took in the place where he had grown up. Already, the old memories were trying to engulf him. Over there was the tree which Nunnally had fallen out of when she'd been trying to prove herself to him. Behind it, the garden where his mother used to sit with her ladies to gossip. Across the way was the fountain that he'd thrown Euphemia into once in order to get his revenge for her tattling on him for some transgression or another. Beyond that was the shady alcove where Schneizel used to read to him.

He couldn't look at anything without remembering. The garden hadn't changed at all. He'd been told that the Aeries Villa had been left uninhabited – used as a guest house for visiting dignitaries. But as it was the "ancestral home" of the vi Britannias, the Foreign Minister of the E.U. that had been negotiating peace with the Empire had been moved to another location in order to make room for the returning prince. Lelouch didn't really care. The diplomat could have stayed. He was only one person and the villa was massive. He didn't mind sharing – but of course, that wasn't something a prince should be accustomed to.

Instead of proceeding directly through the front doors, he turned left and made his way through the gardens instead where he was slowly assaulted by more memories. He remembered catching frogs with Clovis by the pond when he'd been very little. His mother had praised him when he'd triumphantly presented the squirming green thing to her after catching it with Clovis' help. That is, until he'd set it down in the middle of her tea service and watched, fascinated, as the creature had leaped right into the sugar bowl.

Winding around the eastern wing of the manor, he came across the garden where he'd once terrified his mother almost to fainting after stealing a thoroughbred racing horse from the Imperial stables (with Clovis' help, of course) to show his mother just how good of a horseback rider he was. When he thought about it now, Clovis had always been there to help him get into trouble as a kid.

He remembered his brother in that awkward preteen stage. He remembered Clovis infuriated when no one would take a thirteen year old boy seriously – even if he was a prince. He remembered Clovis always trying to compete with Odysseus. He remembered Clovis proclaiming that one day _he_ would be Emperor, not Odysseus and certainly not Schneizel. Clovis had been fourteen at the time.

And now Clovis was Viceroy of Area Eleven and there was little left of the mischievous troublemaker that had urged him to break the rules so many times. Clovis had grown up, and while he'd retained many of his childish traits, he had still matured. But, Lelouch figured, so had he.

His childhood had ended the day his mother had died.

Sighing, he pushed those gloomy thoughts away and headed for the patio entrance to the house. It was stupid, but the first thing he noticed when he opened it was the smell of the place. When his mother had still been alive, she had worn the same perfume every day. Over the years, the scent had permeated every corner of the house. But in the last seven years, the scent had dissipated and eventually disappeared entirely. The absence of that familiar aroma almost brought tears to his eyes. It was ridiculous how something so small could affect him so badly.

His moment of weakness was interrupted by a woman in a crisp black and white uniform rushing into the room. Her eyes widened when she saw him before she blushed and bowed deeply.

"A thousand apologies, your highness! We were prepared to greet you at the front entrance. If we had known you intended to enter through the patio entrance we would have assembled here." She said quickly.

"Uh . . ." Lelouch said, taken aback by her sudden appearance and behaviour. "Who are you?"

"Oh! Please forgive me, your grace. My name is Edith Cardston. I was put in charge of this estate. I act as butler, maid, secretary, assistant and governess. Oh! Not that you need a governess, your Excellency. It's just -"

Lelouch held up his hand to stop her. She looked like she was only a step away from prostrating herself on the floor in front of him. "It's fine, Miss Cardston. I apologize for coming in through the wrong entrance but I wanted to see the gardens first."

"There's no need to apologize to me, your highness."

"It's 'Lelouch'." He sighed. He hated this kind of subservient groveling.

"I beg your pardon, your highness?" She queried.

"Call me Lelouch. No more highnesses or graces or whatever else you can come up with."

She gaped at him. "I couldn't possibly do that."

"You can and you will. From now on I won't be answering to any honorifics. Call me by my name if you want me to respond. Now, was I needed for something?" He asked conversationally as he ignored the scandalized look the maid/butler/assistant/whatever was giving him.

"I . . . uh, well, your high – I mean, Master Lelouch, the rest of the household staff is assembled in the main foyer ready to greet you." Edith explained but was saved from trying to escort her stubborn new master to the foyer when a procession of over a dozen men and women in the same black and white uniforms entered the room and lined up in front of him.

"I see." Lelouch said warily as he eyed all the newcomers. There wasn't a familiar face in the bunch. Or at least, he didn't remember any of them from when he was a child. If they had been working at the villa before his mother's assassination, they hadn't been very memorable. "Hello. I'm Lelouch. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

And thus began a very long string of introductions. He had not one, but _two_ chauffeurs. Just in case he wanted to go driving in two cars at the same time, he supposed. Four middle-aged women worked in the kitchens. For the life of him, he couldn't imagine what they would do all day if they only had to cook for him. There was also a team of three groundskeepers – which he could understand as the gardens were expansive. And seven maids attended to the cleaning of the manor. Plus Edith.

That was seventeen staff members in all. That was in addition to the thirty man security team stationed around the perimeter of the estate. It seemed a bit like overkill, if you asked him. After all, he was just one person. It was a bit ludicrous to think that it took seventeen people just to take care of him. Especially when he was more or less self-reliant.

When the introductions were over and his maid/butler/assistant/etc. had sent everyone back to work, she pulled a PDA out of her apron and began consulting it. "I hope you don't mind, but I've already begun composing your itinerary for the next few days. Tomorrow at nine, a tailor will be arriving to fit you for your new wardrobe. His name is Angelo Debar and he's very fashionable. Especially among younger crowds. We were told you hadn't brought anything with you so I thought we'd get that taken care of first.

"On Wednesday, you've received an invitation to afternoon tea with Her Highness Anticlea eu Britannia at the Imperial Palace. That starts at two.

"Thursday evening, His Majesty is hosting a welcoming ball in your honor. Or rather, His Highness Prince Schneizel is. There was a note with this memo to tell you that your attendance is mandatory.

"You also have over two . . . no three hundred different requests for interviews from different media companies. I think if you sit for just one interview, the others will be sated.

"There are five requests for your presence at different charity events – the largest of which is the annual Soldiers of Hope ball. It's a fundraiser to support the families of Britannian soldiers who have lost their lives during active duty. Though there's also the kick off of the Soldiers of Tomorrow Camp, which is a camp for kids from low income families that aspire to join the military."

"Please stop, Edith." Lelouch grimaced. "I will consent to the tailor and the mandatory ball. Cancel all of the others. Tell Lady eu Britannia that I won't be joining her for _tea_, of all things. Also, I have no intention of speaking to the press or grandstanding for some _military_ charity. I'm not here to win a popularity contest. I really don't care what the people think of me and my sudden reappearance. And I'm not going to get dressed up and spout a bunch of nonsense about the Britannian military's _noble _goals.

"Now, was there anything actually important on that itinerary? Anything that would actually interest me?"

Edith hesitated and scrolled through the list of notes and memos on the device for a moment. "Um . . . no, sir. There are just a few more requests for interviews and His Highness Prince Schneizel requesting a game of chess tomorrow evening."

"Now _that_ is important. Tell Schneizel I accept his challenge. We'll see if I've gotten any better over the years." Lelouch said before casually turning away to rediscover the rest of his childhood home.

"As you wish, sir. I'll respond right away." Edith said quickly. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Lelouch paused and considered the request. "I wonder if there are any of my mother and Nunnally's old things still in the house? We weren't given the opportunity to take much with us when we left for Japan."

"Oh, there's nothing in the house proper. But I believe I remember my predecessor mentioning a couple of boxes tucked away in the attic. Would you like me to send someone up to retrieve them?" She answered helpfully.

Lelouch frowned. "Not tonight. It's already been a pretty eventful day."

Edith smiled a little sadly. "I understand, sir. Dinner will be ready for you at seven."

Lelouch nodded before disappearing up the stairs to the room that had once been Nunnally's. But he was disappointed. Any trace of the little girl's pink and white bedroom had been replaced by a sophisticated suite worthy of a visiting dignitary in neutral shades of brown and blue. He found that his own childhood bedroom had undergone a transformation much the same.

Sighing, he collapsed onto the bed and kicked his shoes off. He could use a nap after the very long day he'd just had. Milly Ashford had absolutely nothing on the chaos caused by the royal family.

* * *

Speaking of Milly, in Area Eleven the Student Council President was just getting ready to attend her morning classes. She paused, however, outside of her dorm when she noticed a tabloid magazine lying on her doormat with her face emblazoned on the front page. No, it was more than just her face. It was her and Lelouch posing together at last years Arbour Day festival. And the headline shouted in all capital letters "PRINCE LELOUCH VI BRITANNIA AND MILLY ASHFORD; HAPPY COUPLE OR TROUBLED CAPTIVE?" The article then went on to extemporize on how the Ashford family had only taken in Lelouch on the condition that he would one day marry Milly in the aim of restoring her family's honor and titles.

"That – that reporter! It has to be him! Who wrote this? Anonymous? Lelouch is going to kill me!" She gasped. Minutes later, she was assaulted by an angry mob of Lelouch's fan girls and had to lock herself in her dorm to escape them. It was, officially, the longest, worst day she'd ever had.

* * *

After supper – which had been a silent, awkward affair that he'd had to eat alone in the massive dining room – he continued reacquainting himself with the house. He checked out the music room, the library, the kitchen, the billiards room, each of four dens, the laundry room, the household help's quarters, the gardening shed. After about an hour he found himself outside the door to what had once been his mother's bedroom.

Nervously, he pushed open the door. As he had expected, it looked nothing like it once had. In the center of the room was a massive four-post canopy bed with bleach white coverings. It looked more like a matrimonial bed than anything else. When he'd been a child, the room had been decorated much less grandiose and in a colour scheme of soft lavenders and lilacs. It seemed sterile to him. He could remember all of the careful crystal and blown glass knickknacks that his mother had used to keep in this room - of which not a single one remained. He remembered a big bookshelf in the corner, messily stuffed to brimming with children classics and a big squishy couch where his mother used to read to him and Nunnally when they were small.

It was all gone.

Sighing, he closed the door and turned away again to continue his tour. He checked each of the fourteen bathrooms spread across the expansive estate, twenty two bedrooms, the fitness room, a lounge (complete with a fully stocked bar), a garage filled with luxury sedans and limos, a kennel that was currently empty, the formal dining room (with seating for fifty. Not to be mistaken for the informal dining room which could only hold twenty), the ball room.

In short, he visited everywhere. Except one room. It was a practice of avoidance really. He was hoping to put it off. He didn't want to see it, but at the same time he knew it would be impossible to avoid indefinitely. At the front of the estate, there was the entrance hall that housed the grand staircase. It was bright and airy, surrounded on two sides by elaborate stained glass windows which sent multicoloured refractions of light over the white marble.

It was also stained in blood.

Or, at least, it was stained in blood in his mind. The brutal image of his mother's bullet-ridden corpse shielding a blood-covered Nunnally was forever burned into his mind. It was as if it had happened yesterday. He still remembered the way the glass from the shattered windows had glittered all across the floor of the foyer. He remembered how Nunnally's eyes had been opened in wide, unadulterated horror even though she could no longer see. He remembered the way his mother's hair had fallen over her shoulder, shielding her dead eyes from his sight.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, he slowly approached the room. He felt like he was walking towards his own execution. The room was spotless, of course, but he could still see, superimposed over his surroundings, images of the bullet holes that had splintered the wood of the hand rails, or been embedded into the marble floor.

He took each step up the dreaded staircase with reluctance. The seventh step. That's where they had been. That's where his mother had died - halfway up the staircase, as though she'd been running and hoping to find safety on the second floor. Only, she'd been gunned down before that could happen.

He stared down at the steps in front of him. He could see her there. Right now, she would have been close enough to touch. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, she was gone. As were the bullet holes and blood and splintered wood and shattered glass. It had all been wiped away. Clean.

As with the master bedroom, all trace of Marianne vi Britannia had been completely and utterly erased. There wasn't even anything there to commemorate the tragedy. There should have been a plaque, or one of her possessions or at the very least flowers laid out on this spot. There was nothing. The world had forgotten about his mother. Just another Imperial tragedy pushed to the back of people's minds by other, more exciting gossip.

"Master Lelouch?"

It was Edith.

He glanced over his shoulder to find her standing courteously at the foot of the stairs. "Hm?" He grunted in response.

"I'm terribly sorry for interrupting you, your highness." She said as her eyes strayed to the spot he'd just been examining. "There's a gentleman at the gate for you."

Blinking in surprise, he checked his watch and frowned. It was just past nine thirty. "A bit late for callers, don't you think?"

"Yes, sir. It's just that . . . well he's refused to leave until you've granted him an audience." She explained meekly.

Lelouch sighed. "Well, who is it?" If it was a reporter he'd have some serious scolding to do.

"Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald, My Lord. He's the leader of the Purist Faction in Area Eleven." Edith said nervously.

So, the Purist were already knocking on his door. He frowned and turned back towards the place where his mother had died. He had thought he'd have more time before he'd start receiving death threats and assassins, but apparently the Purist were on the ball. It didn't take a genius to figure out that his very existence – the child of a commoner who had found her way into the bed of the Emperor – was contrary to their belief system.

"Show him in." Lelouch said with a lazy flick of his hand.

"But, sir!" Edith exclaimed. "He could -"

"I said show him in, Edith." He cut her off firmly.

She hesitated before bowing her head a little. "As you wish, sir. Where would you like to receive him?"

Where indeed?

"Here's fine." He answered, staring at the steps in front of him. If, by chance, this man was here to kill him – which seemed unlikely due to the straightforward approach he was taking – he would die in the same place as his mother. He would let this spot serve as the sacrificial alter for the vi Britannia family. The center of all their misfortune.

He waited in tense silence as he listened to Edith on the phone with the security guards at the gate. The minutes crept by slowly until he heard the front door open and the muffled sound of a deep, haughty baritone.

"Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald." Edith announced as she led the man into the entrance hall.

"Your Highness." Gottwald bowed respectfully at the waist - to which Lelouch inclined his head – before he raised himself up into a stiff, straight-backed military posture. Lelouch noticed the man's eyes stray for a moment to the stairs. Ah, so at least this man understood the the choice of scenery.

"You can go, Edith." He said without looking at the woman. She was still standing next to the door, as though on guard.

"Master Lelouch! I can't-"

"Go." He said firmly. If this man was here to start some kind of altercation, he wasn't going to allow any innocent bystanders to get caught in the crossfire. There would not be another Nunnally in this place if he could help it.

"I . . . yes, sir." She said in defeat before leaving and closing the door behind her.

"So," Lelouch drawled as he slowly turned to face the man, "what can I do for the Purists, Margrave?"

For a moment, Gottwald looked surprised. Despite all the time he'd had to think on the ridiculously long flight from Tokyo to Pendragon, he hadn't actually considered what this would look like to the prince. Instead, his mind had been stuck in a constant loop, playing his failures to the vi Britannia family over and over in his mind.

"I . . ." Gottwald began awkwardly before taking three quick, long strides to the bottom of the stairs and sinking down on one knee. "I'm here to beseech you for your forgiveness, my lord."

Lelouch's eyes narrowed suspiciously. What would this man want with his forgiveness? What did he need to forgive? Unless . . . unless it had been the Purists that were responsible for his mother's death.

"What exactly am I supposed to forgive?" Lelouch demanded sharply as his mind began racing with the possibilities. What if this man was the one who had pulled the trigger? If that were true, what would he do? He would want to take his revenge, he knew that. But he was currently unarmed and the man was almost twice his size.

"I was here the night of the assassination. I used to be a member of your mother's Royal Guard. But . . . I beg your forgiveness. I failed to save Lady Marianne from the terrorists. And I failed again to protect you and your sister." Gottwald said.

That sent Lelouch's racing mind to a standstill. So this wasn't the man who had killed his mother and crippled Nunnally. He was both disappointed and relieved. Relieved only because he hadn't figured out a way to incapacitate the man without calling for his security team.

"What happened that night?" Lelouch sighed, gesturing to the spot on the stairs behind him.

"I don't know, your highness. Princess Cornelia ordered us to withdraw earlier that evening. It wasn't an unusual request. Or at least, it wasn't the first time we'd been ordered to withdraw. Lady Marianne enjoyed her privacy at times."

"So you left her to die?" Lelouch demanded.

"We had no way of knowing she was being targeted by the terrorists." Gottwald said weakly.

"She was a commoner in the Imperial court! Of course she was being targeted!" Lelouch snarled.

"I'm sorry, your highness." Gottwald apologized, sinking a little lower.

Lelouch took a deep, steadying breath and composed himself. Now was not the time to be rash. His mother was dead. She had died a long time ago. Raging against the incompetence of her guard wouldn't change anything.

"And now you want my forgiveness?" Lelouch asked.

"Yes, my lord."

"I _don't_ forgive you." Lelouch said firmly.

Jeremiah flinched and averted his gaze. "I understand. Then . ." He said, reaching under his jacket to pull out a gun. He held it out at arms length, holding it by the barrel in offering. "Take your vengeance."

Lelouch stared at the gun in mute astonishment. He was going to have a very long, harsh talk with his security personnel in the morning. And someone was going to get fired. Slowly, he took the gun in his hand and examined it. It was heavy and just touching it sent a thrill of trepidation through him.

"You want me to kill you? You must hate yourself." Lelouch mused as he slowly levelled the muzzle against the man's forehead. Jeremiah closed his eyes and braced for his death. "Tell me, Lord Gottwald, what would this accomplish?"

"You could restore my honor and avenge Lady Marianne."

Lelouch snorted and removed the gun, slowly, deliberately removing the bullets. It was true that he had never fired a gun before, but during the war he and Suzaku had stolen the gun off of a dead Japanese soldier knowing that if they got into real trouble, the device would be the only thing that would keep them alive. They had maintained that gun with more care than a holy relic. "I _will_ avenge my mother. But you're not the one who killed her. My vengeance would be wasted on you. As for your honor, you wouldn't be alive to enjoy it so I don't see the point."

"Then at least let me serve you, my prince. I would -"

"No." Lelouch snapped firmly.

Jeremiah blinked in surprise at his harsh tone. "Why not? I would gladly give my life for you, my prince."

Lelouch sighed and rubbed a hand over his face in frustration. "Yes, that is exactly why. I fully expect this ship to sink rather quickly now that I've been forced back into the fold. I'd rather not drag too many people down with me."

"What do you mean, your highness?" Jeremiah asked.

"Who do you think was responsible for my mother's death?" Lelouch posed the question instead of explaining.

Jeremiah's eyes widened in surprise as he stared at the teenaged prince. "Do you mean . . . that you suspect a member . . . I mean, you think that you will be targeted by the same terrorists?"

"Terrorists." Lelouch scoffed. "Yes. I suppose you could say that I feel I will become targeted by the same people who killed my mother."

"Is that why . . ." Jeremiah hesitated, " . . . you didn't return sooner?"

Lelouch's gaze darkened, "I think it's time for you to leave now, Margrave." He said. "Edith! Kindly see Lord Gottwald to the door.

As expected, the door opened immediately, revealing that his assistant/secretary/governess had taken to listening at doors to ensure his safety. She blushed a moment later in embarrassment when she realized what she'd just revealed.

"I'm sorry, Master Lelouch. I was worried about you. He's a Purist and -" She apologized profusely while bowing.

"It's fine, Edith." Lelouch said lazily. "Oh, one more thing, Margrave. You sound like you admired my mother. If that is the case, then why did you join the Purist?"

Jeremiah grimaced as he got to his feet. "I was faced with the end of my career or a radical change in ideals. I'm no stranger to military politics. The Purists had seen my record and wanted me to join them. Otherwise I would have been dishonourably discharged for failing to keep your mother safe."

"I see. So you joined with your enemies and then took them over. Crafty." Lelouch mused as he drummed his fingers against the banister.

"It was cowardly." Jeremiah scowled.

"No." Lelouch said firmly, "In fact, Lord Gottwald, I think I have to commend you for your cunning. Sometimes survival has to come before our own ideals. For a while, at least. Good night, Margrave."

* * *

Revised/Beta'd: Feb 9, 2012

AN: I forgot how awkward some of these early chapters were.


	5. Chapter 5: Mercy, Or Something Like It

Chapter 5: Mercy, Or Something Like It

The first thing Lelouch did the next morning was pay a visit to his security personnel at the gate. In fact, he did one better and barged straight in to the barracks used by the off duty security members, where they were busy making breakfast and coffee.

"Prince Lelouch!" One of the officers exclaimed as he came through the door, causing the whole barracks to jump to attention and snap a salute.

"Good morning." Lelouch said politely. "I take it the team that was on duty last night is in here now?"

There were a few nods and mutterings of assent. It was good enough for him. He reached into the back waistband of his trousers and pulled out Gottwald's gun from the previous evening. The Margrave had kindly left it in his possession.

"Would one of you like to explain to me how Lord Gottwald managed to smuggle this gun into the estate? He's a member of the Purist faction and I was left alone with him! Do you understand the implications of that? If the man had been intent on killing me, you'd all be acting as security at my funeral!" He growled.

Every single one of the soldiers blanched and looked distinctly uncomfortable.

"But he . . . he was a peer." One of the soldiers mumbled in embarrassment.

"I don't care if it's Charles zi Britannia at the door! You check my guests for weapons!" Lelouch snarled before taking a deep breath and reining himself in. "Who was in charge last night?" He demanded calmly.

For a moment there was a great deal of awkward shuffling of feet and shamed faces before one man stepped forward. "I was, your highness. And I apologize. I served with Lord Jeremiah years ago. I never thought he would dare to threaten you. I fully accept my punishment."

The man was in his thirties with a buzz cut and a serious expression on his face. Also, he was willing to take responsibility for his mistakes. It was the only thing that saved him.

Dramatically, Lelouch raised the gun and pointed it at the man. "What's your name?"

"Sergeant Ryan Ambrose, your highness." The man said without flinching.

"You endangered my life, Ambrose." Lelouch explained. "I think it's only fair if I return you the favour."

Ambrose swallowed nervously but nodded. "I understand, sir."

Lelouch inclined his head towards the man and agonizingly slowly began squeezing the trigger. He watched as the expressions of the men around him shifted from shame to astonishment. As a prince of the royal family, he _was_ the law so long as it didn't interfere with mandates made by the Emperor. He was well within his rights to perform an execution and the men knew it. To his infinite credit, Ambrose didn't beg for his life or even flinch.

The resounding click from the empty gun seemed uncomfortably loud in the deathly silence that had fallen over the room.

"Don't let it happen again. Or next time the gun won't be empty. Do you all understand?" He demanded. "The safety and security of, not only myself, but of everyone living on this estate is of the utmost importance. Please, take your jobs seriously. The rest of the estate can't function if their safety is at risk."

"Understood, sir!" There was a resounding chorus as Ambrose's shoulders sank in relief.

Instead of sticking around to hear their thoughts on the matter, Lelouch turned on his heel and left the barracks. As he passed by the gate on the way back to the house, however, he noticed the large crowd of reporters camped on the other side.

Frowning, he crossed over to the guard house where a team of six was guarding the gate. "What is all this?" He asked as he entered the room, gesturing at the mob outside.

"Your highness!" The men said suddenly before standing at attention and saluting.

"Enough with the formality. What are all these people doing here?" Lelouch said.

"Heh." One of the men chuckled, rubbing his neck awkwardly. The extra chevron on his uniform indicated that he was the one in charge of this team. "Well boss, it seems you're rather popular." The man said, gesturing to a television in the corner where his national address to Area Eleven was being meticulously examined by a reporter. Next to the television was a pile of newspapers and magazines with his face emblazoned on the front. One in particular caught his attention as it also included Milly and was from an Ashford Academy event. It also hosted a scandalous headline.

"This is ridiculous." Lelouch sighed as he examined all the chaos his appearance had caused. "What's your name?"

"Corporal Allan Seckel, sir. It's an honor to have you in our little fort here." The man replied casually and Lelouch immediately liked him. There was nothing forced or formal about the way the man spoke to him. It was real interaction. In other words, the man wasn't a snivelling twit.

"Alright, Seckel, is there a particular reason why you and your boys have begun building a shrine to me in here?" He asked with a wry grin, gesturing to the stack of magazines.

The corporal smirked. "Well, sir, it seems like you've become quite the teen heartthrob over night. We confiscated these magazines from a group of crazed adolescent girls who tried to sneak over the gate early this morning."

"You're joking." Lelouch deadpanned as the grin fell off his face. He had _fan girls_ now? How much more bizarre could the world get? It was just because he was a son of the Emperor. He hadn't actually _done_ anything to warrant their appreciation. It just proved how brainless and fickle most girls were. He hoped the craze would die quickly.

"There's a car cutting its way through the crowd." One of the other officers said as he examined one of the security feeds.

"It's probably the tailor Edith scheduled for me." Lelouch sighed as he glanced at his watch. It was still quarter to nine, but the sooner he could get this over with, the better. He realized he was still carrying Gottwald's gun and lazily dropped it onto the desk.

"Uh. You carry a gun with you, your highness?" Seckel asked in confusion.

"I'm sure you'll hear all about it from the others." Lelouch explained ambiguously before leaving the gatehouse just as the car was admitted.

There was a roar of recognition from the reporters camped outside, along with the clatter of camera lenses being clicked shut in rapid succession. Lelouch glared at the reporters before turning his back to them and beginning to walk back to the house.

"Your highness, please get in. We'll drive you back up to the house." A man with a strangely pointy goatee said from the rolled down window of the car as it came alongside.

"You're the tailor?" Lelouch asked as he eyed the expensive looking silk suit the man was wearing.

"Yes, your highness. Angelo Debar at your service. Please, join me." The man insisted as he pushed open the door and moved over in the back seat.

"Sure." Lelouch sighed as he sat down in the car. It seemed a bit redundant considering he was only two hundred meters from the manor. But to refuse would have been rude, and there was no point offending the man that was going to be hovering around him with a handful of pins for the next several hours.

"You know, your highness, it's unusual for a prince to meet his guests at the gate." Debar said slyly.

"I was already at the gatehouse before you arrived. Checking up on my security team." Lelouch answered.

"No problems, I hope?"

Lelouch frowned as he eyed the man warily. It could have just been an innocent enquiry. But then again, he could be fishing for information for one of the reporters outside. It wouldn't be the first time a reporter had gotten a good story from buying it from an employee. All the same, it didn't really matter because he wouldn't ever discuss his household's problems with a stranger. Especially not security problems.

"Not at all. I was just getting acquainted with everyone." Lelouch answered calmly. "I only arrived yesterday morning."

"Yes, I heard that. Your secretary also informed me that you arrived without any luggage. I suppose that's why I'm here. I have to say, it's not often that I get to do a complete wardrobe." The man explained. "I'm very excited."

Lelouch only sighed. This was going to be a very long day.

* * *

"Sayoko?"

The silence was maddening in this place. The Ashford family's summer home was located in the wilderness next to a lake. It was supposed to be a beautiful natural retreat. But the beauty of the place's environment was wasted on Nunnally.

It was quiet here. That was the problem.

There wasn't the subtle background rumble of cars going by or the soft rush of muffled voices from across campus. Instead, there was a wind chime that would occasionally tinkle in the soft, fresh smelling breeze and the complete lack of all other noise.

Even Sayoko, whose footsteps had always sounded with a reassuring click-clack against the hardwood floors of their home in the clubhouse, were muffled in the thick, plush carpets of this place.

"Yes, Mistress Nunnally? Did you need me?" Sayoko asked quietly – even her voice sounded subdued here.

She hated it here.

"I . . . I was wondering if there's been any news of Lelouch? I want to know what's happening."

She could hear the sympathetic smile in her caretaker's voice when she answered. "There's been no news since the national address he made with Prince Clovis that we heard on the radio."

Nunnally frowned. "Oh."

"Don't you worry. I'm sure Master Lelouch is just busy establishing his story." Sayoko said reassuringly. "He'll be fine. Master Lelouch knows what he's doing."

"Yes. . . I know." Nunnally sighed.

She _did_ know. Lelouch had known exactly what he had chosen when he'd decided to send her away. He'd probably had the probability of his survival calculated down to three decimal points. Along with carefully considered estimates on just how long her survival would be able to remain hidden from their family.

And yet he'd still done it. He'd still sacrificed himself just to buy her a little more time, knowing full well that the reception he was likely to receive would be anything but pleasant. Lelouch understood that part better than anyone, as _he_ had been the one who had confronted the Emperor after their mother had been killed and she'd been crippled. It had been Lelouch who had stood before the entirety of the scornful Imperial court and demanded answers.

Yes, Lelouch knew full well that he was probably the least popular member of the royal family in the last several decades. He had always loathed the court. He'd called them a pit of vipers at times, or a den of hyenas. And he'd despised them all for following their father's Social Darwinist ideology.

And the reason that he hated that ideology was because of her. Really, no matter how she looked at it, Lelouch's current predicament was all her fault. If she hadn't been crippled, they might not have been banished in the first place. If she'd still been able to be useful. . . If she wasn't so weak. . . .

It was all because Lelouch was trying to protect her. Lelouch didn't believe in their father's strong-eat-the-weak ideals. Instead, her brother believed with all his heart that it was the duty of the strong to protect the weak. He was protecting her. He'd always been so strong and he'd always done his best to protect her.

_"I will protect you, Nunnally."_

A pledge as they sat together at their mother's funeral.

_ "Let me take care of you, sister."_

A request as they arrived at the Kururugi shrine for the first time and he'd seen all of the stairs.

_ "I won't let anyone ever hurt you."_

A promise as they traversed war torn Japan amidst a hail of gunfire and smoke.

_ "I can protect you better from far away right now."_

A heartbreaking admission as he sent her away and prepared to sacrifice himself for her.

He'd always been like this. He would do whatever it took to make sure she was safe. Which was why, no matter how much she hated this place with it's uncanny silence and strange smells, she wouldn't complain. Because Lelouch was being strong for her and the least she could do was be strong for him.

It was also why she would do as he had asked her and remain in hiding – despite the part of her that desperately wanted to announce her survival so that she could be with him again.

* * *

Lelouch frowned as he examined the board in front of him, one finger poised on the head of his Rook. He had hoped that he'd gotten better over the years; hoped that he would finally be able to surpass his mentor. But Schneizel was still soundly beating him. Grimacing, he used the Rook to take out an idle pawn. It was a weak move.

"So, what are you going to do?" Schneizel asked, causing Lelouch to glance up in surprise. They never had casual conversation during their matches. Instead, they saved it until after a victor had been decided, choosing to focus all of their attention on the game. It was Schneizel's preference, and how he'd been taught.

"I'm not sure what you mean. I just finished my turn. . ." Lelouch said.

"I wasn't talking about the game. "Schneizel replied, "But if you'd rather adhere to tradition and wait until the game is over . . ." He jumped his Knight over Lelouch's defending Bishop to trap his King which had been backed into a corner of the board. "Checkmate."

Lelouch glowered at the board for a moment before sighing and leaning back in his chair. It seemed Schneizel was unbeatable.

"What are you going to do?" Schneizel repeated as he began setting up the board again into pristine condition.

"Well, what can I do? I'll just have to wait and see what _he_ has planned for me." Lelouch answered as he began restoring his pieces as well.

"So you're resigned to whatever fate he has in store for you? That's not like you, Lelouch."

Lelouch snorted. "I wouldn't say that I'm resigned to it, but I'm not too stupid to know that I'm walking on thin ice here. One mistake and it could be over for me. I've already gotten away with far more than most people would ever be able to."

"Yes. . . I wonder why that is. I was worried you were going to be executed. I thought he'd view your refusal to return to the family after the invasion of Area Eleven as betrayal." Schneizel mused.

"He obviously has some use for me." Lelouch muttered bitterly. "I can assure you it's not out of fatherly affection."

Schneizel chuckled softly before taking a sip of his scotch. "Would you like to play again?"

"Are you that hungry for another victory, Schneizel?" Lelouch asked with a wry grin.

"I'm always hungry for victory, brother." Schneizel replied as he moved his first piece forward.

Lelouch snorted but acquiesced by moving his own piece. It took less than ten minutes for Schneizel to get the upper hand. Again. He just couldn't get his head around the way Schneizel thought. He understood some of his brother's moves, but others seemed meaningless. It was like he was playing two different games with the same pieces. There was always more going on than was immediately apparent. Schneizel was a master at moving a piece to a certain part of the board and apparently forgetting about it until several turns later when he sprung an elaborate trap.

Schneizel smiled as he took Lelouch's Queen with his Bishop, putting his King in Check. It was always like this with Schneizel. He was left simply to react to Schneizel's moves. All of his plans and ploys were anticipated.

"You know," Schneizel said slowly as Lelouch prepared to sacrifice a Knight to protect his King, "There are rumours cropping up that Nunnally is alive in Area Eleven."

Lelouch's heart leaped into his throat as his fingers clenched around the marble playing piece. "Is that so?" He asked with forced nonchalance as he finished his move.

"Mm, apparently people are saying that she's been attending Ashford Academy. Isn't that the same school you were going to?" Schneizel continued.

"How coincidental." Lelouch replied dryly. "You would think I would have recognized her."

"It wouldn't happen to be true, would it?"

Lelouch paused.

_"I would have helped you, if you had come to me."_

Schneizel was supposed to be his ally. But he was still a prince of the Britannian Empire. And worse, he was smart. Lelouch couldn't out think him and so that made him very dangerous. He simply couldn't risk trusting Schneizel. At least not yet, not until he could be sure what his brother was planning.

"Nunnally's dead." He said firmly. "Those rumours are most likely objectless gossip based around the fact that I attended that school."

"I see. Well, I suppressed them anyway." Schneizel said as he surprised Lelouch by showing mercy and not killing his Knight. Instead, he made what appeared to be an inconsequential move of a pawn.

* * *

AN: Thanks so much for reading and all of your kind reviews. I had someone ask how old Lelouch is in this fic, and the answer is that he's 17.

* * *

Beta'd/Revised: March 1, 2012


	6. Chapter 6: Subterfuge

Chapter 6: Subterfuge

"Jeez, you guys!" Rivalz exclaimed. "Leave Milly alone, why don't you? You know that it's not true."

Rivalz had taken Lelouch's instructions to heart and was taking his job of protecting the others very seriously. Especially considering Milly couldn't go anywhere on campus by herself at the moment without being attacked by Lelouch's fan girls. She'd already been slapped (multiple times), had her hair pulled, had her dorm vandalized, and had been called almost every foul name human language was capable of creating. Even one of her teachers had jumped on the bandwagon if the F she'd received on her last math assignment was any indication. Even if the answers were correct, the teacher refused to acknowledge it.

"Thanks, Rivalz." Milly said weakly as the Student Council Treasurer rebuffed a pair of angry freshmen.

"I can't believe they're getting so worked up over something so stupid. I mean . . . you and Lelouch would never have dated . . . right?" Rivalz asked a little uncertainly.

Milly scoffed in response. "Yeah right. Lelouch is more like a brother to me than anything else. The poor guy. I wonder how he's coping with all this. I mean, it's bad enough that he's trapped in Pendragon with his family again, but now he's got to deal with all of these rumours too. I hope he's not mad at me."

Rivalz shrugged, reassured by her answer, "Nah, he can't be mad at you. He knew this was going to happen. Remember the letter? Maybe we should start thinking about his advice and come up with a festival to distract them. At the very least, it might be able to calm down this angry horde of girls so that you can go out on your own again without being attacked."

"Awe, Rivalz, are you tired of my company already?" Milly asked with mock hurt.

"What?" Rivalz exclaimed, "No! No, not at all. I like spending time with you." He flushed bright crimson at his slip up. "I mean -"

He stopped when Milly began laughing. Laughing at him. God, he was such a fool around her. Sometimes he wished he had Lelouch's smooth confidence. Though now that he knew it came from the fact that Lelouch was a royal prince, it wasn't as hard to explain.

"You're a good friend, Rivalz. Thank you for doing this for me." She said as she lightly punched his arm.

A friend. Yes, always just a friend.

"Don't mention it." He replied despondently.

* * *

Jeremiah Gottwald sat slumped against the desk in his study as he contemplated everything the young vi Britannia prince had said to him. The window coverings were drawn closed, the air was stale and there was an opened bottle of expensive single malt whiskey on the desk next to him.

In one fell swoop, his prince had destroyed any hope he'd had of redeeming himself. He wasn't forgiven for his failures. Nor had he been given the chance to make up for them, either with his life or through service.

Even worse, the teen had implied that his life was in danger. If Prince Lelouch died, it would be another irremovable stain on his conscience. He should have stayed. He should have forced the prince to see reason and accept his service. He would gladly have died to keep Lady Marianne's son safe. He should have refused to leave until the boy had agreed.

And yet . . . the prince wasn't really a boy anymore. And he certainly wasn't a boy who could be swayed. He was a young man who understood how the world worked. No doubt he understood the world of the Imperial court far better than Jeremiah did.

Still, he should have tried harder to convince the prince. Except . . . except there had been a terrifying finality to the prince's dismissal. Lelouch had told him to go and he had gone. There was an aura of authority there that demanded obedience. So he had gone running back to Area Eleven like a whipped puppy with his tail between his legs.

There was a knock at the door to his office, pulling him out of his dismal thoughts. Straightening in his chair, he bade the visitor to enter.

It was Villetta.

"I didn't expect you back so soon, Jeremiah." She said as she strode confidently into his study.

"How did you know I was back?" He asked sullenly. He wasn't sure if he wanted to deal with company at the moment.

"You let Prince Clovis know you were back in the country. I'm friends with one of the women in his employ. It wasn't a strictly confidential matter, so there was no problem in her telling me you were back." She explained nonchalantly. "How did it go? He wouldn't see you?" She guessed as she eyed the open bottle of liquor on his desk disdainfully.

Of all of the Purists, Villetta was the only one who knew of his deep seated remorse over his failure to protect Empress Marianne and her children. She was the one who had found him drinking himself into oblivion on the first anniversary of Lady Marianne's death and had stayed until she'd weaselled an answer out of him. Despite their differing ideals on the propriety of Lady Marianne's marriage to the Emperor, Villetta had never betrayed his secret to the other members of the Purist faction.

"He saw me." Jeremiah answered bitterly as he slumped back in his chair and reached for another drink. It was only Villetta. There was no need to keep up appearances. She'd seen him far worse.

"And?" She enquired.

"And he told me quite plainly that there was no way I could ever redeem myself in his eyes. That he didn't forgive me. And that he wouldn't let me make it up to him." Jeremiah sighed before downing another gulp of the amber liquid.

Villetta pressed her lips into a thin, disapproving line as she took in the state of her commanding officer. "Permission to speak freely, as a friend." She requested.

Jeremiah waved his hand in her direction lazily. She wasn't exactly sure if it was an approval, but she took it as such and snatched the tumbler out of his hand and set it out of reach.

"Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald," She said as she pushed him back into his seat as he attempted to rise and retrieve his drink. "You are an excellent soldier and a damned fine commander. If the royal brat can't see that, then it's his loss."

"Don't," Jeremiah snarled as his hand clamped painfully around her wrist, "insult my prince, Villetta."

"Prince Clovis is your prince, Lord Jeremiah. And don't forget that." Villetta retorted scathingly. "You've sworn an oath of fealty to Clovis."

Jeremiah scowled in response. "Why are you here?"

There was a long moment of silence as Villetta very deliberately pried his fingers off of her wrist. "I'm here to give you a warning, Jeremiah." She said as she stepped back and out of reach.

"Are you threatening me, Villetta?" He demanded.

"Not at all." She replied calmly, "But the others are confused by your latest vacation to go visit vi Britannia. They've called your loyalty into question. You need to watch your back. And sitting in here moping because Prince Lelouch shot you down isn't going to convince them of your fidelity to the Purists. You're going to have to prove yourself."

Jeremiah scowled at his subordinate as the gravity of the situation worked wonders to sober him up. They were plotting against him, were they? The only reason he'd ever been able to attain such a high rank within the Purist faction was because they had been one-hundred percent assured of his loyalty to the purist ideology. If his loyalty suddenly came under fire, he could lose everything. Not only his position and authority, but also his life. They wouldn't tolerate a traitor.

"_Sometimes survival has to come before our own ideals."_

That was what his prince had said to him.

Survival was most important. Then, he would do what was needed to survive.

"Thank you, Villetta. And I apologize for my unseemly behaviour." He said as he straightened his posture and ran his fingers through his hair to make sure it wasn't too out of place.

She smiled slightly. "It's fine. Just keep an eye on Kewell. He's been making the most noise. Probably just blowing smoke, but you never know."

* * *

Lelouch lounged idly on the patio at the Aeries Villa, a chess piece twirling lazily between his forefinger and thumb as he stared out at the gardens and contemplated his next move. Schneizel had him. Not only that, but Schneizel knew he had him. Even if it was only a bluff – even if Schneizel didn't actually know where Nunnally was being hidden – his brother knew enough to have Lelouch dancing in the palm of his hand. Or had it been a genuine act of good will from Schneizel?

He had hoped Nunnally would be able to remain hidden for at least a few weeks, not a few days. He would have to have her moved soon. But where? And more importantly, how? He couldn't simply move her to another of his friend's vacation homes. That move was too predictable. But nor could he simply commandeer a house for her. That would cause too much of a commotion.

Ideally, what he needed was an agent who would buy a new residence for Nunnally for him. But he needed someone he could trust. He had checked Edith's bank accounts for any unusual incomes, but had come up lacking. He'd even checked bank accounts that might be kept under her mother's maiden name, the maiden name of her father's mother and the married name of her sister. There was nothing. All the evidence indicated that Edith could be trusted.

But still, it was Nunnally he was talking about. He refused to be careless when it came down to her safety. And he wouldn't be quick to trust anyone from Pendragon with her safety. So that left . . . someone he knew he could trust. Someone he knew wouldn't sell Nunnally out to the royal family. Someone from Area Eleven.

He frowned as he considered his options. Contacting someone from Area Eleven secretly opened up a whole new can of worms. He obviously couldn't just phone them. He was reasonably certain that some enterprising reporter or spy had the phone lines tapped by now. Even if he could just phone them, he'd have to have an excuse for sending them the money to buy the house.

It seemed like the trust fund his mother had left to him and Nunnally after her death hadn't been touched since before their disappearance and had accrued a rather hefty amount of interest over the last seven years, in addition to the already substantial sum that had been left to them. He certainly wasn't hurting for cash; it was just getting that money to Nunnally that was the problem.

He had to have an excuse for sending his as-yet-undecided agent the funds to buy a house. He would also have to brief his agent on how to hide the purchase or what kind of cover to establish for the place. It was giving him a headache just thinking about it.

Damn Schneizel to the deepest pits of Hell.

Even if, on the off chance, Schneizel was being sincere and genuinely did want to help him, he should have known better than to go about it that way. He should have known the way Lelouch would see it. Lelouch was, by no means, dumb and understood this game of favours and debts very well.

Lelouch was now in debt to Schneizel. He owed his brother one for keeping Nunnally's existence secret. He fully intended to pay off that debt at the first possible chance. He would not allow his brother to hold it over his head for long.

Scowling, Lelouch set the chess piece down and glanced at Edith. She was standing, unobtrusively a few feet away as she scanned through her PDA. She was far enough away to give Lelouch the illusion of privacy, but still close enough to be available if he needed her.

"Do you play chess, Edith?" He asked as he pushed his recently abandoned piece into the proper position.

"Chess, sir?" Edith questioned. "No, I don't."

Sighing, Lelouch leaned back in his chair and stared up at the fluffy, white clouds for a few minutes. It figured that she didn't know how to play. It was like Pendragon was specifically designed to wear on his nerves. From the haughty nobles right down to the infatuated fan girls. He'd had to have two more of them arrested the previous night when they'd tried to invade his car after returning from Schneizel's.

And now his main aide didn't play chess. It was like hiring a tour guide that didn't speak the same language.

"Would you like to learn?" He asked eventually as he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Would I like to learn . . . how to play chess?" She asked hesitantly.

"I'll teach you." He offered. The last person he'd attempted to teach chess to had been Shirley. She, quite simply, hadn't gotten the grasp of it. She didn't think like a tactician, so her moves were all inherently transparent.

In all honesty, he didn't expect Edith to be any better. But he was stuck here in Pendragon and he hadn't been given anything to do. The Emperor was still deciding his fate, it seemed. Back home, he would have challenged someone to a chess match to alleviate his boredom, so he would do the same in Pendragon.

"Um . . . shouldn't I be working though, sir?" She asked as she gestured to the PDA in her hand.

"I _am_ your boss, aren't I?"

"Yes, sir."

"So, if I say chess is more important than checking my messages and sending refusals to all the people who want to interview me . . . ?" He left the question hanging.

She smiled slightly and set the PDA down before sitting across from him at the chess board. "I won't be any good at this, Master Lelouch. But I am willing to learn."

"That's all I'm asking for." Lelouch said before he launched into an explanation of just how each of the pieces moved and the rules of the game. Really, teaching Edith how to play chess was an investment for the future. He was sure there were going to be more days like this when his mind was restless and there wasn't anything else to keep it focused.

It took three 'practice matches' for Edith to fully understand the concept of the game. The first round, he'd had her in check mate in four turns. He was pleasantly surprised when he discovered that Edith actually possessed a mind analytical enough to see through some of his tactics. She was, by no means, an even match for him, but she was learning. With enough time and practice she may even have been able to become a decent chess player.

They played until almost dinner time when Edith insisted that she had to get some work done. He let her go, content with the reprieve the impromptu chess workshop had given him from his worries, before turning his mind back to the problem of the agent, how to contact it and how to fund it.

It was eleven thirty-nine when the answer finally came to him. The plan was, if not perfect, then workable. He'd figured it all out. Who to call, how to call them, and how to get the money to them. But first he had to test it. He wasn't going to take chances with Nunnally.

He hurried down the corridor towards the employee's quarters and found himself pounding on Edith's door at quarter to midnight. It opened almost before he'd taken his fist away to reveal his secretary/assistant/butler in a pair of silk pyjamas with wet hair hanging around her shoulders.

"Master Lelouch?" She asked, startled, as she reached for her dressing gown and pulled it around her. "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

"Edith." He greeted as he stepped into her room and closed the door firmly behind him. He wasn't going to risk eavesdroppers. "I have a somewhat delicate matter that I'd like you to attend to. Tonight, if it's not too much trouble."

To his surprise, she blushed about three different shades of red and took a few quick, short steps back from him. "Uh," She said awkwardly, "I'm really very flattered, your highness, but I take my job very seriously. Something like this would be inappropriate."

"I haven't even told you what I want you to do." Lelouch said confusedly.

"I'm not a fool, your highness." She said, glancing between the bed and where his hand was resting on the doorknob, inches away from the lock.

Lelouch followed her gaze and glanced around the room for a moment before realization hit him. "I wasn't trying to – to proposition you!" He exclaimed as he was sure his face flushed to match hers. He didn't even really think of her as a woman. In fact, he hardly thought of her as a person. Which was deplorable, he realized. So he took a moment to actually examine the person in front of him.

She was pretty, he supposed, in a no-nonsense business kind of way. She was older than him, probably in her mid-twenties. Her chestnut hair fell to her shoulders, though it was usually kept in a strict bun at the base of her neck. Her eyes were hazel. Her nose was straight and her lips were pressed into a thin line. But no matter what she looked like, she was still his employee and he would never cross the employer-employee line.

"You weren't?" She asked, mortified.

"No! Of course not. You work for me, Edith. You're not a . . . ugh, let's just drop this." Lelouch flustered.

"God, I'm so embarrassed. I thought. . . after the chess . . . and then you showed up here in the middle of the night. You probably think I'm some kind of pervert." She rambled.

"Enough, Edith. Drop it. Just forget about it and I will too. I have business to discuss with you. I closed the door to keep out eavesdroppers."

"Oh. I see. What did you need me to do?" She asked, recovering her all-business aura.

"I want you to go out into town. Probably to one of the nightlife areas and make sure you're not followed by a reporter. When you get there, I want you to approach the first person you see wearing a hat that you're absolutely positive isn't a reporter, a member of the imperial guard, or an agent for someone at court. When you've found your person, you'll give them this," Lelouch said, holding up a one thousand pound note, "in exchange for their cellphone. Make sure you tell them not to cancel their service for at least a month. Once you've got their cellphone, I want you to bring it straight to me. And I don't want you to tell anyone what you're doing or who you're doing it for. Understand?"

Edith frowned. "If you need a cellphone, I can lend you one." She said, pointing to the place on her desk where her cellphone sat next to her PDA.

"That won't work. I need it done like this." He responded. If she refused to comply he wasn't exactly sure what he'd do. Well, he knew he'd have to fire her, but he wasn't sure who else he could trust in his household. He'd already found two employees – both maids – that had accepted bribes from the press. It was a test of her loyalty as well as a test of the logistics of his plan to relocate Nunnally.

Running her hand through her damp hair, Edith sighed. "Alright, I'll head out as soon as I'm dressed. I wouldn't expect me back for at least an hour though."

Lelouch smirked. "That's fine. Knock on my door when you get back."

It took her almost three and a half hours to get back with the phone, by which point in time, Lelouch was lightly dozing on top of the covers on his bed. He startled awake when she knocked on his door and stumbled sleepily over to answer it. He was surprised when he saw her dressed in casual clothes instead of her usual uniform. Apparently she'd taken her mission very seriously and had thought more about how she was going to explain her little midnight excursion more than he had.

He gestured for her to enter the room, which she did after a moment of hesitation.

"Any problems?" He asked.

"Not really," She answered as she pulled a nondescript white and red cellphone out of her purse. "I'm pretty sure I was tailed by a reporter for the first little while, but I know that I lost him after I entered a bar. Apparently he didn't want to look too hard into what a maid from the Aeries Villa was having after a long day of work. The girl I got the phone from was the first person I saw with a hat after I was sure the reporter was gone. She was young, probably only a year or two older than you, cutesy and very inebriated. Definitely not press or spy material."

Lelouch grinned. "Excellent. Could you call the number please?"

Edith paused and stared at the phone in his hand for a second. "I didn't check what the number was. I'm sorry. I wasn't aware that I was supposed to."

If possible, Lelouch's grin got a little wider. If she was telling the truth and hadn't checked the number, it was another point in her favour.

"You weren't. It was a test and you passed." He explained as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of bills. He thought it was about five grand, but he didn't really count. "Buy something nice for yourself. And keep this to yourself. I don't want you to mention this phone to anyone, understood?"

"Yes, sir." She said as she eyed the hush money in surprise. "I'll be headed to bed now, if you don't need anything else."

"I've got everything I need, thank you. Good night, Edith. Feel free to take the morning off."

"I'll do that."

He waited until he was sure she was gone, checked both ways down the corridor after a minute then locked his door. He stared at the cellphone for a moment. It had to be the most expensive cellphone in the history of the world, but it was worth every penny. It was completely untraceable. No one knew he had this phone except Edith. Even the girl she'd gotten it from wouldn't know that Edith worked for him. As long as Edith hadn't lied and leaked the number to anyone, it was perfect for him.

Flopping himself down on his bed, he flipped the phone open and dialled. For this test, he would take advantage of the circus the media had already created. If even more rumours began to spread about his relationship with Milly, he'd know that Edith had lied and the phone was bugged.

It rang twice before she answered.

"Hello? Who is this? How did you get this number?" Milly asked on the other end of the line. It had only been three days, but Lelouch suddenly realized just how much he had missed hearing her voice.

"Milly? It's Lelouch."

There was a deep inhale of breath on the other end of the line, but no response. For a few long minutes, all he heard was the sound of her breathing and the busy campus around her. Even that eventually fell silent until it was broken by the sound of a door closing.

"Are you okay?" She asked quietly after finding somewhere private to speak.

"More or less." Lelouch replied. "It seems he's decided to try to make me useful, though he has yet to divulge just what purpose I'll be serving."

"Well, I guess that's the better of the two options."

Lelouch chuckled. "Quite. How are things on your end?"

"A complete mess. I can't go anywhere without Rivalz escorting me. Your admirers pack some pretty hard punches." Milly complained.

"What do you mean?" Lelouch asked sharply. "You're being attacked?"

"Eh . . ." Milly hesitated, "I'm not sure if you've seen the news there, or if the magazine even circulates in Pendragon, but some reporter wrote a gossip rag about us."

"The one about our supposed engagement in return for letting me stay with you?" He asked. It was the only one of the many articles he'd actually read – and only because the author had dragged Milly into it.

"Yeah. That one. Well it seems like some of your crushes took it to heart and they've not been the kindest to me since."

"Are you in danger? Do you want me to send someone to guard you? I know I've robbed you of Sayoko but I could find you someone to replace her." Lelouch questioned. He never wanted his friends to pay for his mistakes. Especially not Milly.

And yet, he was using her as a guinea pig for this experiment of his. If he was betrayed and news of this phone call got out, Milly's life would get even worse. He felt a little stab of guilt at the thought. Was the effect of the royal court this potent? He'd only been in Pendragon three days and already he was using people like tools. First Edith, now Milly.

"No, I'm fine. I've got Rivalz. And Shirley and Nina stick close to me when Rivalz can't be there. It's not like my assailants are particularly dangerous. They're just jealous school girls. I'm sure you've seen them in Pendragon. Did you know that last night here in Area Eleven, you were voted both sexiest man and most eligible bachelor by one of the talk shows?"

"Please tell me that was a really bad joke, Madame President." He groaned.

Milly laughed. "Nope. Why else do you think your fan girls are so rabid? Has the craze hit over there yet?"

"Yeah. Apparently some girls tried to scale the gate the other night. And a pair of girls tried to get into my car last night when we paused at the gate. I had to have them arrested to get them to leave." Lelouch sighed.

"Talk about crazy, huh? But really, how are you? You didn't really say. Are you scorned by everyone? You need to start making some allies if you're going to make it over there. And you should really tell the press some excuse for why you stayed in Area Eleven for so long. So far the only excuse that's been leaked to the press is the one of our supposed engagement. If you don't set them straight they're going to come up with crazier and crazier stories."

"I don't care what they think." Lelouch said petulantly. "As for the rest, I really am fine. I'm staying in the Aeries Villa, which is kind of depressing but I'm learning to live with it. As for being scorned by everyone, the answer is pretty much yes. Euphemia doesn't care of course, but she hasn't even debuted yet so she's not exactly a lot of help on the political front. And Schneizel is . . ." He sighed. "I don't know about Schneizel yet. He wants to be allies, I think, simply because he knows I'd be a dangerous enemy. But he's also after something from me. I haven't quite figured him out. But I'm working on it. The others have taken to avoiding me. I think they don't want to be caught in the crossfire if something happens to me."

"I see." Milly answered. "Lelouch, is this phone line safe, do you think?"

"No." He said quickly. He definitely didn't want her talking about Nunnally until he was one hundred percent certain that the calls weren't being intercepted.

"Okay. Was there something you needed from me?"

He paused for a moment, considering a valid excuse but coming up with nothing. "I just . . . missed hearing from you, is all. It's hard being here without any friendly faces. Is Rivalz with you now?"

"No. I kind of abandoned him when you called. We were just headed to the cafeteria." She explained.

"Oh. Okay. Tell the others I said hi, okay? And make sure you let them know I'm okay. But when you tell them, please make sure no one else is listening. I don't want anyone to know that I'm calling you. It might . . . not go over well."

"Got it. I'll let them know. Now, Lelouch, if my calculations are correct, it's the middle of the night in Pendragon. You should really be sleeping." She scolded halfheartedly.

Lelouch smiled. "I'll go to sleep right now. Goodnight, Milly. It was good to hear your voice."

"Same goes for you, Lelouch. I've missed you. You take care of yourself over there. And sleep well."

Lelouch hung up the phone and smiled slightly. Yes, he'd used Milly, but he'd meant every word he'd said about it being good to hear her voice. It was that little bit of familiarity he'd been lacking. He fell asleep moments later with the cellphone on his chest.

* * *

Revised/Beta'd: March 1, 2012


	7. Chapter 7: Morituri te Salutant

Chapter 7: Morituri te Salutant

Lelouch fingered the ruffled collar of his suit for the evening uncomfortably. It seemed like everything the tailor had made for him as far as formal wear was concerned had been created with discomfort in mind. The lace was scratchy and irritating, making it virtually impossible to forget about. What he wouldn't do for his old Ashford Academy uniform.

He was in the car on the way to his welcome ball and trying to think of any plausible excuse for backing out at the last minute. Schneizel had said it was mandatory, but . . . He was of half a mind to order the chauffeur to crash the car. Possibly with some non-life threatening injuries included.

Except that seemed ultimately wasteful and the possibility of injuring the driver was present. That was an unacceptable risk. Like it or not, it seemed he would have to attend. He would have to make an appearance, smile facetiously at all the two-faced nobles and royals and tell them just how _pleased_ he was to have returned to the center of all civilization.

He hated these kinds of things. God, he wished Milly were there. Or really any of the Student Council members. _Real_ people. People who understood the world for how it was as opposed to how some censored adviser halfheartedly informed them it was.

But no one would tell Lord and Lady Whats-their-name that in the places that Britannia had conquered, there were still communities that were trying to re-establish electricity and running water, let alone luxuries like useable roads and hospitals. No one was going to tell them that there were people starving – not because they couldn't or wouldn't work, but rather because their employers sometimes refused to pay them based on their ethnicity. No one was going to tell the wife of General Something-or-other that one of the reasons people like the terrorists in Area Eleven were rebelling was because they were being denied their basic human rights.

Of course not. These people didn't want to know that. Communities without roads and hospitals were simply derelict ruins inhabited by a couple of die-hard radicals. People who were starving were lazy. Terrorists and anyone else who rebelled against Britannian rule were all stupid, ungrateful miscreants who just didn't understand that they were being offered the chance at a better life. Anyone who said differently was a terrorist sympathizer.

Sighing, he tugged on the lace that was suffocating him again before firmly setting his hands on the seat next to him to keep himself from fidgeting. This was going to be a very, very long night.

"Master Lelouch, Prince Schneizel's assistant just called wondering where you are." The driver said through the intercom.

"Tell him it's called being fashionably late and that I'll get there when I get there." Lelouch huffed in agitation. They were only minutes away from the Imperial Palace and he was only an hour late. He'd managed to drag his heels at the villa until Edith had had to practically force him into his suit. He was beginning to like Edith. If it turned out that she could be trusted, there was a possibility that they could even be friends.

"Yes, sir."

Lelouch tapped his fingers in an impatient staccato against the seat until the palace came into view. His fingers froze in mid-motion as he stared at the mob lining either side of the sidewalk up to the palace's entrance.

Reporters.

"Unbelievable." He groaned before forcing his face into an expressionless mask. He couldn't believe Schneizel had actually allowed them onto the property.

The chauffeur parked the car and got out, ready to open the door at Lelouch's signal. Taking one last deep breath and allowing himself one more mental complaint about how utterly ludicrous the world had suddenly become, he forced all emotion and weakness from his countenance.

No matter how fancy the participants were dressed up, this ball was a battle ground. He was like a gladiator being thrown into a pit of lions. Any one of the people inside would gladly take a swipe at him and, like any predator, they would smell his fear if he let it rule him.

Releasing his breath slowly, he tapped on the window and the door opened to a flurry of shouted questions and the clicking of camera shutters. He curved his lips into something like a pleased smirk as he started down the gauntlet towards the door.

"Your highness, do you have any comment on where you've been since the invasion of Area Eleven?"

"Prince Lelouch, there are rumours about a secret engagement to Milly Ashford. Do you have anything to say about that?"

"We'd just like to welcome you back to the country, your highness. Is there anything you'd like to say to the people of Britannia?"

"Your fans want to know, is there anyone special in your life right now, your highness?"

It was fifty feet from the car to the door. After about twenty, he almost wanted to turn around and flee the scene. How was it that these people could be so demanding and yet so petty at the same time?

Did he have anything to say to them? No. Of course not. If he'd ever planned on talking to the press, he would have contacted them. He wasn't about to pause on his way through the gauntlet to his welcoming ball to expound on his personal history with a faceless mob of reporters.

Ignoring them, he proceeded towards the door to the palace, making sure to keep his pace steady and relaxed. He would be damned if he let _reporters_ make him uncomfortable. This was only the first test. What was inside was infinitely worse. Nobles.

"Prince Lelouch vi Britannia. Eleventh prince of the Holy Britannian Empire." The doorman announced after he'd finally made it through the mob of reporters, into the palace and to the doors of the ballroom.

He entered to a hall of complete and utter silence. It wasn't the customary momentary pause of silence that greeted everyone when they entered the room. It was the long, awkward, drawn-out kind of silence. As though they were waiting for something to explode.

He smirked and took a step into the room, breaking the silent spell. Instead, the ballroom was filled with the soft buzzing of whispered gossip told with backs turned or behind the cover of a hand as the waltz started back up again.

He had barely gone ten paces into the room when he was accosted by Schneizel. "Lelouch, glad to see you've finally arrived at _your_ welcoming ball." He chided. "There are some people I'd like you to meet."

Lelouch allowed himself to be dragged away by his brother. He was probably one of the only semi-friendly faces in the room. Schneizel led him to an expensively dressed middle-aged couple. Lelouch was reasonably certain that just the jewelry the woman was wearing cost enough to sustain an average family of four for a year.

"This is Earl Andreas Galveston and his lovely wife Claire. The Earl heads up the old Special Dispatch Guidance System Division." Schneizel introduced. "Both the Lord and Lady have an avid interest in ancient Japanese culture."

The Special Dispatch Guidance System Division. The people who had militarized the Knightmare frame and made it possible for Britannia to utterly annihilate Japan. And they both had an interest in ancient Japanese culture. How quaint. Maybe, if they hadn't invented giant massacring robots, Japan would still have had some culture left to admire.

"A pleasure to meet you." Lelouch said politely as he bit his tongue. Oh, how he would love to tear into these idiots and tell them exactly what their invention had done to Japan.

"Oh, the pleasure's all ours, your highness." Lady Galveston demurred.

"Yes, it's a real pleasure, my boy." The Earl said confidently as he shook Lelouch's hand. "Schneizel here told us that you spent several months in old Japan before the invasion. What was that like?"

"Yes, the country was very beautiful." _Before Britannia flattened it_. "The place where I stayed was very traditional and followed a strict code of discipline."

"Why, they wouldn't dare try to discipline a prince of Britannia, would they?" Lady Galveston asked, scandalized.

"Of course not." Lelouch lied through his teeth. He couldn't remember how many times he'd been shouted at or cuffed upside the head for wearing shoes in the dojo or running where he shouldn't or for speaking too loudly in a sacred place. The Kururugis certainly hadn't been afraid of disciplining him.

He exchanged small talk with the couple for a few more minutes before Schneizel shuffled him over to Marquis Irwin Fairbanks, who owned almost every bank in mainland Britannia. From there he became acquainted with Colonel Peterson, a brilliant tactician that seemed to be wrapped around Schneizel's finger. Apparently, he was being considered for a promotion.

Then onwards to a couple who owned a major manufacturing company in the south that was expanding into the Areas. After them came a dowager with a sweet spot for Schneizel, who also just so happened to own almost half of the shares in a multinational munitions company. Then a Duke who owned a large media company that spanned the entire globe. Then a big shot CEO of a medical science company. Then onto another and another, all mixed between a smattering of short, apathetic speeches and toasts in his honor. It got to the point where Lelouch just gave up on trying to keep them all straight. Schneizel was sheltering him – taking him to people who would be receptive of him and shielding him from those who would be hostile. Even so, he didn't think he'd be going out of his way to facilitate communications with any of the people he'd been introduced to. They were all Britannian bigots with petty concerns and skewed perspectives on reality. His only consolation was that his father had chosen not to attend. He doubted he could deal with interacting with the Emperor on a social level.

These people . . . they were all powerful in their own different ways. They all had differing ideals and values, different areas of influence and favour, but if they could all be consolidated under the same authority, whoever was calling the shots would be almost unstoppable.

Schneizel.

All of these people were in Schneizel's pocket. But if he had so much power already, what did he need Lelouch for? It was obvious that Schneizel didn't really _need_ his help. There was nothing Lelouch could really offer him and he already had his finger in so many pies it made Lelouch's head hurt.

"Is something troubling you, Lelouch?" Schneizel asked politely as they excused themselves from conversation with the Viceroy of Area Two.

"Can we speak in private?" Lelouch asked as he glanced around the busy ballroom for eavesdroppers. It didn't benefit Lelouch anything if he didn't know where he stood with Schneizel. He needed to know just what his brother wanted out of him and the easiest way of doing that was to just ask him point blank. He was going to be painfully upfront and either Schneizel would lie, he would tell Lelouch the truth, or he would suddenly find Lelouch too suspicious for his liking and try to dispose of him. Either way, it would help him to understand the kind of opponent – or ally – his brother could be.

"Of course, Lelouch." Schneizel smiled before leading him out of the ballroom and into an empty den. "What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"I see what you're showing me here tonight, Schneizel. All of these people we've been talking to are your allies. What I don't see, is what you want me for. I have no standing or influence to speak of."

"_Our_ allies, Lelouch. These people are our allies." Schneizel corrected. "And I have enough influence and standing for the both of us."

"So why then?" Lelouch demanded.

"You are my brother. And we share a common opponent." Schneizel sighed.

"What did the Emperor ever do to you that was so bad? By all accounts you're actually his favorite."

"I don't feel he is fit to rule any longer. He has no interest in Britannia's _mundane_ affairs. The running of the Empire is a trifle which holds no interest to him."

"And for that you would destroy him?" Lelouch asked.

"Yes." Schneizel answered simply.

"So, because I am your brother and because we both hate our father, you want me as your ally?" Lelouch demanded. "I will not be a tool for you to use, Schneizel. It's bad enough I have to be used by the Emperor but I won't stand for it from you too." Maybe he was burning his bridges, but it was best to lay out their intentions and expectations on the table now as opposed to later.

"It seems you've misunderstood me. I don't want you as a tool, Lelouch. I want you as my partner. An equal." Schneizel said with a small smile. "After all, who else could possibly match me as well as you do? Odysseus is complacent. He is content to wait and believes he will inherit the throne when our father dies. Clovis doesn't have the gall to stand against the Emperor. Guinevere is a petty, shallow thing without the brains to lead. And Cornelia is little more than the Emperor's rabid dog. She'd never stand against him.

"But you, Lelouch, you are different. You've always been different. Even when you were a little boy. You're like me. You think like me, which is why I need you. I cannot be everywhere at once. As our plan progresses, I will need to have someone else I can trust to act accordingly. Someone who can analyze a situation and react appropriately without my constant instruction. Someone who can lead."

"I see." Lelouch said. "And what happens when we win and you take his place and suddenly I become the most dangerous person to you?"

Schneizel narrowed his eyes in anger for a second before smoothing back under his perfect facade. "You're my brother, Lelouch. If you're asking if I'd have you _removed_ you are very much mistaken when you think you know me. I would never do something like that to you. When we win, what would you want?"

Lelouch frowned for a moment, considering his demands. This would be the price of his cooperation. "A cease to the atrocities Britannian soldiers are allowed to commit, dismantling the Darwinistic foundation adopted by the government, better rights for the Numbers, abolition of the Area-Numbers system . . . and Japan." He had no desire to rule the world, but by taking away the freedom for cruelty the soldiers had, the ingrained system of oppression, and Britannia's Darwinist ideology, the Britannia he knew and hated would cease to exist.

"That's done easily enough." Schneizel smiled. "Nothing else?"

Lelouch shook his head. Schneizel was ambitious, and that was dangerous. He would have to keep a close eye on his brother from now on. And an even closer eye on his own back.

"You surprise me, Lelouch." Schneizel laughed. "I thought for sure you would have asked for half."

"And would you have given it to me?" Lelouch wondered.

"Yes. I was prepared to, in fact." Schneizel smiled.

"I guess you don't know me as -" He cut off as he heard the soft clack of footsteps coming up the hall. They paused outside the door and then the intruder knocked.

"Come." Schneizel ordered. A moment later the door opened to reveal Euphemia dressed in an elegant white and pink ball gown.

"There you are!" She exclaimed. "I've been looking all over for you, Lelouch. Don't you know you're not allowed to just disappear on your special night? You're the guest of honor! And you, Schneizel, you should know better than to keep him all to yourself." She said as she pointed her finger at him accusingly.

Schneizel smiled broadly, "I apologize, Euphy. Lelouch and I were just catching up."

"Yes, yes, we've all missed him. But that doesn't mean you get to hog all of his attention." She chided. "The girls in the ballroom are absolutely distraught about losing their Prince Charming. I wonder if you would dance with me, Lelouch?"

Lelouch hesitated. If he danced with Euphemia, he'd most likely end up having to dance with most of the women in attendance. The media had hyped him up into some kind of fairytale dream prince and if the women got their hands on him, his night would really go to hell.

"You do know how to dance, don't you, Lelouch?" Schneizel asked mischievously, "They taught you that at that school you went to, right?"

"Yes, of course I know how to dance." Lelouch sighed before holding out his hand to Euphemia and bowing slightly. "Shall we, then? Since the two of you both seem intent on destroying my good evening and making me dance, I might as well get it out of the way quickly."

Euphemia smiled brightly as she took his hand and he led her out of the room, but not before sending Schneizel a dirty look over his shoulder. Their appearance was met with a light smattering of applause before a classical waltz began to play and he began leading his sister through the steps.

"I wish Cornelia could be here. She's really missed you, you know. She wanted to stay longer, but Area Eighteen is too unstable right now for her to be away. She had to leave in secret so the resistance wouldn't take advantage of her absence." Euphemia explained.

"Is that where she went? Here I thought she was avoiding me." Lelouch said with a teasing smile. "I thought she still held a grudge from that time I cut a chunk out of her hair as a boy."

Euphemia laughed. "I'd forgotten about that. She was so angry afterward she wouldn't even look at you for months. Especially after mother made her cut her hair short so it didn't look as bad. You were such a troublemaker. I'm glad to see you've grown out of it."

Lelouch only smirked. Had he grown out of it? No, he'd just moved on to grander and more elaborate schemes than driving his siblings to frustration. Schemes like the destruction of his father's regime.

As expected, one dance turned into two and then three and so on and so forth. He would never again mistake the cunning of the female gender. During the next hour and a half, he never once asked a girl to dance, and yet he found himself with a new partner every song. It seemed the girls had suckered some of the other young men into their plot, who would interrupt and ask Lelouch's current partner to dance, effectively trading out the girls. He thought they might have had a scheduled rotation, but he wasn't sure.

It took two hours for Schneizel to come save him from their clutches, which earned him another dirty look. "About time that you cut in." Lelouch grumbled as he followed his brother out of the ballroom and into the garden. He hoped he'd be able to hide better in the dark garden than he would have been able to in the palace.

"You looked like you were so enjoying yourself though." Schneizel teased.

"Yes, well I'm not going to make it very far in Pendragon if I can't paste on a fake smile every now and then." He grumbled cynically.

"True." Schneizel acceded. "Did you like any of the girls?"

Lelouch didn't dignify the question with a response, instead resorting to snorting disdainfully.

"No? That's good. There's something I'd like you to do for us." Schneizel said. "Do you see that girl?" Schneizel asked, pointing back inside at a probably fifteen or sixteen year old girl in an emerald green gown who was chatting happily with a couple of her friends. "Her name is Elizabeth Cavell. She's the daughter of a prominent scientist who's researching military applications for nanotechnology."

"No." Lelouch said suddenly. "No, definitely not. I am not going to feign interest in a girl to garner support from her father."

"It's not _interest_, Lelouch. It's just a dance."

"If you want her danced with so badly, why don't you do it?" Lelouch asked petulantly as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well, for starters, I'm almost twice her age. Secondly, I'm technically engaged so it would be inappropriate."

"When did you get engaged?" Lelouch interrupted. This was the first he'd heard of it.

"Two years ago." Schneizel said, waving his hand as though the matter weren't important. "It was kept fairly low key and we've decided on a long engagement. . . a very long engagement . . . And thirdly, her father's not exactly fond of me."

"So why should I do this? If he doesn't like you, don't you think he'll see through this plan? You've been next to me most of the night."

"Lelouch, in order for our plan to proceed, we're going to need our own resources, support and research. We need to forge connections with people who aren't blindly loyal to the Emperor. Therefore, we have to schmooze every once in a while. Besides, just because he doesn't like me doesn't mean he'll snub another member of the royal family because of it." Well, he did have a point there. "Also, if you do this, I'll let you go home directly afterward, which is what I know you really want."

Lelouch laughed. "You're bribing me now, Schneizel?"

His brother shrugged with a smile. "Whatever works. The end justifies the means. Will you do this? For the sake of our mission?"

"Fine." Lelouch scowled before straightening his jacket and heading back inside. "But I'm going home right after." He called over his shoulder.

One dance and he would get to go home. It was a reasonable deal, even if Schneizel's methods were underhanded. It was good research. The more he interacted with his brother, the better he would get at understanding Schneizel's thought processes. So when the game cost him so little – a dance was a negligible price to pay – he would play and use the opportunity to gather data.

"Miss Cavell," He asked as he bowed politely, "may I have this dance?"

* * *

Revised/Beta'd: March 2, 2012

AN: The chapter's title translates to "Those who are about to die salute you" which is a bit melodramatic for the situation, but since I mentioned gladiators in the chapter I figured I'd go with a gladiator's saying. According to Seutonius, it was said by condemned prisoners to Emperor Claudius before a mock naval battle. Roman history is way too interesting.


	8. Chapter 8: The Point Of No Return

Chapter 8: The Point Of No Return

It was a week and a half later before Lelouch put his plan into action. A very long, boring week and a half full of chess games with Edith, meetings with Schneizel and his people, and religiously reading about himself in the tabloids. So far, stories explaining his disappearance ranged from a testimony from a video store clerk claiming to have kept him in his basement for the last seven years to an abduction by aliens. A week and a half should have been more than enough time for gossip about himself and Milly to come to light if the phone was bugged or the number was being traced. There was nothing, so he sent Edith to go get him a brand new laptop. One that had never actually been turned on, let alone used.

He then took the computer apart himself and checked it for any kind of bugs or recording devices. Call him paranoid, but he wasn't taking any chances with Nunnally. Only when he was absolutely certain there was nothing suspicious about the computer, did he put it back together, load more security programs than he could shake a stick at and get to work.

It took him several hours before he was ready; before it was time to call his soon-to-be agent. Frowning at the white and red cellphone, he dialed the number. It was imperative that his agent understood everything he needed done and was able to do it.

"Hello?" A voice answered on the other end of the line.

"Nina? It's Lelouch."

There was a gasp and an awkward moment of what sounded like something falling over and the shuffling of papers. It was the middle of the night in Area Eleven, yet it figured that she was still hard at work. "Lel – I mean, your highness."

"Lelouch is fine, Nina. We are friends, after all." He sighed. He'd been afraid of this – that things would be weird with his old friends after they found out who he was.

"Okay." She said meekly.

"I need a favour, Nina." Lelouch said with bated breath. If she refused him, he wasn't sure what he'd do. None of the others would be able to replace her. He had no viable way of getting the money to them that wouldn't look suspicious.

"What do you need?"

"I need you to buy a house. A place for my sister." He said. "It has to be somewhere she can access and somewhere that will be easily overlooked. Probably in a city or somewhere very remote."

"Huh. Lelouch . . . why are you asking me to do this? Why not do it yourself, or ask Milly or one of the others to do it?" She asked hesitantly.

"I can't do it. If I bought a house in Area Eleven it would look too suspicious. There are already rumours that she's alive and if anyone ever found out I bought a house in Area Eleven it would only add fuel to that fire." He explained. "I need someone else to do this for me, to buy a place for Nunnally in their name. I trust you, Nina. You're my friend and I trust that you would never betray Nunnally. Also, not as many people know we were friends, so you're less likely of coming under suspicion."

"But I'm only a student. I can't afford to buy a house." Nina reasoned quietly. "I can't just take the money from my parents. They'd ask too many questions. Maybe the Ashfords could -"

"Don't worry about that." Lelouch replied calmly. If that was the only problem Nina had with the plan, then he was in business. "I've arranged for you to receive a rather substantial research bursary. You should receive notice of it in a couple days. Make sure you find a good place for Nunnally and when you do, list it as a research facility on your budget. If anyone does look at your expenses, that should explain it. When you've found the place, hide the keys on the lot and call Sayoko to let her know where they are."

"You don't want me to contact you?" Nina asked.

"No. I'm trying to keep this line a secret. It would be unfortunate if it started ringing when someone was around." Lelouch explained. He'd already blocked all of the numbers the phone's former owner had saved in her contact list. "But I'll call you again when I have the chance."

"Okay."

"As soon as you can, Nina. I'm afraid her current location might have been compromised."

"Right. I'll start on it right away. Um . . . Lelouch?" Nina hesitated.

"Yeah?"

"You really are okay, right? Milly said not to worry, but it's been strange here without you. I've never seen Milly so downcast. She puts on a tough front, but I can tell she's really sad. Shirley keeps worrying that you think she was trying to manipulate you. And Rivalz is angry at himself for letting them take you."

Lelouch frowned. His friends shouldn't be suffering because of him. Because of his family. But the members of the Imperial family were masters at sowing seeds of discord, even with people they'd never met, it seemed.

"I really am fine." Lelouch assured her. "Tell Milly to cheer up, tell Shirley I know that she wasn't using me and tell Rivalz to just quit it because I'm the one who let myself get caught, not him."

"Alright. I'll let them know discreetly. I assume you don't want anyone to know that you're calling me."

"You would be correct in assuming that." Lelouch replied. Not that he'd been worried about her gossiping about the call in the first place. Nina didn't like being the center of attention so she certainly wouldn't want to draw the unhealthy attention of his amorous fan girls to her. ". . . Thank you, Nina. You're the only one I could get the money to secretly. I'm trusting you with the most important thing in my life."

"I know." Nina said shyly. "You don't have to worry. I'll get it done quickly. We all know how important Nunnally is to you."

Lelouch breathed a sigh of relief. Nina was probably the most reliable person he knew. If she said she'd get it done, she'd get it done. She had an almost obsessive personality sometimes. He'd be almost willing to bet that she'd temporarily abandon her research in order to quickly finish this new assignment.

"Thanks. The bursary should be more than you need for a house, so feel free to keep the rest to use for your research." Lelouch said, "And if anyone ever catches on to the fact that the selection was tampered with, send them to me, okay? I'm not going to make you take a fall for me."

"Okay." Nina said and he could hear the distinct tapping of keys on a keyboard in the background.

"You've started already?"

"Yeah." She answered distractedly.

Lelouch chuckled, then froze as he heard footsteps approaching his room. "I have to go. Someone's coming. Thank you again. I'll talk to you soon."

He hung up the phone then shoved both it and the laptop between his mattress and box spring just as someone knocked on the door. He'd told Edith he absolutely did not want to be disturbed. Not for anything.

"Come in." He called as his mood soured. There was only one reason Edith would be interrupting him now.

"I'm so sorry for interrupting you, Master Lelouch." Edith said as she entered the room and bowed to him. She looked pale and agitated and he wasn't sure if it was because of the news she was bearing or if it was because she was that afraid of disobeying him.

"What is it?" He asked calmly.

"You've been summoned by the Emperor. His Majesty wants to see you right away."

* * *

"So, you're back. And in one piece, no less."

Jeremiah Gottwald bowed politely to his prince. "Was there ever a doubt that I'd be coming back in one piece, your highness?"

Clovis shrugged. "Well, you did go to see Lelouch, didn't you? And I seem to recall that you were once a member of his mother's guard. The guard that failed to protect her. Lelouch has always had a bit of a temper, especially when it comes to his family. It's kind of scary, really. It's what got him exiled."

"Exiled?" Jeremiah asked quickly, eyes narrowing in suspicion. He'd been told that the vi Britannias had been sent to Japan to facilitate negotiations during the Sakuradite Crisis.

"Oh." Clovis frowned. "Just forget I said that, Gottwald."

"Understood, your highness." He said, even as his mind began racing. Prince Lelouch had been exiled? What possible crime could he have committed to warrant banishing a child? Even if there had been an indiscretion, the Emperor should have taken into account that the boy was distraught after the assassination of his mother and crippling of his sister. Just how twisted was the Imperial family? Was what Prince Lelouch had hinted at true? Had it been a member of the Imperial court that had killed Empress Marianne? Was his exile a way of silencing a witness?

"Anyway, how is my brother? Did he seem well?" Clovis inquired.

"Yes, your highness. Although I didn't speak to him for very long." Jeremiah answered.

"Good." Clovis said with a smile before folding his fingers together on top of his desk. "I have something I want you to take care of for me, Lord Gottwald."

"I figured you didn't just call me here to chat."

"I have . . . a pet project, if you will, Gottwald. It's a highly sensitive operation which could possibly ruin me if word of it got out. The problem is, word of it is getting out. There's a leak in my lab. Worse, that leak is feeding information to terrorists." Clovis elaborated while talking with his hands.

"You mean _Elevens_ are compromising your operation?" Gottwald asked disdainfully, deciding that he didn't really want to know just _what_ Clovis was researching if it had the capability of ruining a prince. It was best not to know those kinds of secrets. "Ungrateful cretins."

"My thoughts exactly." Clovis sniffed. "I'm already in the process of moving to a new research facility, but without knowing just who the leak is, there's no guarantee the new location will remain secret. I could always purge the entire facility, I guess, but finding more capable people would put me behind schedule. Such a bother."

"So you want me to take care of them?" Jeremiah guessed.

"Yes, that's right. I want you to take command over the unit I have investigating the terrorists. I've always had trust in your abilities. The men are good, but they lack your drive for excellence. I'm sure you'll be able to whip them into shape and get me the results I'm looking for."

"I'm honored by your faith in me, your highness." Jeremiah said, pleased by the acknowledgment.

"Well, you've done excellent work for me in the past. It's only natural for me to assign you to this." Clovis shrugged. "I want you to find the terrorists, find out how much they know and then eliminate them."

"What about the leak?" He asked darkly.

"Don't worry about the leak for now. I have someone else taking care of that."

"Alright. So, these men you're putting me in command of don't have any leads?" He asked.

"They have one. The name of the person the information is being leaked to. But they haven't been able to find anything else on the man. No records of his existence whatsoever. Not even a birth certificate. Either the name's an alias or he was meticulous when he went about erasing himself. I suspect he might be the leader of this little band of rabblerousers."

Jeremiah smirked. "Excellent. If we have the name of the leader, it's only a matter of time before I can find them and finish them off. What's the name? I'll get started right away."

Clovis smiled. "This is why I like you, Gottwald. My people managed to find a record on a computer in the lab of email correspondence with one Naoto Kouzuki. Unfortunately, it was a communal computer. I expect you to find, interrogate and then kill him, along with anyone else he might have told."

"With pleasure, your highness."

What a perfect opportunity the prince had just handed him. Not only would he be able to assuage any doubt Clovis may have had about him after his impromptu leave of absence, but he could also restore his standing with the Purebloods. After all, it would only go to prove the purist's point when the unit's success after previous failure was the result of the command of a nobleman.

* * *

"Just stop arguing with me, Naoto!"

"No. You stop arguing with me, Kallen. You're not staying here. You're going to go back to the Stadtfeld's and you're going to go to school." Naoto Kouzuki said firmly. "You have a chance at a normal life."

"Fat chance. I'm not going to let you fight while I go play Britannian citizen." Kallen snarled, heedless of the audience watching them. This particular argument was a common one and had been replayed many times, both in front of the resistance members and in private. "I'm Japanese, you jerk. I have every bit as much the right to fight as you do."

Her brother took a deep breath and let it out slowly through his nose. "You're being stubborn."

"No, you're being stubborn." She retorted. "Do you really expect me to just sit back and watch while you show the Britannians that the Japanese are still alive and kicking? You ought to know me better."

"I do know you better. It's why I'm asking you to back out now. We're getting into some dangerous shit here, Kallen. I don't want you mixed up in it." Naoto explained softly.

"Well if it's so dangerous, it just proves you need me that much more. I'm the best Knightmare pilot you've got! " She persisted. "I can certainly outdo you in it, and if you don't believe me then I guess I'll just have to prove it to you."

"When were you in a Knightmare?" Naoto asked, his frown turning into an angry glare as he took in his sister's suddenly sheepish appearance. "Don't tell me you've been messing around in that old Glasgow we picked up? Kallen! The thing is barely holding together, let alone running smoothly. Have you completely lost your mind? It could explode or collapse at any moment!"

"It's not in _that_ bad of shape." Kallen mumbled as she averted her gaze. She hadn't meant to let it slip that she'd been practicing in the Knightmare that they had found buried in the ruins of the ghetto and were slowly repairing. Usually she just used the cobbled together simulator they'd found years ago that occasionally froze mid-task. She knew Naoto wouldn't be too pleased with the fact that she was learning to pilot the Glasgow, but at the same time, she didn't really care.

She was developing the skills she would need to help liberate Japan. She would become the best Knightmare pilot the resistance had ever seen and then she would shove it right down Britannia's throat. The Britannians would pay for taking their country from them. They would pay for all of the horrors they'd commit during the war and were still committing now.

Yet her brother wanted her to go back to their father's house to play invalid schoolgirl with the very people who had taken their country from them. He had to be joking. It wasn't going to happen. She was Japanese and she would fight for Japan, God damn it.

"Kallen, I don't want to hear of you going near that thing again, you understand me? It's not safe. And yes, I _will_ be tearing Kazane a new one for allowing it in the first place." Naoto snapped.

Kallen grimaced. Kazane was the one in charge of putting the Glasgow back together. It had been Kazane she'd had to sweet talk into letting her practice in it. And now the woman was going to get a strip torn off her by Naoto. She hadn't wanted that to happen.

"Will you quit babying me, Naoto! The Glasgow's in better shape than it looks. It's not dangerous at all. Not really." Kallen amended as the time she'd been practicing firing the rifle only for it to explode in her hand came to mind. Luckily, she'd escaped with only a few minor bruises from being jostled around during the explosion.

"Not really, huh?" Her brother rolled his eyes. "You're my kid sister. It's my job to worry about you."

"I'm not exactly a kid! I'm seventeen. I'm more than old enough to make my own decisions and I'm deciding to fight!" She snarked.

Her brother's face suddenly turned cold and she knew he was done arguing with her about it even before he spoke. It was how this argument always ended. If she didn't walk away now, he would. "I'm not going to fight with you about this. You are not joining the resistance. That's final. Now, _go home, _Kallen."

Huffing in frustration, she turned on her heel and stalked away, elbowing past Tamaki who was wearing a stupid smirk on his face after watching her get chewed out. Again. She didn't particularly dislike the guy, but he was annoying as hell. He liked to act vastly superior to anyone who let him and, unfortunately for her, she wasn't in a position to stomp on his oversized ego.

God, she'd love to face off against the guy in the Glasgow. She'd show the arrogant jerk just what superiority really meant.

Making sure to slam the door to her brother's apartment when she left to let him know that she was angry at him, she quickly stomped down the stairs to the ground floor and out into the late afternoon sunshine, making sure to pull her hat down low to hide her features as she went. She didn't usually have any trouble when she traversed the ghetto, but occasionally someone would see that she looked like a Britannian and would try to hassle her. It was why her brother had given her a switchblade to carry for whenever she went to visit him.

A switchblade that she'd had some of the resistance members show her how to wield until the little blade had become like an extension of her own arm. Not that she'd ever really had to use it. Her brother was fairly well known in the ghetto and most people knew she was his sister and didn't bother her. Even if she was antagonized, usually all she had to tell them was her name, Kallen Kouzuki, and they backed off.

She was halfway back to 'civilization' – as the Britannians liked to call it – when she heard raised voices echoing from down a side street. Usually she wouldn't get involved. Disputes weren't all that uncommon, especially in the ghettos where crime rates were high. However, the accent of the woman was clearly Japanese and the voice of the man was not. That was enough for her to at least check it out.

Making sure to keep her back to the crumbling ruin of what looked like it was once a convenience store, she slipped down the street until she could see the altercation. A Japanese woman was standing – no, more like cowering – in front of a Britannian police officer with one hand held out in supplication and the other clamped across the mouth of a little boy of maybe seven or eight standing behind her.

"He didn't mean it, officer. I swear. He's just a child." The woman said, a faint tremble in her heavily accented voice. "Have mercy."

The little boy angrily pulled his mother's hand off his mouth and scowled at the Britannian. "I did too, you Britannian scumbag!" He shouted. "You jerks killed Shinjiro!"

"Being a child is no excuse!"

Without warning, the officer drew his baton and surged forward to strike the child. The only thing which stopped the potentially fatal blow aimed at the boy's head was his mother throwing herself in its way. Kallen had seen this behavior before from the police. The officer was out baiting. It was something the cops did when they were bored or wanting to prove themselves. _Might is right_, after all. They took pleasure in brutalizing anyone who even so much as looked at them the wrong way in the ghetto. Kallen didn't even want to think about how many Japanese had been killed by the Britannian police simply as a means of entertainment.

The woman let out a pained cry and clutched her arm to her chest to protect the place where the baton had collided with it. It looked like it was broken, if the way she was supporting it was any indication. Mercilessly, the officer prepared for another blow. He'd kill the woman then move onto the boisterous boy.

Kallen found her hand clenched tightly around the handle of her switchblade, her knuckles white from the pressure she was exerting on it. These people were going to die if she didn't do something. It was for damn sure the cop wasn't the merciful kind.

"God damned Britannians." She snarled under her breath as she flicked out the blade and began charging the police officer. The man was intent enough on his prey that he didn't even notice her arrival until she was thrusting the blade into the man's back – only for it to slide off of his police-issue body armor.

"What the hell?" The man snarled, whirling around with his baton ready.

Only her impressive reflexes saved her from getting the baton in the face as she jumped back and ducked under the swipe before launching herself forward and using her momentum to drive the blade right into the officer's throat.

The man's eyes widened in surprise or pain. He dropped the baton in favor of clutching at his throat as she jerked the blade free, the motion earning her a spurt of blood up her coat sleeve.

She stared in horror at the damage she'd caused, standing over the dying man as he fell to his knees and gaped at her in equal astonishment. She had never killed someone before. Despite all of her fire and hatred for Britannia, she had never actually killed someone. And it had been so easy. One simple little thrust and it was all over for this dog of a man. Was human life really so delicate?

The only thing that ran through her head as she stared at the fatal wound was wondering if her throat would look the same if it was cut open. She stared in revulsion at the blood that stained her hands and clothes; at the ever growing stain on the front of the man's uniform.

She wanted to puke. She'd just killed someone. He was dying right in front of her and the only thing she wanted to do was throw up the contents of her stomach all over the cracked pavement. A part of her mind was screaming at her to drop the bloodied knife in her hand, to fling the thing as far away from her as she could, while another more logical part of her mind whispered that it would only leave evidence.

". . . why?" The man asked as he stared up at her face under the brim of her hat, his voice a choked, hoarse gurgle that raised the bile in her throat just listening to it. "You're . . . Britannian . . ."

And then logic returned with a rushing clarity.

"I'm Japanese, asshole." She snarled. She couldn't believe she was feeling guilty for putting this worthless piece of scum out of his misery. The bastard didn't deserve to live. He would have killed the woman and the kid if she hadn't come along, and the only reason he would have done it was because they were Japanese. How many others had he killed? How many more would he have killed?

She glanced up at the terrified mother and child. The woman was pale, probably from pain and shock, as she stared at Kallen agape. The boy, on the other hand, was staring at the dead/dying police officer with his eyes shining in excitement.

"That was awesome!" He howled before charging at the fallen man and kicking him, toppling over the hunched, bloody corpse. "Serves you right for hurting my mom!"

"Are you alright?" Kallen asked blankly. The momentary clarity she'd just been privy to was slowly sinking back into numb horror.

"Y-yes." The woman whimpered. "Thank you."

"You should go home." She suggested. The woman nodded mutely and reached for her son, dragging him away down the street quickly.

"_Go home, Kallen"_

Home. Yes, she should go home too. But her home wasn't with the Stadtfelds. In any case, she couldn't go back into the Britannian city in the condition she was in. She stared down at the corpse for a moment, considering what to do with it. Should she move it? Should she leave it where it was?

No, moving it only increased the chance of leaving physical evidence behind. She should just leave it. The patrols would find it eventually and would probably give up on their investigation after a while. After all, it wouldn't be the first time the Japanese had struck back at their oppressors.

Turning around, she staggered back the way she'd come, almost in a daze, though coherent enough to stick to back alleys and shadows. She didn't want anyone to see her like this. It would lead to questions which would lead to testimony that someone could make against her to the Britannians.

When she opened the door and stumbled back into her brother's apartment, the conversation they'd been having fell suddenly silent. They'd been discussing something about Prince Clovis, she'd just caught the tail end of it, but for once she wasn't intent on eavesdropping. She just wanted . . . she didn't know what she wanted. A bath maybe. And then to curl up in a pair of her brother's baggy sweats and a t-shirt and to just . . . forget about that man.

"Oh my God, Kallen! Is that blood?" Naoto demanded as he rushed towards her. "Are you hurt? What happened?" He asked worriedly as he began checking her over. He unzipped her coat, intent on checking her for injuries but paused when it caught on something in her hand.

It was only then that she realized she was still carrying the knife, blade still extended, the blood that had spurted over the hilt and onto her hand already drying in a sticky, coagulated mess. She forced her hand open and the knife clattered to the floor as tears sprung inadvertently into her eyes and she threw herself into her brother's arms.

She couldn't believe it. She was crying over a God damned Britannian.

* * *

AN: Thanks for reading!

Revised/Beta'd: May 17, 2012


	9. Chapter 9: The Echo of Bells

Chapter 9: The Echo of Bells

Edith's phone was ringing.

"It's Prince Schneizel again." She said softly.

It was the third time he'd called since Edith had received his summons. Lelouch didn't want to talk to Schneizel right now. Right now, he needed to focus on keeping his composure. He needed to remain calm and aloof in front of the Emperor. He couldn't afford to show any weakness. And he couldn't afford to be distracted. Whatever Schneizel wanted would have to wait.

He held out his hand for her phone and shut it down before tossing it back to her and looking out of the window of the car. She was accompanying him as 'moral support' – so she said. Really, he just didn't think she wanted him going there alone. She'd been listening in on his conversation with Gottwald and it didn't take a genius to figure out what he'd implied.

She glanced down at the phone and sighed before tucking it into her purse and folding her hands in her lap. "Are you alright?" She asked. "You look a little pale."

"I do?" He asked as he closed his eyes and tried to force away the anxious knots that were coiling in his stomach.

This was it. This was what he'd been waiting for. The Emperor had finally decided upon his fate. Just what use would he be put to this time? Hostage again? No, probably not. Politics? Maybe. That all depended on whether or not his father thought he could trust him with a position of authority. He'd probably end up mayor of some backwater little town somewhere as a 'test'.

Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm himself using half-forgotten breathing exercises he'd learned from the martial arts instructor at the Kururugi Shrine. What was the worst that could happen? The very worst would be that the Emperor found out he was plotting against him and decided to have him tortured and executed. That was the very worst. So unless Schneizel betrayed him - which Lelouch doubted because that would put his neck under the axe as well - he should be okay.

As the saying went, there is a remedy to everything but death. So long as he was still alive, there was still hope. Hope for getting his revenge and hope for making a world in which Nunnally could survive happily, where she didn't have to hide who she was for fear of being used. As long as he was still alive he could still plan and scheme and move forward. The future held infinite possibilities. He just had to ensure that he had a future.

Which meant impressing the Emperor.

Which mean he couldn't show any weakness.

He let his breath out slowly and opened his eyes. "How about now?" He asked.

"Better. I could pinch your cheeks for you if you'd like?" She offered with a bit of a smile. Interacting with Edith every day in the casual setting of a chess match had done wonders for stomping the awkward formality out of her.

"I'll pass." He chuckled, sending her a grateful smile. He could tell she was trying to lighten his mood. To keep his mind off of his upcoming audience with the Emperor.

The car arrived before he was ready, but he doubted he'd ever be ready. This was different from being thrust into Clovis' plane and then thrust equally as forcibly into his first audience with the Emperor. This time, he'd had to get into the car by his own will. Part of him wondered what would have happened if he'd just ignored the summons. Would the Emperor have come to him?

He snorted to himself. Unlikely. He probably would have sent one of the Knights of the Round to forcibly drag him from the house. Yes, it was much better to go by his own will with at least some semblance of grace and dignity than have to be dragged there kicking and screaming. And if he was completely honest with himself, he was a little curious as to just how useful the Emperor thought he could be.

He was currently the black sheep of the family. He had the lowest standing of anyone who carried the Britannia name, as opposed to Schneizel who was often referred to as the 'White Prince'; the epitome of Imperial perfection – if only on the outside. He doubted the Emperor would favour him quite so highly if he knew his second born son was plotting against him.

"Good luck." Edith said quietly as he paused outside of one of the gardens where an attendant had told them the Emperor was waiting for him.

It was an odd choice of scenery. A garden wasn't nearly as imposing as the throne room – or so he'd thought, until he'd entered the garden to find the Emperor seated on a stone bench eying him coldly.

"Lelouch." The Emperor said coolly as his son knelt before him.

"Greetings, Your Majesty." He replied with forced reverence.

"Walk with me." The man ordered as he stood up and began casually strolling down a cobbled path set between exotic pink and orange flowers.

Hesitantly, Lelouch complied, making sure to keep a step or two behind the Emperor at all times out of 'respect'. He felt like he was about to be led out in front of a firing squad. There was something foreboding about this scenario that just didn't sit right with him. He didn't know exactly how to deal with the Emperor when he wasn't acting like a cold bastard and shouting heresies about the desirability of strength and power over the weak and the need for strife.

"I've decided what to do with you." The Emperor said after several minutes of silence as he strolled through the garden at a sedate pace.

"I am ready to serve you, Your Majesty." He said sycophantically even as he inwardly cringed. What he would really like to do was serve the Emperor a knife in the back. But those thoughts were best left alone for now.

"Good. You're getting married."

Lelouch stopped, staring in wide-eyed disbelief at the back of the Emperor. "What?" He choked out in surprise. Married? As in 'man and wife'?

"Things have already been arranged." The Emperor continued as though he hadn't heard Lelouch's outburst. "Lady Abigail Chapman is the only daughter of the Duke of Washington. You'll gain a noble title, she'll gain a tie to the Imperial family and I'll gain unrestricted mining rights to the largest Sakuradite mine outside of Area Eleven."

An arranged marriage? Was that all he was good for? Was that all he was worth? Like an animal bought and sold for breeding. Breeding. Oh God, if he married this woman it would eventually be expected that they had children together. No. Definitely not. He would never give the Empire another pawn to play with. And he wouldn't allow himself to be locked into a lifelong contract with a woman he'd never even met before either. What he needed to do was divert the man.

"Why not Clovis? He's unmarried. I'm only seventeen, surely Clovis would be more suitable. Or Odysseus." In fact, only one of the royal children had been forced to marry thus far, and that was Guinevere. That the Emperor should ask that he do this when he wasn't even a legal adult, and especially when there were other, better candidates was ridiculous. "Cornelia's not married either, for that matter, and she's ten years my senior." He reasoned, heedless of the fact that he was treading on thin ice.

"Are you arguing with me, boy?" The Emperor demanded, his voice oozing danger as he glanced over his shoulder to glare at his errant son.

Lelouch opened his mouth to respond that yes, he sure as hell was arguing with him before he caught himself and forced his composure back into place. He would not let the Emperor see that he'd been rattled. "No, Your Majesty."

The Emperor snorted triumphantly and continued down the path. Lelouch hesitated, unsure if he was supposed to follow. Had he been dismissed? What more could there be to discuss? He was being sold for Sakuradite. Again. It seemed he was fated to share an unnatural connection with the pink mineral.

"Clovis has been tasked with the running of a country. He's far too busy to deal with something like a marriage. Odysseus is the crown prince of the Empire. He's far too important for such a trifling marriage. As for Cornelia, she isn't married already because she's in the military. I can't afford to have her efficiency compromised by petty emotions." The Emperor explained without looking at him as he paused a few feet away.

Wait. Cornelia didn't have to get married because she was in the military? What kind of bullshit was that? Which was the lesser of two evils? He could always leave the military in a few years. Victims of arranged marriages weren't allowed to divorce. Could he do it? Could he join the hated Britannian military to escape an arranged marriage?

He needed to think quickly. What were the pros and cons? Was getting married really _that _bad? Yes, he decided. Not because his wife could be absolutely horrible – he'd never even met her, after all – but rather because of what it symbolized. If he let himself be married off, it was like accepting that he was nothing more than a useless heap of flesh and bones that had no real purpose beyond holding the title of prince. He wouldn't be sold like a piece of meat to the highest bidder. In the military, at least he would retain some sense of self-worth.

"Please wait, Your Majesty. I want to join the military. I believe I can be more useful to you there than anywhere else." He said firmly as he advanced on the man.

The Emperor turned slowly, one eyebrow raised in question before a slow, cruel smile spread across his lips. "Good. You can enlist the day after your wedding. I'll have Schneizel take care of it."

Lelouch froze. Had the bastard planned that? No, how could he have known that Lelouch would suggest the military as an alternative? Or maybe it wasn't as absurd as he thought it was. His mother had been a Knight, after all. God damn it. He'd walked right into the Emperors little trap like a blind idiot.

Damn it all to hell. He'd been played like a fool.

"Oh, and Lelouch, don't expect any favours when you enlist. You may be my son, but you're still going to have to earn your stripes." The Emperor smirked.

So this was his punishment for hiding for the last seven years then.

* * *

Schneizel frowned at the phone in his hand as he received the voice mail on Lelouch's assistant's phone for the fifteenth time now. Just what the hell was his brother thinking by ignoring his calls? It's not like he was calling for casual conversation. He had serious business to discuss with him. News from the Emperor.

He glanced at his watch and his frown deepened. Unless Lelouch had already been summoned by the Emperor . . .

"Shit." He muttered.

How long had it been since the phone had started going straight to voice mail instead of ringing? Almost two hours now. More than enough time for the Emperor to crush Lelouch's independence.

"Kanon! Get the car ready. Now." He called to his assistant as he began ascending the stairs to his room to get a jacket.

"Sure thing." Kanon answered, phone already in hand with the driver's number half dialed.

As usual, his assistant followed in his shadow out to the car and climbed in beside him.

"Trouble?" Kanon asked as the car pulled onto the road. "Don't tell me it's Lord Halverton again. I thought we shut him up for good when we threatened to off his daughter?"

"It's Lelouch." Schneizel said without looking at his faithful companion. Instead, he looked out the window and glowered.

"Oh." Kanon said awkwardly and let the car fall into silence until his PDA beeped with a priority message. "Oh." He said again as he read the missive before handing the device straight to Schneizel.

Schneizel frowned and took the PDA, his frown growing ever deeper as he read. "Lelouch in the military?" He murmured quietly to himself. "A common soldier? That won't do . . ."

They arrived moments later only to be stopped by Lelouch's security staff.

"I apologize, your highness, but I'm going to have to ask you to disarm yourself." A nervous officer said awkwardly. "Orders from Prince Lelouch. No one is allowed into the estate with a weapon."

"Fine, fine, so long as Lelouch is here. Kanon give them your gun. I'm not armed today." Schneizel said impatiently. He would have been amused any other time as he watched his assistant reluctantly relinquish his firearm. But today he was in too foul of mood.

He had originally intended for Lelouch to go into politics. He had been planning on assigning his younger brother to a legitimate post with enough power to be useful. He'd wanted to raise Lelouch up to his equal in status and authority. But it seemed their father enjoyed throwing a wrench into his plans. He needed to fix this. He _could not_ risk losing Lelouch as cannon fodder. There was absolutely no one who could replace him.

"Wait in the car." He ordered Kanon as the driver pulled up outside the house.

"Why'd I even bother coming?" His assistant mumbled as he leaned back in his seat and prepared to wait.

Schneizel was surprised that there was no one to meet him at the door when he entered. In fact, there was no one in sight, which was odd. With a staff as large as the Aeries Villa employed, he would have expected someone to meet him. After all, wasn't it common practice for the gate guard to call ahead to the house to receive guests?

He was drawn out of his thoughts by the sound of something breaking and a frustrated yell. Frowning, Schneizel let himself further into the house and followed the sound of the disturbance. Again, it struck him how oddly empty the house seemed. There should definitely have been staff members cleaning and seeing to the evening meal, but he came across no one until he arrived at the billiards room.

Lelouch was there, dishevelled and angry. Even as he watched, his younger brother picked up a billiard ball and hurled it at the wall length glass window that opened onto the garden. The ball ricocheted off the reinforced glass and smashed a spindly side table instead. Standing to one side was a woman dressed as a housekeeper with a worried frown on her lips.

"God damned fucking manipulative bastard! I _will_ kill him! I will rip his filthy heart out." Lelouch raged before descending into a litany of curses again.

To his surprise, the maid didn't react. No doubt this wasn't the first treasonous thing she'd heard spill from his brother's lips. Which was worrying. He'd have to find out who she was and take care of her. He would not be losing Lelouch because his housekeeping staff overheard too much.

"Leave us." He ordered her for now. His brother's mental state was more important at the moment.

She jumped, previously unaware of his presence before lowering herself into a low curtsey. "Prince Schneizel! Forgive me, I didn't know you were coming or I would have met you at the door! The rest of the staff has been dismissed for the day."

"Out." He ordered again, just as Lelouch turned and pointed a long, accusatory finger at him.

"You!" He shouted. "You knew about this, didn't you, Schneizel?"

He physically pushed the maid from the room when she hesitated and closed and locked the door firmly behind her. "I did try calling, Lelouch." He huffed in annoyance.

How exactly could Lelouch blame him for this when Lelouch was the one who'd turned his phone off?

"That was why?" He asked before turning away again and throwing the first thing that came to hand – the triangle this time – at the wall. It cracked into two pieces and bounced back in different directions, one of the pieces ricocheting off the roof and almost coming back to hit Lelouch in the face.

"Sit down, Lelouch." He ordered, gesturing towards a plush armchair pushed into the corner of the room. "It's not that bad."

"Not that bad?" Lelouch demanded incredulously. "I have to get _married._ To someone I don't even know. I was sold. Like a piece of meat!"

"As far as arranged marriages go, it's not that bad." Schneizel amended as he pushed Lelouch into the chair and moved a pool cue out of reach just in case he lost his temper again. "I've met Lady Chapman. Trust me; it could be a lot worse."

Lelouch slumped in defeat and buried his head in his hands, staring at his feet. "What do you mean it could be worse? What's she like?"

"She's nineteen, I believe. So she's close to your age at least. A pretty little blond thing. A bit arrogant but that's what happens when you're the only child of a Duke and the sole heiress to a massive Sakuradite mine." He explained.

"Great." Lelouch muttered. "A snotty little aristocrat. I bet she doesn't even have half a brain. How could this be worse exactly, Schneizel?"

"You want to trade, Lelouch?" He asked candidly. "At least your betrothed doesn't look like a bloated seal."

Lelouch raised his head high enough to shoot Schneizel a questioning glare. "Just who are you engaged to, anyway?" He asked.

Schneizel sighed. He really didn't want to think about his unfortunate betrothal – the result of diverting a few too many funds away from the Emperor's research budget, he was sure - but if explaining his situation would make Lelouch less angry about his own predicament, he'd delve into it.

"Fantine Lemeaux, third daughter of the President of the Euro Universe. She's twenty, overweight and has a mole with whiskers coming out of it right here." He explained, pointing to his chin. "Also, her life's ambition is to join a travelling theatre group - all well and good since she won't inherit a thing from her father as the E.U. is a democracy. She sounds like the perfect wife for the Prime Minister of the Britannian Empire, don't you think?"

"Certainly sounds like a catch." Lelouch agreed wryly.

"To top it all off, the marriage would be a moot point if Father decides to invade – which I think he will. It's why I've been putting it off. If we're just going to go to war with them, there would be no sense in me marrying a Number."

Lelouch's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Aren't _you_ the one tasked with negotiating peace with the E.U.?"

"Yes." Schneizel answered simply.

"You wouldn't deliberately sabotage the negotiations to get out of marrying this bloated seal, would you?" His brother asked.

"Have more faith in me, Lelouch." Schneizel scoffed. Did Lelouch really think he was cold enough to sacrifice countless soldiers simply to prevent his marriage? For some causes he would, but to prevent something as trifling as a marriage, it would have been unacceptable. "Of course I haven't sabotaged the negotiations."

Lelouch scrutinized him for a long moment before nodding and returning to his former posture of staring at his feet.

"Listen," Schneizel said after a long moment of silence passed between them. "An arranged marriage is nothing more than a legal contract. It's just like entering into a business deal. It doesn't mean you have to get emotionally involved with her. You don't have to love her. Hell, you don't even have to like her. The marriage part is a sham. All everyone cares about is that you'll become a Duke, she'll become a Princess and the Emperor will get a little more Sakuradite to play with."

"And if I can't even stand to be in the same room as her?" He asked.

"Then you buy her a nice little country house, or a townhouse in the city and you forget about her." He shrugged. "I'm not as worried about your marriage as I am about the other plans the Emperor has for you. You know he wants you to enlist, right? I've been ordered to arrange it for you. But he wants you enlisted as a common soldier."

"Yeah, I know." Lelouch snarled and if anything his mood soured even further.

Schneizel scowled. "Listen, having you wasted as a common soldier is stupid. I'll talk to Colonel Peterson, pull some strings for you, and get you enlisted as an officer."

"Don't bother. He told me I was going to have to earn my own stripes." Lelouch sighed. "You'll just end up causing me more trouble."

He frowned as he sank into the seat next to Lelouch's.

"Hmm."

They sat in silence, minds working over the difficulties of the scenario. Or at least Schneizel's was. He assumed Lelouch was still agonizing over his upcoming nuptials.

It was a long time before clarity came to him and he chuckled.

"What?" Lelouch snapped, revealing that his mood hadn't lightened at all.

"I've been thinking about this the wrong way." He answered. "Since the moment I was notified, I've been trying to think of a way to get you out of it. But that's not the problem I should be solving. What I should have been thinking about was how to turn it to our favour. And the solution's so simple."

Lelouch scowled at him, impatient for him to get to the point.

"You obey."

"What?" Lelouch demanded.

"Your mother was a commoner, Lelouch."

The scowl deepened. "I know." He growled.

"The majority of the men you'll have to serve with will be commoners."

"I know." Lelouch sighed.

Schneizel's lips twisted into a grin. "You remember what I told you when I first taught you how to play chess? If the King doesn't lead . . ."

"He can't expect his subordinates to follow." Lelouch finished before the light of understanding lit in his eyes. "I'm not a King, Schneizel."

Schneizel shrugged. "You're a prince. It's close enough. Anyway, that's not the point. While Father was trying to punish you, he inadvertently handed us our trump."

"You want me to usurp his army?" Lelouch asked skeptically.

"Don't be ridiculous. He'd squash you like a bug before you ever got the chance." Schneizel said contemptuously. "No, you won't need to 'usurp' it. Not technically, at least. All we need to do is make sure you get in a few miraculous victories.

"The soldiers will already be partially enamoured by you for being willing to get elbow to elbow with them on the front lines. That's something Father would never deign to do. I imagine you'll be promoted almost as soon as they figure out who you are. You're a prince and yet you're a commoner at the same time. All you've got to do is show them that you're a damn fine leader as well and you'll have them eating out of the palm of your hand. And if Father says anything, you just tell him that you took his words to heart and were simply going about earning your own respect. We'll make you into a hero of the Britannian Empire. You could hold the beating heart of the Britannian military in your palm, Lelouch."

"There's one major flaw in your logic, brother." Lelouch said, finally emerging from his bad mood with the prospect of scheming.

"And that is?" Schneizel asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"Until recently, I was an average, teenaged high school student. I'm not a soldier. Or a general." Lelouch pointed out. "I have no military training to speak of."

Schneizel smirked. "Why Lelouch, I have complete faith in you. War's just like chess. There's just more pieces to play with."

* * *

AN: Thanks for reading.

Beta'd/Revised with the help of SplitIce July 21, 2012


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Lelouch fidgeted nervously as he waited in the den nearest the door. He was waiting for his future wife to arrive, all the while wracking his brain to try to come up with a way of getting out of getting married. He could run away, he supposed. He was reasonably certain he could fake his own death well enough to fool even the Emperor, but by doing so he would lose the shot at vengeance Schneizel was presenting him.

He hated this feeling. This utter helplessness. He was losing control. No, the Emperor was taking control from him, wresting it from his feeble-fingered grip. Control over some of the most important personal decisions a person could make. After all, what was more important than choosing the person you were supposed to spend the rest of your life with?

He wondered if his mother had chosen to marry the Emperor, or if she'd been forced. Had she actually loved that cold bastard? How could she have? His mother had been beautiful and kind and passionate and it was for certain that the Emperor hadn't given a damn about her. If he had, he would have bothered to find out who had killed her instead of sweeping her children under the rug and trying to forget the vi Britannias had ever existed.

Lelouch clenched his fists as another wave of anger assuaged him. He had never hated anyone more than he hated the Emperor. First for letting his mother die. Then for abandoning himself and Nunnally in a war zone. And now this. In only two meetings, the Emperor had usurped him of his independence. He'd taken away his free will – his ability to choose.

He was a pawn. Nothing more. And he was being sold to secure another source of Sakuradite. A minor source of Sakuradite, but at least one that wasn't in a war zone. The Chapman mine was located on Vancouver Island and boasted production levels unheard of anywhere outside of Area Eleven.

Somehow, an arranged marriage had never occurred to him. Arranged marriages only happened to women who later swooned and mourned hoping for some kind of knight in shining armor to save them. He'd never once considered the position of the groom who was forced to marry. Was this normal for a man being forced to marry against his will? This feeling of utter worthlessness? He was just a lump of flesh bearing a title that was desirable. It seemed unlikely that some dashing amazon was going to suddenly appear to rescue him.

"Lady Chapman's car just arrived at the gate, sir." Edith informed him quietly. She'd been more subdued and distant the last two days than usual. An after effect of witnessing his breakdown after learning of his impending marriage, he supposed. He'd have to talk to her about it later. For now, he'd have to deal with his betrothed.

Slowly getting to his feet, he made his way to the door and out onto the steps to wait for her. It was probably good manners to go out to her, he thought. After all, he'd been the one to suddenly have Edith call her and demand that she come meet him before the wedding, which had cheerfully been scheduled for only three weeks away. She'd be staying at the villa for a few days before returning to the Chapman family estate in Portland until the wedding.

An expensive, black Rolls Royce pulled up the driveway and parked near the door. The car was spotless and - Lelouch thought with some disdain - had probably just been washed before being driven over. The driver emerged and came around to open the back door, where a young woman emerged in a smart looking designer skirt and blouse.

_"A pretty little blond thing."_

Yes, Schneizel had certainly described her well. She was small – petite was the word he was looking for – and very pretty. Her lips curved into a daring smirk as her blue eyes landed on him and she approached his location.

"Your highness, you do me a great honor by coming to meet me at the door." She said as she dropped into a polite curtsey.

"Please, no formality, Lady Chapman. I'm Lelouch." He said politely. "Thank you for coming all this way to meet me. Especially on so short of notice."

"It was no problem. Things are moving quickly after all. If I had delayed, we would have already been married before we met." She said with a smile. "And please, just call me Abigail if you insist on no formality."

It was only then that he noticed a hulking middle-aged man with a shaved head and dark sunglasses standing a few feet behind her. He was the very stereotypical epitome of a body guard. Lelouch half expected to see a flesh-toned earpiece nestled in the man's ear.

"Ah, this is Bruce. Father insisted that I take him with me. He didn't want me going off to the capital by myself. You know how fathers worry." She laughed. He refrained from rolling his eyes. He doubted _his_ father had worried about him once in his life. "Just ignore him. He's a professional bodyguard, so he's used to it. I also brought a maid with me. Lindsey. She's coming in the other car with the luggage. She should arrive shortly."

"Of course. It's a pleasure to meet you, Bruce. Please, let's go inside, Abigail." He said as he politely held out his hand for her to take.

So far, so good. He could tolerate her. She wasn't exactly his _type_ per se, but he could live with it. At least she wasn't completely brainless and she _was_ something to look at.

She blushed and took his hand, letting him lead her up the steps and into the villa where Edith and the rest of the staff were waiting to greet her.

"This is Lady Abigail Chapman. Please do whatever you can to make her feel at home here." He said before launching into a long string of introductions – though it was slightly less intimidating than it had been for him as he was now down to only fifteen staff members. He'd fired the two maids that had accepted bribes and hadn't bothered to replace them. The villa was still overstaffed if you asked him. "And this is Edith. She's in charge here and is tremendously helpful. If you need anything, I'm sure she can get it for you."

Abigail smiled to the staff uncomfortably before turning to Lelouch. "Would you mind taking me to see the gardens, Lelouch?" She asked and proceeded to ignore everyone else in the room. "I've heard the gardens of the Aeries Villa are quite spectacular."

He frowned a little at her behavior. Strike one against her. She thought she was too good to speak to the staff. Then again, meeting so many people at once was a bit overwhelming and she was out of her element, he chided himself. Maybe she was just being shy. He decided to give her the benefit of the doubt, if only to keep himself from picking her apart so soon after meeting her.

"Of course. This way." He said as he began leading her way. He paused, however, when Abigail's bodyguard continued to follow them. "Ah, Edith, could you show Bruce to his rooms please? I can assure you, no harm will come to Abigail in the villa. I have a top notch security team patrolling the perimeter."

"I'm also here as a chaperone, your highness." The huge man said, staring at Lelouch significantly.

"Unbelievable." He muttered as he rubbed a hand across his forehead. "Do as you wish then, though I can assure you she'd be just as safe from me or anyone else on this estate without you."

"I told you just to ignore him." Abigail said as she tried to suppress a giggle. "Bruce has been hovering in my shadow since I was seven. If there's one think I've learned, it's that he's as stubborn as a mule. He doesn't compromise on anything."

"That had to be a bit awkward." Lelouch grumbled as he left the room, his fiance and her massive bodyguard in tow. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to always have _someone_ lurking around. The Student Council members were his friends, so that didn't count. And neither did Edith, who was always meticulous in ensuring that he had several hours of alone time every day if he wanted it and never crowded him. She knew, almost instinctively it seemed, when he wanted solitude and when he preferred her company. But this big lug who followed Abigail around like he was stitched to her shadow was a completely different story. How had the girl managed to have a social life like that? Or did the man back off after he deemed a person worthy? And if so, then Lelouch was a little insulted. After all, he was going to have to marry the woman. That fact alone ought to speak enough on his behalf.

A part of his mind poked him and demanded to know just why he cared. It wasn't like he was planning anything inappropriate with the woman, so it didn't really matter if he tagged along for a tour of the gardens or not. But it still made him feel awkward. He didn't feel like he could have a genuine conversation with her with someone standing in the background scrutinizing every word he said. The fact that the man was technically in the employ of the Duke made it even more awkward. He had no doubt that Bruce would be reporting back to Duke Chapman about just what was said between them.

Therefore, being honest about his opinion of their marriage and how he felt about it and trying to determine just how she felt about it would have to wait until the hulk wasn't lurking around. Instead, the launched into his tour of the gardens.

"The gardens have remained more or less unchanged since before my mother died. It's still how I remember it as a child." He explained.

"Yes, well, if something is good, why change it?" She asked with a coy smile.

He tried smiling back at her, but felt the gaze of her bodyguard boring into his back. He really couldn't fathom how the woman had survived with the brute sending withering glares at anyone she met that he didn't approve of. And apparently he fell into that category.

They walked for a while, exchanging small talk and not really learning anything of importance about each other. He did, however, learn that he found her very charming. She was intelligent, witty and coy. There was an almost teasing banter that passed naturally between them. She was not a genius, but she was sly and sarcastic in a way that Lelouch could respect without becoming offended. A people person, he realized. And someone who loved attention.

"Lelouch, supper is ready for you and the Lady whenever you please." Edith said softly as she interrupted them. She bowed politely to Abigail as she spoke.

"Thank you, Edith." Lelouch said before turning to his betrothed. "Are you hungry now?"

"You let her speak to you like that?" Abigail asked, apparently appalled by the lack of formality between master and servant.

"Of course." Lelouch replied calmly, hiding his annoyance behind a kind smile. "Edith is my friend, as well as my employee. To demand formality would be rude."

"You're a prince, Lelouch and she's a servant. You shouldn't allow her to disrespect you. I'd never stand for it if any of my servants dared to address me so disrespectfully." She said malevolently as she glared at Edith. It was a stark change in personality that didn't sit well with him.

Strike two. She'd been putting on airs – pretending to be someone she wasn't. Pretending to be someone he wanted her to be. The entire point of this meeting was so they could get to know each other before they were chained to each other for the rest of their lives. Forging a fraudulent personality for this meeting defeated the entire purpose of her being here. He wanted to know if he could live with her or if he should be looking into the real estate market, as Schneizel had suggested.

"I prefer informality." Lelouch said carefully. "I can assure you, I'm not offended. In fact, I ordered Edith to address me casually. Now, would you like to join me for dinner?"

Abigail frowned at Edith for a moment before inclining her head to him and offering her hand for him to take. He did so reluctantly and sent Edith an apologetic smile before leading Abigail into the house.

They entered the house hand in hand, a strained silence fallen between them after their little tiff. Maybe it was just that he'd already put her in a bad mood or maybe she was always like this, but in any case, as they entered the entrance hall on their way to the dining room her eyes narrowed furiously at a woman dressed as a maid who was definitely not in his employ. Stacked all around the woman were various sized suitcases, garment bags and trunks - all in a matching gold and pink brocade. In the maid's hands, which he could tell were shaking even from his vantage point - was a small matching little box with a broken lid.

"I'm so sorry, your grace." The woman squeaked as Abigail dropped Lelouch's hand and began stalking forward.

"What did you do?" His betrothed snarled.

"I dropped – I mean it fell when I was unloading the car. I made sure I found everything that was in it. It's only the hinge that's broken. I'm sure it can be fixed, your excellency." The maid – Lindsey, he guessed – explained quickly.

"You idiot!" Abigail said coldly, her lips pursed into a thin line. The palm of her hand collided with a loud _crack_ against the maid's face. For her part, the maid only winced and flinched. "You stupid, incompetent Number." The hand came up again for another slap. "Do you have any idea how much that cost me? I had it custom made by the designer himself!"

Lelouch moved quickly, his long fingers closing around his fiance's wrist before she could strike the poor woman a third time. He glared at her coldly.

Strike three.

"I would appreciate if you refrained from assaulting people while you're staying on my property." He growled watching her expressions contort from anger to surprise and back to anger again.

"She's my employee and a Number. Or can't you tell she's a Nine? She doesn't have any rights outside of the ones I give her. Now let go." She snapped.

He saw Bruce moving to intercept him out of the corner of his eye and slowly released her hand. For a moment he wanted to see just how far the man would go, wondering if he'd actually attack a Britannian prince, but then decided it wasn't worth the risk.

"Are you alright?" He asked instead as he turned his back to Abigail and faced the maid. Her left cheek was an an angry red from the force of the blows and her right cheek blushed almost to match it in her embarrassment under his attention.

"Yes, your highness." She answered, bowing to him low enough to shield her eyes where he could see the beginning of tears forming.

Maybe it was simply because strikes two and three occurred in such rapid succession, or maybe it was because the third infraction was inexcusable, but he suddenly found that his future bride was intolerable. The assaulting of an employee, it didn't matter the reason behind it, was reprehensible. But especially when the infraction committed was something so trivial. A jewelry box could be replaced, a human couldn't.

Turning on his heel, he found that Edith and one of the kitchen ladies had witnessed the scene. "I don't think I'll be joining the Lady for dinner tonight. Please, send something that I'll actually like up to my room whenever it's ready. If it's not too much trouble, Samantha." After his first night at the villa when he'd been served an extravagant five-course affair, he'd had a talk with the kitchen staff about just what kinds of foods he preferred. Needless to say, they were surprised by his simpler tastes.

"Of course, sir." The kitchen woman said quickly before hurrying away.

Lelouch left the room without another word to Abigail and retrieved a book he had been reading before she'd arrived from the den before retiring to his room. This was highly rude, of course, - almost petulant, really – but he didn't care. He wasn't going to be voluntarily spending any more time with that woman than necessary.

* * *

She was still staring at it. The envelope. Her hands were shaking a little as she read the return address.

The Moris Foundation.

The bursary they awarded every year was the most prestigious, most sought after bursary in all of Britannia, let alone Area Eleven. This was the same bursary people completing their doctorate studies applied for. The same bursary some of the best and brightest of Britannia competed for. And it was hers? Nina Einstein, a seventeen year old Britannian high school student, had come out on top?

She dropped the rest of her mail and school books in favor of carefully ripping the envelope open and sliding out a letter and a check. Glancing at the check first, her eyes widened as huge as saucers as she took in all the zeroes involved. More than she needed in order to buy a house? This was more than she needed to buy four or five houses.

She'd never dreamed – never imagined even in her wildest fantasies – that she would ever be deemed worthy enough to receive the Moris Foundation Research Bursary. She stopped herself there, and frowned. She _hadn't_ been deemed worthy of it. She hadn't earned it. She only had this incredible check in her hand because Lelouch had willed it so.

Sighing, she opened the letter and smoothed it out. She wondered why she was even bothered. The letter wasn't the important part, after all. It was only a cover, probably forged by Lelouch himself, as a means to send her money to buy Nunnally a house.

_Miss Nina Einstein,_

_ It is with great pleasure that we would like to inform you of our selection for this year's annual Moris Foundation Research Bursary. After much consideration and meticulous study, we have selected you as our recipient. Your research on the fission of Uranium 235 isotopes shows much promise and we are delighted to help you further your study._

Nina stared at the paragraph, reading it over three or four more times in apparent shock. How had they known what her research was about? She hadn't actually applied for this particular bursary. Had Lelouch actually _got it_? Had he really understood what it was she was trying to do? Had he actually been able to follow her explanation one of the countless times she'd tried explaining to her friends just what she was spending so much time on? He must have. But why hadn't he said anything? Why had he just laughed it off with Rivalz and teasingly called her a nerd?

Because he hadn't wanted to draw unwanted attention to himself and Nunnally, she realized. Lelouch made so much more sense now. Lelouch was brilliant, after all. He could beat anyone she knew at chess. He understood complex mathematics, vague philosophies, and distorted social theories. They all _knew_ that he was smart. It was one of the things that Shirley had harped on him so much about.

But if he _had_ given schoolwork his all, he would have risked being noticed. After all, every year Prince Clovis invited the ten brightest students in Area Eleven to an extravagant banquet. If he'd actually tried, she had no doubt that Lelouch could have secured one of those ten places for himself. But that would have only have gotten him caught. So instead he'd coasted through school and kept under the radar. And in the end it didn't really matter anyway because he'd still been caught.

She felt bad for him. It would have been maddening for her to not be able to work at optimal efficiency. She _had_ to do her best. She was just like that – a perfectionist when it came to her research and schoolwork. Obsessive, Milly called it.

At the bottom of the letter, which expounded for a full page and a half about just how impressed they were with her work, were all twelve signatures from all twelve Directors of the Foundation.

Those were real signatures. . . she hoped.

Had they really seen her work? Had they really acknowledged all of the many hours she'd spend staring at graphs and virtual recreations of nuclear fission? Or were they simply a forgery made by Lelouch?

"No." She whispered to herself as she hugged the letter to her chest. "They're real."

She would refuse to believe otherwise. Her work had been acknowledged by some of her idols. Even if the results _had_ been tampered with, they had still seen it. Lelouch must have applied for the bursary in her name and then pulled some strings.

Had he known how much it would mean to her? Had he known just how many doors being the recipient of _this_ particular bursary would open for her? This bursary was for the elite. The genius. The completely-brilliant-leaders-in-their-field-of-study. People would respect her research if they knew she had it. It had elevated her into an entirely different class of scientist.

By the same token, if anyone ever found out that the selection had been rigged . . . she would be completely ruined. Seventeen was too young for her entire career to go up in smoke and ruin. No one could find out about it. Ever.

At least she knew Lelouch would never betray his part in this little scheme. He cared far too much about Nunnally to ever risk it. And she had far too much to lose now to be careless about this situation. She wondered if Lelouch had planned it that way?

* * *

Lelouch awoke to the sound of his door crashing open in the middle of the night. It was not a peaceful awakening. In fact, with the sudden surge of adrenaline upon waking, Lelouch found himself half-crouched behind the bed with the bedside table poking him uncomfortably in the ribs before he could even fully analyze the situation.

"What's the meaning of this?" He demanded before his brain caught up with his mouth and told him that he would have been better off keeping his mouth shut if the intruders were hostile. He'd just given his location away.

"Prince Lelouch?" A familiar voice questioned in relief as the light flicked on. Three of the members of his security team were standing in his room, guns drawn. He recognized the man at the fore as Allan Seckel, the corporal he'd joked around with his second day at the villa.

He squinted as his eyes adjusted to the change in lighting, watching as one of the men crossed the room to firmly pull the curtains closed and another closed and locked the door firmly before placing himself in front of it.

"What's going on?" Lelouch asked, a hint of trepidation leaking into his voice. The only reason for his security team to be in his bedroom in the middle of the night was if there was a viable threat to his life.

"An armed assailant made it onto the estate." Seckel grimaced. "Erikson managed to put a bullet in him, but he still took off. Like a fucking machine. He hardly paused before running off, but there was blood so we know it hit. We're here to ensure your safety, my prince."

"How did he get onto the property?" Lelouch demanded as he slowly stood up from his uncomfortably position. "Where? This villa is supposed to be almost impenetrable. Tell me everything you know."

The men exchanged an uncomfortable glance before looking downcast. "Caputo's dead." Seckel said eventually. "Nearest we can figure at the moment is that the assassin managed to come up over the western wall into the garden. Tony must have come across him there, he's the one who sent out the alarm. But by the time we got to his location, he was dead. Knife to the throat. Erikson got there first and got him in the arm or shoulder – we think. Probably just a graze, 'cause he was still moving pretty fast."

"How did he get in?" Lelouch asked as he bit back his rising panic. Not because his life was in danger, but rather because someone had _died_ in his house. Someone he was responsible for was now dead and he was unsure how to respond. There was nothing he could do about it now, but pushing the thought away seemed wholly inappropriate. "The wall is almost fifteen feet high, lighted, topped with motion and pressure sensors, with manned patrols around it."

"Fucking spy shit." The officer next to the window mumbled as he cautiously peeked between the curtains. Lelouch thought his name was Grant. Jesse Grant, maybe.

"We don't know how he bypassed the sensors set on the wall yet, but Douglas found some high-tech rappelling equipment set up at the point of entry. He said it looked like the assassin was planning on using the same point for his escape." Seckel answered.

"Shit." Lelouch hissed as he pulled on a shirt with shaking hands, only realizing now that he was standing bare chested in nothing but his boxers. He tried to force his hands to stop shaking. He wished he wasn't as rattled as he was, but the fact that there was an assassin stalking the halls of his house searching for him, unnerved him.

He froze, hands clenching into fists, as a shot rang out in the silence that was smothering the night and only one thought entered his mind.

_Nunnally_.

This was what had happened to Nunnally. The terrorists (assassin) had been targeting his mother and his sister had just happened to get in the way. She'd been caught in the crossfire and had paid dearly for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Already, one person had paid the price for being in the assassin's way. How many more people would have to pay that price? How many people would he hide behind and let die in an attempt to save his own pitiful life?

_If the King doesn't lead . . ._

"Fuck." Lelouch snarled, picking up a pair of pants from the laundry hamper and angrily stuffing his legs through the holes.

He wasn't going to let that happen. He wasn't going to let any one else pay that price for him. He wasn't going to hide. If the assassin wanted him, Lelouch was going to go to him. And when he found him, this assassin was going to wish he'd never heard the name vi Britannia.

"Let's go." He growled as he headed for the door.

"Your highness?" Grant questioned.

"Let's go." He repeated harshly. "Out of the way." He pushed past the guard standing at the door, who was staring at him as though he'd just sprouted a second head.

"Are you out of your mind? There's a man out there who wants to kill you and you want to go wander the halls?" Seckel demanded furiously before remembering who he was talking to. His eyes widened in sudden shock as he stammered out an apology, "I – I mean, I'm sorry, your highness."

"If this assassin wants me so badly, he can have me. Providing he can kill me before we return him the favor. But I'm not going to sit back and let any more of you die for me. Understood?" He asked, glancing over his shoulder at them as he pulled open the door.

"Yes, sir." All three of them replied in unison.

Lelouch turned right down the hallway, headed in the direction he thought the gunshot had originated from, but he had barely reached the end of the hall when three radio's crackled to life.

"We've managed to take the target alive. I repeat, we'd subdued the target and taken him alive. Team Four, maintain the perimeter. Teams Two and Five, sweep every room for accomplices or bombs. Team Three, stay with the prince until the building has been cleared."

"Where are they?" Lelouch demanded even before his companions were able to sigh in relief.

"Uh . . ." Seckel muttered as he reached for his radio. "This is Team Three. The prince is en route and wants to know where you're at, Team One."

"Take the prince back to his quarters and keep him secure, Team Three." The voice on the other end of the radio ordered harshly. He knew that voice. It was Ambrose.

Without saying a word, Lelouch held out his hand for the radio, his eyes narrowed in anger. He wasn't an inanimate object that could be shuffled around from location to location without consultation. He was a person. More so, he was a prince of the Empire. Seckel quickly unclipped his radio from his uniform and held it out for him to take.

"This is Lelouch _vi Britannia,_" He announced into the radio with deliberate emphasis. "What is your position, Sergeant?" He demanded, leaving little to no room for argument.

"We're in the servants quarters, your highness. We caught him skulking around by the stairs." Ambrose answered quickly.

"Take him to the entrance hall. I'll be there shortly." He ordered before tossing the radio back to Seckel and hurrying down the stairs.

When he arrived with his three security team members dogging his heels, Ambrose and six other men were already there. One of them, at the center of the mass, had his hands bound behind his back and was bleeding from a wound in his arm and another in his thigh, the blood hardly visible over the matte black clothing he was wearing. He looked like he could barely stand of his own accord, favoring his weight on his unwounded leg while his lips pressed into a thin line to suppress the pain.

Lelouch's eyes narrowed menacingly as he approached. The assassin watched him with dull disinterest, but his eyes were still tracking all of Lelouch's movements nonetheless.

"Who sent you?" Lelouch demanded coldly, stopping six feet away from the dangerous – yet beaten – man.

As expected, he didn't receive a reply. Instead, the man continued to watch him, as though he were nothing more interesting than an inanimate object on display.

"Lelouch!" A voice called behind him, accompanied by hurried footsteps. "Are you alright?"

Two things happened at that moment. One, Edith rushed into the room looking pale and frantic with worry and, two, a flicker of recognition entered the assassin's eyes and the man roughly jerked his right hand free of the handcuff, heedless of the bloody flesh the metal cuffs tore from him or the bone he had to break or dislocate in order to get free.

In that second, realization hit Lelouch like a ton of bricks.

He wasn't the target.

_Edith was. _

Even as he watched, the assassin used his intact hand to pull a small, concealed switchblade from the fold of his turtleneck, ducking under the restraining grasps of his security team as they scrambled to draw their weapons and regain control of the situation. The world seemed to slow. His people's reaction times seemed almost comically sluggish while the assassin began his advance, blade wielded with expert care.

And Lelouch was moving, a knee-jerk reaction that, even as he did it, made no sense to him. He should have moved away from the blade. He should have fled. That was the normal human reaction, to flee from danger. Instead, he found himself throwing himself between the assassin and Edith, his hand closed firmly over his assistant's forearm to keep her behind him.

The blade inched closer every second as a look of surprise crossed the assassin's face. At the very last second, the man was able to slow his momentum and cease his charge, the tip of the little knife pressed uncomfortably against his sternum as he glared at the man.

Then, with a snap, time returned to it's normal flow and a handful of men had tackled the assassin, while another handful pulled himself and Edith away from the potential danger-zone. With the advent of real time again, his mind began racing.

Who would send an assassin after Edith? Who had both the means and motive to want her eliminated? It couldn't be a reporter she had snubbed on his behalf. Assassins cost a lot of money to hire, especially ones as good – fanatical – as this one was. If the assassin had been after him, the number of potential employers was incomparably large. But, as Edith was the target, he could only think of two men both able to afford the assassin's services and with the need to do so. After all, when it came to assassins, it didn't matter how important the target was. What was important was the secret you were trying to keep.

The first was Lord Gottwald. The Margrave had witnessed Edith eavesdropping on their potentially scandalous conversation. The man could think he was doing his prince a favor by eliminating a witness to hints at treason. However, that seemed unlikely as he hadn't seen hide nor hair of the man since the night he'd visited. Lelouch assumed the man had returned to Area Eleven and had gotten on with his life.

So that left . . .

"Schneizel." He said firmly and didn't miss the slight – but unmistakable – widening of the assassin's eyes. That momentary flutter of panic was all the proof he needed. "_Schneizel._" He snarled again as his anger grew by leaps and bounds.

Edith had witnessed his treasonous temper tantrum the day he'd learned about his upcoming wedding, and Schneizel had seen her there. No doubt, Schneizel thought he was protecting Lelouch. He was, after all, - no matter what Schneizel said about equality and partnership – a very important tool in his brother's arsenal.

"Ambrose." He snapped. "Take this man outside and execute him. Then alert the police to this incident and have them take the body. Someone get Samson out of bed and get the car ready. Seckel, Grant, Thomas, go with Edith and protect her. Get dressed. You're coming with me." He ordered, turning finally to his assistant who looked like she was on the verge of collapsing.

"What?" She asked numbly, staring at him in shock.

"You're coming with me. Get dressed."

He then turned and walked back to his room to change into fresh clothes that hadn't been pulled from his dirty laundry bin. He didn't even flinch when a single, loud gunshot echoed through his window.

"Are you completely mad?" Abigail hissed at him as he left his room. She'd been waiting outside his door with Bruce lurking in her shadow. "You risked your life for a servant? Do you have a death wish or something? You should have let her die. God, I was so worried about you. How can you be so careless with your own life?"

It seemed she'd been watching from the second floor landing the whole time.

He frowned at her. Did he have a death wish? No, he decided. No he didn't. But all the same, he wasn't about to just let Edith be killed in front of his eyes. Not when he could do something about it.

"It is my duty, as the lord of this estate, to take care of everyone within. I have a responsibility to everyone who works for me to keep them safe from harm. So no, I don't have a death wish, but I do have an obligation to the people here." He explained with deadly calm before turning on his heel and leaving her speechless in the hall.

When he returned to the foyer, he was just in time to see a sleepy-eyed Samson heading out the door towards the garage and one of the maids mopping up the small drops of blood the bleeding assassin had left on the white marble floor. He refused to look at them, refused to remember how his mother's blood and how Nunnally's blood had once looked exactly the same on this very same floor.

Edith emerged a few minutes later, dressed in a business suit with her hair pulled back in it's customary no-nonsense bun. She was pale, she looked like she was shaking and she seemed reluctant to enter the room. Flanking her in formation with their hands on their weapons, were the three members of his security team he'd sent with her.

Without saying a word, he motioned for them to follow and headed for the car – a limo this time. Edith climbed in after him, mechanically going through the motions of fastening her seat belt. The three guards, however, hesitated.

"Get in." He ordered tonelessly as he crossed his arms over his chest. Until he had dealt with the source of the problem, Edith wasn't going anywhere without an armed escort.

The source of the problem.

Schneizel.

Gritting his teeth, Lelouch inwardly seethed. What right did his brother think he had to interfere like this? Sending an assassin into his house crossed and very big, very important line. And there would be hell to pay for it.

" . . . thank you." Edith said softly. Her voice trembled a little and it was clear that she was still in shock. If the car hadn't been so deathly quiet he doubted he would have heard her. "Though you really shouldn't have put yourself in danger on my account."

"It's the duty of those with power to protect those without. It's my job to keep my people safe." He answered distractedly before glancing at his guards. "I'm sorry about Caputo. This situation is my fault. I said some things I ought not to have in front of Edith."

The apology was followed by a long silence as each of the passengers of the car nodded in understanding. It was his fault that man had died. He should have thought things through. He should have had a better rein on his temper. Raging in impotent helplessness had done nothing to resolve his problems. Instead, it had created new ones and now a man was dead because of that mistake. It was a harrowing waking up call. He wasn't just responsible for the safety of himself and Nunnally any more. There were other people who looked to him for their protection and he had already failed once.

Never again, he swore to himself. He would never again let his temper put someone else's life in jeopardy. It was unacceptable. From this moment onward, even if he wanted to lash out and rage furiously, he would take the time to take stock of his surroundings and consider all of the possibilities first.

The gate was closed and heavily guarded at Schneizel's estate, as was to be expected in the middle of the night. The security officer had refused to grant them entry until Lelouch had had to actually emerge from the vehicle and order it in the name of his family. Even then, they'd called ahead to the house to ask for confirmation.

For whatever reason, Schneizel actually allowed it. Which confused Lelouch, unless his brother thought he'd showed up there in the middle of the night because he was too afraid of staying in his own house after the attack.

Schneizel met him in the foyer as he arrived, dressed in an expensive navy blue silk dressing robe and slippers, and the slightly surprised glance at just who was accompanying him was not lost on Lelouch. Without waiting for pleasantries and greetings, he raised his hand and pointed at Schneizel accusingly.

"You sent an assassin after Edith!" He snarled.

Schneizel's eyes slowly traveled from Lelouch to examine the maid. "And it seems he failed." He observed calmly.

Lelouch let his hand drop to his side as his fingers curled into a tight fist. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to remember the vow he'd made to himself only minutes before. He would not create another situation that Schneizel would think had to be remedied. He would gain control of himself – of his anger – and then take control of the situation.

He closed his eyes and took a long, calming breath into his lungs. He held it there for a few second before letting it slowly out of his nose. When he opened his eyes again, a deadly, dangerous calm had settled over him.

"So you don't deny it?" He asked tonelessly, hands limp at his sides.

"I will do what I need to to protect you. Even from harmful gossip." Schneizel answered unapologetically.

Lelouch's eyes tightened and he pinned his brother in his gaze. "If you _ever_ send assailants after my people again – for whatever reason – I will make you rue the day we met, Schneizel. Brother or not." He said perfectly calmly yet with every word saturated with anger and malice. This wasn't impotent raging. This wasn't an angry teen helplessly lashing out at the world. This was a young man making a threat that he fully intended to carry out unless his conditions were met. "You do not want me as your enemy, Schneizel."

There was a long moment of silence while Schneizel examined Lelouch and, he thought bitterly, considered his options. "I understand," Schneizel said at length before turning to Edith. "I apologize, my dear lady. I was unaware of how important you are to my brother. It wont happen again. I promise."

Lelouch let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding slowly. If Schneizel had been a completely remorseless monster, he was sure his life would already have been forfeit. The presence of Schneizel's own assistant lurking by the door was certainly not lost on Lelouch and he'd met the man enough times to know that Kanon almost always carried a weapon. However, Lelouch was useful to Schneizel. Schneizel needed him and killing him here would have been pointless.

He didn't trust his brother's 'promise', but he did trust in the fact that he'd backed Schneizel into a corner. Any action taken against his employees would result in an immediate termination of their agreement. Furthermore, it would ensure Lelouch moved against him and Schneizel knew he had all the ammunition he needed to do so.

"Good." He grumbled before turning around on his heel stalking towards the door. "Good night, Schneizel."

"Good night, Lelouch." His brother said casually, voice revealing not even a hint of anxiety. But it wasn't in Schneizel's nature to show tension to anyone.

* * *

An: Wow, so I hope you liked it. Longest chapter yet. And you guys are awesome, we're at over 200 reviews now!

I'm sorry that a couple of you didn't like the last chapter, but this story is my brainchild and I'm allowed to do whatever I like to it. :D I got my first flame since the very first story I ever wrote for the last chapter. It was kind of interesting, in a sad way. For future reference, if you have to clarify at the beginning of your review whether or not it's a flame, it's probably a flame. Also, for even more future reference, if you feel the need to flame me, please just don't. I don't know about all of you, but as for me, one of the ways I pick a good story out of the bunch that sound interesting to read is by how many reviews that particular story has accumulated. It's okay if you don't like my story, that is your prerogative, after all. But if that's the case, just cease reading instead of trying to belittle the author.

All that aside, I would like to inform you that there was a minor revision to chapter 9 that I just made. One of you kindly pointed out that in the world of Code Geass, the state of Washington wouldn't exist as it was named after a defeated enemy of the Britannian Empire. I actually realized that when I was writing it but forgot to change it when I was editing. So I went ahead and changed it to the Duke of Oregon (don't ask me why but I want her to be from the west coast. As of right now it has absolutely no bearing on the plot, however). So I changed that and from now on Abigail is the daughter of the Duke of Oregon. Exciting.

Thanks so much for reading, I really appreciate it.

Allora


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Kallen stared at the blank patch of white wall next to her brother's bed listlessly. She couldn't stop seeing that man's face. That God damned Britannian cop. That remorseless killer. . . that gaping wound in his throat and the blood.

She couldn't stop hearing that horrible, gurgling 'why?'.

_Why?_

He'd been so confused. So shocked. As though it amazed him that anyone would ever raise their hand against him, let alone actually strike him down.

_Why?_

He'd stared at her. Even when the light had gone out of his eyes and she'd been reasonably sure he was more or less dead, he'd still stared at her. He was still staring at her – eyes dark and lifeless in her mind's eye.

She felt the bed shift a little beside her as someone sat down, but she didn't move. Instead, she stared harder at the blank white surface in front of her, hoping that if she concentrated hard enough her mind would go equally as blank. So far, it hadn't worked, but she was determined to forget. To forget that man. To forget his cruelty. To forget his astonishment. For forget the feeling of his blood staining her hands – of how sticky it was – of how long it had taken her to scrub all of it off until her hands were raw and aching.

" . . . Kallen."

It was Naoto again.

She focused harder on the wall, willing the man's face out of existence. And yet he persisted.

"Enough of this, Kallen. It's been two days." Naoto said gently as he pulled her onto her back so he could at least look at her.

She averted her gaze. She didn't know why, but having to look her brother in the eye right now seemed like an impossible task. She thought that – maybe – she was ashamed by what she had done. She could have incapacitated him. It had been within her power to do that, but she'd gone for the kill instead.

Silence reigned for a few more minutes as they sat together, Naoto staring intently at her face while she resolutely avoided looking at him.

"I'm proud of you, you know?" He said finally.

"For what?" She asked glumly, her curiosity piqued enough to respond.

"For protecting those people." He answered. "It's not what I wanted for you, of course. In an ideal world you would have never been placed in that situation. But I'm proud of you for putting those people ahead of everything else. I'm proud of you for not hesitating, for being willing to do even . . . _that _to save them." He skirted around the issue at the last moment.

"I wasn't thinking." She mumbled even though she was secretly pleased by his praise. He was proud of her. Naoto was proud of her for standing between innocent civilians and almost certain death.

He sighed and leaned back against the headboard, arms crossed over his chest as he examined the spot on the wall her eyes had almost bored a hole through over the last two days. "That's what it's about, you know? Protecting people. It's not so much about the revenge or national pride. Britannians don't care who they hurt, and as long as things stay like that, I'll keep fighting them. Each of us needs a reason to fight. So long as they keep being careless with Japanese lives, I'll have my reason."

"You mean if the Britannians were all lovey-dovey and nice to us, you wouldn't fight back?" Kallen demanded, life finally returning to her eyes after a forty-eight hour absence. "You'd just sit back and let them take everything from us?"

Naoto shrugged. "I'm fighting for you, Kallen. For you and Mom. One day I wont have to be scared of what would happen if anyone at your school ever found out that you're half Japanese. One day we wont have to live in the ghettos. One day we'll take Mom out from under the thumb of that Britannian woman and we'll all live together again – live comfortably - like we should have from the beginning. If Britannia could promise me all those things, they'd probably have one less enemy.

"But Britannia can't promise me they'd protect you. The Empire is cruel and corrupt to it's very core. They thrive on violence, on oppressing those weaker than themselves and the mindless slaughter of the non-Britannian masses. So in order to protect you and everyone else Britannia raises it's hand against, I'll fight them with everything I've got. See, it's about protecting people. Like you protected that woman and her boy."

"Huh . . ." She grunted, the seemingly disinterested response diametrically opposed to her own thought processes. Naoto had never been this explicit before. He wasn't the kind of guy to sit down and talk about his feelings and thoughts. Naoto wasn't a 'feelings' kind of guy. He was usually the strong, hard, argumentative type. But his explanation had cleared a couple things up for her. "That's why you wont let me join then. Because I want revenge."

Naoto chuckled softly and mussed up her hair. "Maybe it's because I don't want you in danger?" He said, rolling his eyes.

"I'm always in danger, Naoto. Like you said, you never know what those Britannians will do to me if they find out I'm half Japanese." She haltingly teased, feeling the smothering weight that had been oppressing her since killing that man lift a little. "School books flying every which way, the equestrian club riding me down on horseback, the kendo club initiating a full assault. Complete anarchy."

"Don't forget the deadly gossip." Naoto pointed out.

"Yes, how could I forget about that." She sighed.

Her brother smiled a little sadly, bringing the subject back around to more serious matters. "I'll take care of you, Kallen. Don't worry about anything. I took Ohgi and Tamaki with me the other night when you were sleeping and took care of the body. It wont be found for a very long time, if ever.

"Thanks . . ." She muttered softly.

"You don't have to thank me. But still, even with the evidence hidden, I don't think you should be seen in the ghettos for a while. Someone might have seen you coming back here, or we might have missed something on the clean up. So I want you to stay home for a while."

She frowned, the same little flicker of anger igniting her her heart again – like it always did – when he called that place by that name. "Quit calling it that."

"What?"

"Home." She glared. "The Stadtfeld's isn't home. _This,_" she said, gesturing around his apartment. "is home for me. With you and the rest of the resistance. Not that stuffed up bitch."

Naoto smiled and his eyes softened. "So that's why you're always in such a bad mood when I send you back to the city." He teased. "Fine, but I still think you should return to the Stadtfeld's for a while. You can come back home when all of this blows over. And . . . if you want, you can move in to the spare bedroom."

Her eyes widened in shock. She'd been begging Naoto to take her in since she was fourteen. She couldn't stand being in the Stadtfelt's house. She hated it there, having to tip-toe around her step-mother. Having to see how pathetic her real mother had become. And now her brother was offering her the escape she'd so desperately craved for three years.

"Really?" She demanded. If this was some kind of sick practical joke she was going to kick his ass into next week.

Naoto smirked. "Well, what kind of brother would I be if I kicked my own little sister out of her home?"

"I knew you were just a big softy under that hard-ass exterior." She smirked back.

* * *

"Come on, Shirley! Put the blue one on." Milly urged, waving the bright silk garment in her friend's face.

"But I liked the red one." Shirley pouted, pointing to the rack behind the Student Council President.

"Nope. That one's for Nina. Besides it wouldn't go with your hair." Milly said as she turned around to glare at the smaller girl who was still glued to her computer. "Nina, come put this on."

"I don't think I'm going to participate. . ." Nina replied softly.

Further argument was cut off when Rivalz suddenly barged into the room, dressed like a samurai – complete with top knot - whilst wielding a cheap sword he'd picked up at a novelty shop. "Ha, this is great. The Old Japan Festival is sure to be a big hit, Madame President!" He chuckled as he waved the sword around wildly.

"Rivalz! You're going to poke someone's eye out!" Shirley exclaimed as she only just managed to dodge the dull point of the sword.

"Nina! Shirley! Both of you get into those kimonos right now." Milly ordered. "We've got a lot to do to keep this festival running smoothly and I'm going to need the both of you to help."

"Yes, Ma'am!" Shirley said with an optimistic salute as she began gathering up the blue kimono she'd been assigned.

Nina didn't move.

"What, Nina? Don't tell me you've never wanted to wear one of these? They're so pretty. I'll even tie the knot for you. I printed some instructions off the internet for it." Milly coaxed.

"No, I just don't feel like -"

"Hey, it's Lulu!" Shirley exclaimed, and once again Nina was blessedly released from the center of attention.

On the television that had been playing in the background, Lelouch stood behind a podium splayed with microphones next to a small blond woman. The mob of reporters in front of the stand remained, for the moment, blissfully silent except for the rapid staccato of camera shutters opening and closing.

"It is with great pleasure that I, Lelouch vi Britannia, would like to announce my engagement to Lady Abigail Chapman." Lelouch said calmly and clearly into the microphones in front of him, a small smile on his lips as he took the woman next to him's hand in his and raised it so the reporters could see the massive ring that adorned her left hand.

"What?" Shirley shrieked. "Just how long has he known _her_ for? He can't be getting married! He just can't!"

"He certainly doesn't look pleased." Rivalz muttered as he examined his best friend on the television.

Milly had to agree. They all knew that smile. That was Lelouch's pissed off smile. The one he used when he'd been pushed just a little too far but didn't want to explode at them because Nunnally was nearby and would get upset. That was his 'I've-had-fucking-enough' smile. His 'keep-this-up-and-I'll-make-sure-you-regret-it' smile.

"An arranged marriage." Milly scowled.

"What are we going to do?" Shirley demanded. "We have to stop this somehow!"

Milly raised a critical eyebrow at her. "What are we going to do? What, do you want us to fly to Pendragon and kidnap him or something?"

"Rush in there with swords drawn!" Rivalz teased as he dramatically waved his sword around. "And demand that the Emperor and Lelouch's fiancee hand him over. Or else." He poked Shirley lightly in the arm with the tip of his sword.

"I'm serious, you guys! We can't just let them . . . I mean, he could never be happy with . . . It's not fair to him to be put in this situation." Shirley protested.

Milly smiled sadly and crossed her arms over her chest. "Listen, all of you," She said firmly, "Lelouch understood that this was a possibility. He was prepared to do anything to protect a certain someone that we're not allowed to talk about anymore. Getting married – even if she is a hag – is a small price to pay considering he was half expecting an execution. And we all need to understand that there's nothing we can do for him anymore. He is, quite simply, out of our reach. And in any case, he has people far more competent than a couple of high school students to do his bidding now. If Lelouch was desperate to get out of the marriage, he'd get out of it. We all know what he's like. If he goes through with the wedding, then all it tells us is that it's a price he's willing to pay."

"But . . ." Shirley protested miserably. "Lulu deserves to be happy. "

"Yeah, but life's not fair." Rivalz said, sending Shirley a comforting smile. "Not everyone gets that chance at happiness." He shot a furtive glance at Milly before turning back to the television to watch the rest of Lelouch's address. Truth be told, he missed Lelouch. He missed having someone to get into trouble with. He missed gambling. He missed his best friend's incredible luck and faultless logic. And even if he couldn't still hang around with Lelouch, he still wanted to see what Lelouch had to say on the television. Just knowing he was still alive and kicking was enough for the moment. He'd figure out a way to reestablish contact soon enough.

It had been a shock to him when he'd found Lelouch's cellphone and wallet tucked into the side car of his motorcycle the day after Lelouch had be captured. It had hurt. That phone had been the only means of communication the Student Council had had with Lelouch and for him to sever it so suddenly and remorselessly had made him angry at first. He hadn't liked being simply cast aside. But that was only until he'd really thought about it and tried to look at things from Lelouch's perspective.

Nunnally's number was in that phone. As was Sayoko's and the rest of the members of the Student Council. He'd been trying to protect them. Again. It seemed Lelouch was always trying to protect someone. Even when he should be concentrating more on trying to save himself. There had also been a few photos of Nunnally tucked into the wallet. Rivalz had hidden them at the bottom of a box of random crap in his closet. If Lelouch ever came back, he was sure Lelouch would want them. Or at least would be glad to know they were safe.

On the television, Lelouch and his new fiance fielded questions from the reporters. Questions ranging from the inane to the scandalous – everything from where the ring had been bought to how he thought Milly was taking this shocking news. Rivalz glanced at the Student Council President and almost chuckled. She seemed to be taking the news rather well. Far better than Shirley was, in any case. The gymnast/swimmer/Student Council Secretary was slumped into a chair, staring at the television set forlornly.

"Prince Lelouch, since your reappearance you've been reluctant to be seen by the media and haven't made any public statements since your announcement with Prince Clovis. Is there a reason for your evasion of the press?" One reporter asked.

Lelouch smirked confidently. "Not at all. I simply covet my privacy. Next question."

The same reporter shot up her hand again and Lelouch waved for her to continue. Probably intending to get her completely out of the way before moving on to the next reporter.

"Would you like to tell the world where you've been the last seven years, your highness? There were reports that you were killed during the invasion of Area Eleven. Obviously those reports were false."

Without missing a beat, Lelouch lied calmly. "I was originally sent to Area Eleven to be fostered in obscurity. The experience has granted me a unique outlook into the lives of the common masses that my siblings cannot relate to. Returning to the homeland after the invasion would have defeated the point of my going to Area Eleven in the first place."

"And that point was?"

"To teach me humility."

Milly scoffed. "Bet he Emperor just wet himself with glee."

"You shouldn't talk like that." Nina said nervously, glancing around as though worried the Emperor himself was going to jump out of the supply room and accuse them of treason.

Milly shrugged and went back to watching the television.

"What about your sister, your highness. Is Princess Nunnally with you at the Aeries Villa?" Another reporter asked.

The fake smile instantly dropped off Lelouch's face and his eyes turned cold and deadly. "My sister is dead. She lost her life during the invasion of Area Eleven."

Maybe the reporter's curiosity was sated with the statement, or maybe it was the look of promised retribution should they continue along that line of questioning, but the reporters suddenly changed tacts and focused their attention on Lady Chapman instead.

The woman was charismatic, there was no two ways about it. From the moment she opened her mouth, she had the press wrapped around her finger. She smiled charmingly as she spun an elaborate fiction about how she'd first met Lelouch and how they'd kept in touch over the last three years via emails and letters. It sounded like the plot for a cheesy romance movie, but no one wanted to hear about the intricacies of the business deal that was going to result in their marriage. The fiction was much more press-friendly.

The Student Council, however, never took their attention off Lelouch who, it seemed, was trying his damnedest to keep his face impassive while his fiancee chattered on.

"He looks tired." Shirley said softly, eyes never leaving the screen.

"He probably didn't get much sleep last night." Nina said absently, equally as mesmerized by the image of Lelouch on the television screen. Even now, it still seemed surreal that _Lelouch_ was a prince of the Imperial family. Lelouch was the goodnatured, kindhearted slacker that could calculate the club's activities budget without even glancing at a calculator. Lelouch was the guy that let Milly force him into ridiculous costumes for the sake of other's enjoyment. The guy that let them drag him into all sorts of festivals and activities. The guy that allowed them to use him as an event's focal point or prize. The guy that always had good advice, no matter what the subject. The guy that would do absolutely anything for his friends. And now he was also the guy who lived in a palace and made national announcements on the television.

"Why do you say that?" Milly inquired.

"Probably had trouble after the assassin -" Nina cut off abruptly. She hadn't meant to say anything about what had happened last night in the Aeries Villa.

"Assassin?" Rivalz squeaked.

"Have you been keeping tabs on Lelouch without telling us?" Milly demanded.

Indeed, she had been keeping an eye open for incidents concerning Lelouch. One of the first things she'd done after receiving the bursary from the Moris Foundation had been to once again discreetly hack into the Britannian Police database and plant some spy software that would alert her any time Lelouch was mentioned by the police. It was a security measure that helped to reassure her. If the police ever moved against Lelouch - she'd set it up to notify her if she or the Moris Foundation bursary were ever mentioned too - about the bursary, at least she'd have fair warning enough to either hide the evidence or destroy it. And it would also give her the chance to move Nunnally once his sister moved into Nina's 'research facility'.

But she didn't want the rest of the Student Council to know anything about the bursary, let alone Lelouch's part in procuring it for her. She opened her mouth the deny the charge when Milly suddenly smiled widely.

"Awe, Nina, that's so sweet! You must have been really worried about him. Looks like you might have even more competition, Shirley!" Milly said slyly – causing Nina to blush horrendously and sputter denials – before Milly's face went suddenly serious again. "What happened last night? There was an assassin?" The President grilled.

Nina shrank in on herself, uncomfortable under the scrutiny of the rest of the council members. "Erm, a man broke in and killed one of Lelouch's guards. Lelouch had him executed after they caught him."

"What?" Shirley shrieked. "Someone was trying to kill Lulu?"

Nina sighed. She wasn't going to get out of this without a full explanation.

* * *

Lelouch sat across from Schneizel, face schooled into perfect neutrality as he considered the playing pieces spread across the board in front of him. It had become almost a ritual since his return to Pendragon. He would go to Schneizel's at about eight o'clock and they would play chess. It helped them unwind from the day - helped them focus their thoughts and keep them from staying up to all hours of the night plotting and scheming.

Yes, his face was perfectly neutral, but inside he was still seething. The audacity of his brother to remorselessly send a killer after one of his people still shocked him. He couldn't fathom how someone got to that point - the point where human life no longer mattered in the pursuit of one's goals. When did humanity cease to matter? When had Schneizel crossed that line?

He'd known, of course. He'd known that his brother could be ruthless and underhanded, but he'd never once considered that he and his people would be on the receiving end of those methods. Not since striking up their alliance, anyway.

_ "You're my brother, Lelouch. If you're asking if I'd have you removed you are very much mistaken when you think you know me. I would never do something like that to you."_

He wouldn't be so quick to believe these kinds of false promises in the future. Sure, the assassin hadn't technically been after him, but as far as he was concerned, an attack on his household was an attack on himself.

Really, what he would like to do was sever ties right now with Schneizel. What he'd done was unforgivable. But Lelouch was pragmatic enough to know that wasn't a possibility now. He knew too much about Schneizel's plans. It was far safer to keep a close eye on Schneizel instead.

Which was why he was there - playing chess - in a show that he was willing to forget at least, if not forgive.

He moved his Knight into position. If Schneizel took his bait, he'd be able to take his brother's Queen in two turns. To his mild surprise, the tactic actually worked. Perhaps going back to the basics and teaching Edith how to play had been beneficial to him. Or maybe Schneizel was just distracted. The furtive looks his brother kept sending him were certainly not lost on Lelouch.

No doubt Schneizel wondered just what Lelouch was planning.

The truth was that Lelouch wasn't planning anything. Rather, he wasn't planning anything outside of the funeral of Tony Caputo, the twenty-six year old, recently married guard who had lost his life trying to protect the estate.

He'd volunteered to be the one to break the bad news to his wife and had met with Mrs. Caputo that morning. It was, after all, his fault that her husband was dead. Having to watch the woman crumble into a sobbing mess and know that he was the one responsible for creating the situation that had led to her husband's death was a part of his penance. It reinforced his promise to think over every situation carefully before reacting.

"I want you to go to the funeral." Lelouch said calmly, breaking with tradition to hold a conversation in the middle of the game.

"Funeral?" Schneizel raised an eyebrow in question, his hand half-reaching for a Pawn.

"Your assassin murdered one of my guards." He answered coldly.

"I see. So that's why you're so angry with me." Schneizel sighed, pushing the Pawn forward with the tip of his finger.

"No. I'm angry with you because you sent an _assassin_ into my house." Lelouch spat, fingers clenching tightly over the head of his Rook. "I want you to take responsibility. I want you to see what you've done. You're the one who sent that man after Edith. You're the one who sanctioned the murder of my guard. I want you to witness what you've done to his family."

There was something about the raw grief of the man's wife that had affected Lelouch. It was a stark difference to the dignified forlorn looks his family had worn as they'd put his own mother into the ground. A stark and damning difference to the funeral of his mother where he'd watched nearly blinded by his own tears of grief as Lady eu Britannia had pulled out a vial of eye drops to create fake tears at the loss of her greatest rival.

No, Tony Caputo had been truly loved and he would be sorely missed by his family and friends.

Schneizel sighed. "When is it?"

"Tuesday at three." Lelouch answered immediately, sliding his Bishop across the board to catch Schneizel in Check.

"Kanon, pencil that in, will you?" Schneizel said, barely turning his head in the direction of his assistant who was lounging across the sofa on the other end of the room whilst flipping through a magazine. Lelouch had learned to accept that there were no secrets between Schneizel and Kanon and thus trying to speak to his brother strictly in private was a moot point.

"Uh huh." Kanon said boredly as he pulled out his PDA and pressed a few buttons. "Tuesday. Three o'clock. Funeral." He confirmed before stuffing the device back in his pocket and picking up his magazine again.

Lelouch actually liked Kanon. Or rather, he liked what the assistant's behavior revealed about his brother. It proved that Schneizel could actually form a genuine friendship with someone. That not _everyone_ was a possibly expendable tool to be used. Because anyone else acting so blasé about orders from Schneizel would probably never find work again.

"He wont be the first to die for you, you know." Schneizel said after a few moments of silence, prudently moving his King out of reach of Lelouch's Bishop.

Lelouch glared at his brother. "Does that mean you'll be trying again then?"

Schneizel shook his head. "No. But you're a prince, Lelouch. Your life is inherently more important than those who serve you. Therefore, sooner or later, someone else will die in your service."

"Not if I can help it." Lelouch hissed, his eyes narrowing into a menacing glare. He didn't want anyone to die on his behalf. Never again.

Schneizel raised a hand placatingly. "I'm just saying that it's something you'll have to prepare yourself for. You are more than just a person to the people who serve you. You're a symbol. You're the Empire incarnate and those who have sworn to serve the Empire will gladly lay down their lives for you. As princes, we embody Britannia."

Lelouch almost laughed. The thought that _he_ was viewed as a physical manifestation of the Empire was beyond ridiculous. He despised all of the founding ideals the Empire was built on. And in turn, the Empire generally despised him as well. For Schneizel, the statement was undoubtedly true. Schneizel was the favorite, after all.

Instead of responding, Lelouch moved his Rook, efficiently trapping Schneizel's King between his Bishop, Rook and two Pawns. "Checkmate."

Schneizel glanced down at the board, unsurprised. Even Lelouch was unenthusiastic about his first victory against Schneizel. It was hollow. Meaningless. Schneizel hadn't even been trying. Frowning, Lelouch set up the pieces again back into pristine order before standing up.

"It would be appreciated if you tried next time, Schneizel. I'll see you on Tuesday." Lelouch said calmly before turning to leave.

He was halfway back to the car when his phone started vibrating in his pocket. His secret phone. People weren't supposed to call him on that phone, it's vibration was something he was never supposed to feel. He only kept it on and with him to keep open a last ditch emergency line of communication with Nina if something went horribly wrong.

He froze, his heart leaping into his throat at the thought. Had something gone wrong with Nunnally's relocation? What could possibly have gone wrong so quickly? He'd only given her the task a few days ago. Had someone found out about the bursary already? Or even worse, had someone discovered Nunnally's existence?

He hurriedly grabbed the phone and brought it to his ear as he followed his driver out to the car, painfully conscious of the two guards Schneizel had posted at the doors to his estate that were within listening distance. He stayed silent, hoping to reach private confines of the car before he had to speak.

"Er . . . hello? Lelouch?"

Lelouch let out the breath he had unconsciously been holding. "Milly?" He asked incredulously. Hadn't he told her not to call him at this number? No, he realized. No he hadn't. He'd told Nina not to call him but hadn't left similar instructions for the Student Council President.

"Geez, what are you doing just breathing into the phone all creepy like that?" She reprimanded.

"Uh, sorry?" He said, the inflection making it come out as a question. He was still trying to figure out just why she might be calling him. She would know better than to call him here just for casual conversation. He hoped. "What's . . . up?"

Milly hesitated on the other end of the line for a moment before it rushed out all at once. "Is it true that there was an assassination attempt last night? Someone's trying to kill you? God, Lelouch, are you okay? Tell me it's not true. I looked on the news but no one said anything about it. It's not true, is it?"

"How did you find out about that?" Lelouch asked quickly. He'd spent a lot of money to keep the incident hush hush and had even resorted to uttering idle threats. The last thing he needed was for people to wonder just what Edith knew that would warrant an assassination.

"You mean it's true!" Milly shrieked into the phone.

"How did you find out about that, Milly? It's important." Lelouch asked firmly. He was completely at a loss. He couldn't understand why someone would tell his friends about an assassination attempt in his house.

"Nina told us. She's been keeping an eye on you through the police computers. I don't really understand how and I'm not sure I really want to know as I'm pretty sure it's illegal. But anyway, she came across a report about an assassin."

Lelouch groaned and rubbed his hand over his brow. Nina was being careless. If the police ever discovered her little addition to their system she would be in serious trouble. "Tell Nina to stop doing that. If she gets caught, it will take a lot of trouble on my part to get her out of it." Not to mention the suspicion in would raise as to just why he would be helping her out. As far as most people knew, they were barely acquaintances. Simply termed 'friends' because they'd been in the same club for the last three years together. He didn't want anyone looking into that relationship too closely or they'd find out that the Student Council was more like family to him than the Imperial family could ever be.

"Yeah yeah, I'll let her know. But tell me, are you alright? God, you must be so freaked out. Do you know who's trying to kill you?" She asked in rapid-fire.

"I'm fine, Milly. The assassin wasn't even after me. And I've dealt with both the killer and his employer already." Lelouch answered calmly, forcing bored confidence into his voice to help reassure her. "Though I would appreciate if you kept all of this to yourself."

"What do you mean you dealt with them both? You _know _who's trying to kill you or send you a message or whatever?" Milly demanded.

Lelouch sighed. "Please, Milly, the problem has been resolved. I'd rather not delve into it. Let's talk about something else."

"Fine." Milly said quickly before launching into her next line of questioning. "You're getting married? It's arranged, right?"

Lelouch rolled his eyes, even though he was aware she couldn't see it. "Yes on both accounts. You didn't think I was so eager to tie the knot that I ran off and proposed to the first girl I met, did you?" He asked sarcastically before sobering. ". . . Do you guys think it's weird? I mean, I only just turned seventeen."

Milly scoffed, "We know you probably didn't have a choice. So no, we don't think you're weird. Though Shirley's probably taking it the hardest. She keeps trying to convince the rest of use – primarily me – to help her stage a rescue."

Lelouch chuckled. "Well if she can pull it off, I wouldn't object."

"You don't like the lovely Lady Chapman then?" Milly asked quickly, hungry for gossip.

"No, but don't repeat that." Lelouch answered. "To be entirely honest, I think she's a bit of a bitch. We got into an argument yesterday and she's been avoiding me since. Not that I'm really complaining. If she wants to spend all day out shopping, she's more than welcome to. It keeps her out of my hair at least and keeps her from terrorizing the staff."

"Oh, sounds like a handful. And don't worry about me talking about this to anyone. As far as I'm concerned, you're no longer gossipable material. I know it would cause you a lot of trouble now."

"Thanks, Milly." He grumbled in relief.

"Don't mention it." She said airily. "So . . . when's the wedding?"

"End of the month." He mumbled petulantly.

"That quick? Wow, they must really be in a rush to marry you off." She said in surprise.

"Apparently."

"So, when can I expect my invitation?" She asked, ignoring his sour mood.

"Huh?" Lelouch asked in confusion. "You mean you want to be there?"

"Uh, duh! Lelouch! You weren't thinking about not inviting me, were you? Am I not your oldest friend? Why would I want to miss your wedding? Besides, it's been a while since I've been able to see you completely miserable. Not since last Christmas when I got you into that spandex elf costume and made you sing _Jolly Old Saint Nicholas_ in front of the whole school."

Lelouch hesitated. It would be safer to deny this request. Safer to keep his old life and his new life strictly separate – or as separate as he could at least while using Nina as an agent in Area Eleven. Besides, she'd be the only commoner invited to the wedding aside from himself. She'd be met with nothing but scorn at every turn. But it was also his _wedding_ and he thought he might deserve to be selfish on that one day and have at least _someone_ there that knew him and understood how he felt about the decisions being made for him. Someone other than Schneizel who was still hovering on the line between ally and enemy. Perhaps several someones.

He could be selfish once, couldn't he? He deserved to have people at his wedding who actually cared about him, didn't he? People who would celebrate/mourn his wedding with him with the proper solemnity the occasion required.

And he was supposed to be presenting himself as the humble commoner prince, according to Schneizel, wasn't he? It wouldn't be very humble if he didn't invite his own school friends to his wedding, he rationalized. It would be seen as arrogant if he cast off his old friends without, apparently, a second thought as soon as he returned to the homeland.

"Of course not. I'll make sure my assistant sends you and the others your invitations tomorrow." He answered before his mind could provide him with any more cons to counter the pros he'd just mentally listed. There was no _real_ danger to his friends if they came to his wedding. They'd just have to put up with general dislike and scorn from the rest of his family. "I'll . . . look forward to seeing you guys."

"Very prudent, Lelouch. You wouldn't have wanted to see what I had planned for you if you said I wasn't invited." She said menacingly. Somehow, despite the fact that he knew Milly would never cause him more than severe embarrassment, he felt a familiar chill run down his spine. Milly could absolutely devastate someone if she tried hard enough. He'd rather take an assassin than Milly any day. At least he could attack the assassins back. He chuckled nervously and glanced out the window, realizing they were nearing the Aeries Villa.

"Milly, about this number. I would very much appreciate it if you didn't call it again. I'll give you the number of my other phone if you need to call me. But I'm trying to keep this one a secret from certain people. I'm lucky you didn't call even five minutes earlier or I would have been found out." He explained, trying not to think about all the problems it could have created if Schneizel had realized that Lelouch had a private phone that not even he had the number to – that there were people he was in contact with that he didn't want people to know about. Secrets only led to suspicion and his alliance with his brother was already shaky enough without even more seeds of suspicion being planted between them.

"Oh. I'm so sorry. I didn't know. This is the number you called me on before." Milly apologized, horrified. He told her not to worry about it and gave her the other phone number. He trusted Edith enough by now to not worry about her leaking the identities of those who he had phone conversations with to anyone.

Thinking of their last conversation brought up another concern. "Milly, are those girls treating you better by now? I _will_ send someone to protect you if you want."

Milly laughed. "Don't worry about it, Lelouch. You're little engagement announcement solved all that. Instead, they've villainized you and pity me as the scorned woman. You should see the note board on my dorm room door. People are leaving me condolences."

"So you haven't been having anymore trouble then?"

"Nope. I'm in the clear now, though I think your fan rating may have significantly dropped over the last twenty-four hours." She answered cheerfully.

"Good. I was hoping they would smarten up soon. I've got to go. We're back to the house now. I'll see you soon, Milly."

"Sure, Lelouch. I'm glad you're okay, what with . . . you know . . . everything." She said awkwardly. "I'll see you soon."

* * *

AN: ^.^; Phew, sorry about the wait. I had this chapter finished but then decided to rewrite the majority of the last scene because I didn't like it. Originally I'd had the phone ring during the chess match and Lelouch run out in the middle of the game, but it created too many problems to deal with so I scrapped that idea. Also, I was just reminded that I was drunk the first time I wrote that scene so . . . yeah.

Anyway, I hope I'm not losing any of you along the way. I know this is kind of . . . dragging . . . but I need to get all this crap out of the way before I get into more exciting stuff. Even I'm getting tired of all this lead up and character development. But at the same time I don't want to just rush into it at the expense of the plot. Which is why I added the 'side story' of what's going on with Jeremiah and Kallen and whatnot. Please be patient. I swear, I'll make Lelouch really kick ass, but he has to get married and out of Pendragon first and unfortunately due to the need to keep things chronological, a couple other things need to happen before that.

For all you Jeremiah lovers, be comforted that he has his own section next chapter and that it's fairly long and you get to see into his head a bit. Also he's actually working as opposed to just musing. Though there is a lot of musing too.

So, yes. Thank you all so much for reading. I really really appreciate all of your support and reviews. You're all fantastic. ^.^

Allora


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Jeremiah clenched his teeth in annoyance. It had been well over a week since Prince Clovis had assigned him to take out the terrorists and, quite frankly, he had had about enough. The unit he'd been assigned was great . . . at shooting and running and subduing targets. They were quite a bit less spectacular at thinking and coming up with a plan for catching the terrorists. He wasn't surprised in the slightest that they had failed.

But he wasn't like them. He had always prided himself on his ability to command and on the excellence he expected from his men. It shouldn't have been so difficult to track down a couple of arrogant Elevens. It should have been easy. He should have been done by now and back into the Pureblood's good graces. The longer this took, the worse it would look. But this Naoto Kouzuki had covered his tracks well.

Which was why he was currently dressed in disguise with a ratty old fedora pulled low over his face and the collar of his equally unkempt jacket pulled up high enough to hide his distinctly Britannian features in the Shinjuku ghetto. They had gotten as far as they were going to get by going through the Eleven registry and old birth certificate archives that were still relatively intact from before the war. Naoto Kouzuki didn't exist on paper. As far as the national administration was concerned, Naoto Kouzuki had never even been born. At least not the one they were looking for. They'd already checked out the twenty seven Naoto Kouzuki's found in the registries and archives and he'd determined after many hours of intense interrogation that none of them were terrorists. He'd put them out of their misery afterward just to make sure.

Years ago, he'd been tasked with taking down a man who had been selling weapons to the Elevens. That man had been just as equally invisible in the system. The only reason he'd actually caught the man had been because he'd stumbled across the man's very charming sister who, after a few glasses of wine, had shared everything she knew with him. He had been hoping for a repeat of the incident, but that seemed unlikely unless he felt like brushing up on his Japanese.

All around him the Elevens were chattering away in their fact-paced native tongue or – even worse – a butchered garble of Japanese and Britannian mangled together. It put him on edge. He hadn't been so surrounded by this language since the invasion. He had a sneaking suspicion that most of the people in the ghettos didn't even know how to speak Britannian, or at least not enough to do more than plead for their lives. And his Japanese had never been anything to brag about.

During the war, all Britannian soldiers had been taught a few important phrases in Japanese for dealing with the Elevens. This bare acquaintance with the Japanese language had consisted primarily of phrases such as 'Surrender!', 'Stop or I'll shoot.', 'Hands up.', and 'Further resistance is futile.' along with a pleasant collection of curses and derogatory slurs that they would be sure to understand.

However, he doubted using his paltry understanding of their base language on the locals would garner him any information as to the whereabouts of Naoto Kouzuki. In fact, Jeremiah was beginning to suspect that the name was an assumed identity. It would make a lot more sense that way. Or there was also the possibility that there was no Naoto Kouzuki and the email correspondence had been deliberately left as a red herring to draw attention away from the real culprit.

He wished he was also in charge of finding the leak. That seemed like a much better place to start. Once they had him, the leak could have been . . . _persuaded_ into revealing the location and identity of his contacts. It made a lot more sense to start with the leak than with the terrorists. After all, it would be exponentially easier to find one traitor amongst the staff of Prince Clovis' research laboratory than it would be to find a man who may or may not exist amongst the millions of Elevens who lived in the ghettos.

But Clovis didn't want him involved with this operation any more than was needed. He wasn't sure if his prince was doubting his loyalty after the discovery of his connection to Prince Lelouch or if the Viceroy was just that paranoid about whatever it was he was working on. For his part, Jeremiah was hovering somewhere between being offended at not being trusted and being relieved that he wasn't being asked to become involved in something that could easily ruin him.

He paused outside of a small shop. It was probably the nicest store he'd seen inside the ghetto – managing to look just run down as opposed to a crumbling ruin that had been re-inhabited after the bombs had stopped falling. He looked in the window – which was mostly unbroken – and found that it was a herbal remedies shop.

Leave it to these heathens to prefer a couple of ancient dried grasses to the wonder of Britannian medical science. He also noticed that not a single sign or price tag was written in Britannian. Instead, they were covered with the indistinguishable scribbles that the Elevens thought counted as an alphabet. He was of half a mind to go in and teach the store owner a lesson for his impudence.

He hated Japanese. Not just the language, but the Elevens themselves. For the life of him he couldn't understand where their arrogant pride came from. Every lesson they'd been taught about the Japanese before the war had told them that the Elevens should have thrown themselves on their swords by now in shame over their defeat. Instead, they persisted. And they rebelled – whether through small rebellions like this store or through active terrorism.

What exactly were they so proud of anyway? Their own Prime Minister had killed himself to get out of fighting Britannia. Jeremiah wished the rest of the Elevens would follow suit and just get on with it already instead of dragging it out like this and wasting resources. They needed to face the facts, and the facts were that no country in the history of the world had fallen to terrorists and that Britannia would rather see the entire country flattened and dead than surrender it.

There was no way they could win.

Even the JLF – the last remnants of Old Japan's armed forces – were little more than a slightly better trained terrorist cell. It was embarrassing. And these terrorists he was tracking now wouldn't even have been worth his time if they hadn't been working against Prince Clovis' side project. If it weren't for that little fact, he would have left the dogs to a lesser ranked unit and gone back to his brand new Sutherland.

He was an elite Knightmare pilot, after all. And leader of the vastly powerful Pureblood faction. Aside from the Viceroy himself and General Bartley Asprius, there was no one in Area Eleven that wielded as much power and authority as he did. This task was beneath him, but even he had to show obeisance to the Imperial family now and then. And he _had_ sworn an oath to serve Prince Clovis.

"Man, Kouzuki-chan's been really messed up since all that business with that cop."

The voice seemed preternaturally loud if only because it was the only thing withing hearing distance that was spoken in his native tongue. Behind him, three Eleven men passed by, shoulder to shoulder with heads bowed together in private conversation. Jeremiah watched them through the reflection of the herbal shop's window, all thought of starting trouble with the shop's owner fleeing his mind.

Kouzuki.

It was a long shot. Kouzuki wasn't that rare of a name, and the person being discussed was a woman if his foggy memories of Japanese honorifics didn't elude him. But still, it was the first thing that came even remotely close to a lead all day and he was going to follow it.

He waited a few seconds before turning away from the shop window and following the men, his fingers brushing reassuringly against the butt of his gun as he did so. It would take a lot more than a couple of filthy Elevens to take him down if there was trouble, but the weapon was an appreciated bolster to his confidence. He followed a few meters behind, ears straining to to catch on to the conversation.

"Naoto's been just as messed up." One of the men said knowingly. Jeremiah's eyes widened in shock as his steps faltered for a second. Had he _really_ been this lucky? These men knew someone named Naoto who was connected to someone with the Kouzuki surname. What were the chances those two were related? "I thought he was going to have a heart attack when she got back to the apartment all covered in that guy's blood."

"Notice he didn't give a shit when it was _us_ covered in blood." The third man grumbled. "Next time he asks me if I want to help him dismember and hide a body, I'm going to tell him fuck no. Gah, that was gross. It took me all night to get the blood off of me."

"Tamaki, this probably isn't the best place to be talking about that." The first speaker said firmly.

The third man – Tamaki – shrugged in response. "How many people in the ghettos actually speak this stupid language? It's why Naoto made sure we learned it – so we could discuss the resistance's plans in public without people knowing what we were saying."

"Will you shut the hell up!" The first man snarled, grabbing Tamaki by the front of his shirt. "Kouzuki-chan killed a fucking Britannian cop less than a week ago. You don't think they're going to be investigating that?"

A cop killer, huh? Well it would be easy enough for him to gain access to all the information on that case. With luck it would give him a lead to work on. If he could get to this 'Kouzuki-chan', it would be a tangible link to this Naoto character they were talking about. And he already knew they were members of the 'resistance', courtesy of the one called Tamaki's big mouth.

The second man groaned. "Both of you be quiet now." He ordered as he glanced over his shoulder to look for eavesdroppers. Jeremiah ducked his head at the last moment to hide his features and glanced down at his watch nonchalantly.

The Eleven either wasn't observant or didn't think Jeremiah looked like a threat. He wasn't in a uniform after all and both the hat and long coat he was wearing had been picked up from a thrift store on his way to the ghetto. The coat smelled . . . oddly, but was ratty enough to let him blend in with the rest of the residents of the ghettos, so he could ignore it.

A high-pitched childish shriek of laughter to his left destroyed any further chance at observation as a young Eleven girl came pelting out of a back alley with a middle-aged man in hot pursuit. In the girl's hands was a package of what looked like instant noodles.

Behind her, the man let out a long stream of Japanese. Jeremiah vaguely recognized the word for 'stop' amongst the midst of them. The girl looked over her shoulder to stick her tongue out at her pursuer and would have run straight into him, if he hadn't clamped a hand down painfully on her shoulder to bring her to a halt.

She glared furiously at him for a moment until she saw his face - her short stature making it easy to see beneath the lowered brim of his hat – and then started screaming. She let out a torrent of rapid-fire Japanese of which he didn't understand a word. Judging from the way everyone else on the street stopped in their tracks, however, he figured his cover was blown.

His eyes darted toward the three men he'd been following and sure enough both 'Tamaki' and the first speaker were drawing their weapons – old Japanese models, he noticed. He pushed the screaming girl in front of him as he drew his gun. She didn't make much of a human shield, but the terrorists were reluctant to fire on him with her in the way. Obviously they weren't confident of their marksmanship.

He had no qualms with firing however, and his first shot took down the Eleven in the center of the group. The first speaker, the one who had voiced his concern for 'Kouzuki-chan' - died almost instantly as the bullet penetrated his heart. The other two scattered a second later, the only one with sense in the group dragging Tamaki away through a half-collapsed ruin.

He grimaced and let go of the wailing girl he'd been holding. He'd been hoping that his presence in the ghettos would go unnoticed. He'd been hoping he'd be able to make multiple reconnaissance trips around these ruins, but that would be impossible now. The Elevens would be on alert after hearing of the death of one of their own in broad daylight.

He let the terrorists go, unwilling to chase after the two men into an ambush. He could well concede the point that the Elevens knew the terrain of the ghetto far better than he did. They lived in this squalid filth, after all. And besides, killing them now served no purpose. First he needed Naoto Kouzuki and these two men might just prove useful again.

Sighing, he pulled out his phone as he closed the distance between himself and the body. He'd be taking the corpse with him as a source of evidence. He called Villetta, who had been standing by in her Sutherland outside the ghetto – just in case things got too out of hand – and asked for an extraction. He then called the rest of the members of his team who he'd had spread out across the ghetto and ordered them to withdraw. News traveled quickly amongst these lowborn animals, it wouldn't be long before the ghetto was on full alert for a Britannian presence in the area.

Damned Elevens.

* * *

The day of the funeral was deceptively sunny and warm. It was a stark comparison to the moods of the people paying their last respects to Tony Caputo. At the front of the group huddled around the casket in one of Pendragon's many cemeteries, Mrs. Caputo (the wife) and Mrs. Caputo (the mother) were sobbing hysterically while holding each other up. The sound of their misery seemed to drown out everything else.

Lelouch watched from near the back with the majority of his household staff. Despite his respectfully calm facade, he was secretly agonizing over what his brother had said to him. Schneizel was, in all honesty, probably right. This wouldn't be the last person to die for him.

How many?

How many people would lay down their lives for him during the course of his existence? How many lives would be cut short in order to extend his? How much blood would be spilled for his sake? How many tears from wives and mothers and fathers would fall so that he could live on?

How many times would he have to watch scenes unfold like the one in front of him? How many funerals would he attend. And . . . when would he stop going?

Would there come a point where the number didn't even matter any more? Would he stop counting? Would he eventually become so desensitized to the grief he caused that going to one funeral or another to pay his last respects became something trivial that he could easily squeeze out of his schedule?

How could he? But he was terrified that that day might come. That one day he would be as merciless as Schneizel when it came to the sanctity of human life.

He glanced at Edith to his left. She was blatantly using him as a shield between herself and Schneizel (who had arrived twenty minutes late, but had still arrived.). She was afraid for her life and he didn't blame her. Would she be one of the faceless mass to lose their lives for him? What about the heavy-set driver, Samson standing on the other side of her? Or the remaining members of his security team? Were they all fated to die for his sake?

How was he supposed to bear that kind of responsibility?

"Edith," He said softly almost as soon as the service ended. "do you want to quit?"

"What do you mean?" She asked, startled.

"An assassin was sent to kill you because of me. I put your life in danger. I can understand if you don't want to work for me any more." He explained.

She snorted and shook her head, "You put your life in danger to save me, Lelouch. Besides, do you really think he'd let me live if he found out I wasn't working for you any more? I'll keep my job, thank you. That is, if you still want me to work for you?"

She did have a point about Schneizel going after her if he found out about her leaving him. But he didn't want her to feel like she was being forced into working for him. It seemed he couldn't win. "You'll have your job for as long as you want it."

She smiled a little before it turned into a frown as Schneizel approached him.

"Lelouch."

He inclined his head in greeting instead of responding.

"I apologize." Schneizel said after a long moment of awkward silence. "You've humbled me, Lelouch. I will never again interfere in your affairs in this type of matter without your consultation first."

Pretty words, Lelouch thought skeptically.

"It wasn't meant to teach you humility." Lelouch grumbled. "It was meant to help restore your humanity."

Schneizel arched an eyebrow at him. "Restore my humanity? Really, Lelouch, just how big of a monster do you think I am? I always temper my judgment with mercy."

Lelouch stared at his brother incredulously for a moment before gesturing mutely behind him to where Edith had slunk back into the crowd of the other house employees.

"I can admit that I made a mistake. I shouldn't have sent Pierre after your maid. I was worried about you, but I should have consulted you first. I had no idea you were able to trust her with secrets of that magnitude." Schneizel apologized calmly. "And I really am very sorry that you lost your guard as a result of my actions."

Lelouch considered his brother's words carefully while the only thoughts running through his head expounded on just how great of a politician Schneizel was. His brother knew exactly when to be hard and exactly when to appear to give way. Forged humility and forced sympathy were just part of the package.

He sighed. Schneizel had caused unrepairable harm to their relationship. How much doubt and suspicion could exist between them while they still called themselves allies? He didn't explicitly trust Schneizel. He never really had, but he had had enough trust in him not to stoop quite so low as to send out assassins on his own people. An assassin Schneizel was on a first name basis with.

How many contracts had his brother issued for that killer?

How many people was Schneizel responsible for having killed? How many times had he sent out his assassin and never been called on it?

"We have an issue, Schneizel." Lelouch said eventually, falling back on his painfully upfront approach. "I don't trust you."

Schneizel examined him for a moment thoughtfully before he smiled a little. "Well, I don't particularly trust you either, Lelouch." He said at last.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Lelouch sighed. "So what are we going to do about this?" Lelouch asked.

The two brothers said nothing for a long time as the crowd milling around the funeral slowly began to disperse. They were in a stalemate. At this point in time, there was no way they could continue their alliance and they both knew it. The lack of trust was a serious flaw in their business relationship. Lelouch knew he couldn't trust Schneizel whatever he said. Schneizel was likely just as suspicious.

That being said, neither of them were willing to simply abandon their partnership. For one, such a move would cause too many problems and both of their lives would likely be in danger from the other. For two, going their separate ways wouldn't see their goal accomplished any quicker.

"Well," Schneizel said eventually, "I don't think there's anything I can say right now to fix this. This issue will take time to resolve. In the meantime, I would suggest you take my declaration that I bear neither you or any one who works for you any ill will on faith and we proceed as planned."

So they were going to ignore the assassination attempt then? Take it on good faith that Schneizel wouldn't try to kill anyone he knew? That was asking a bit much. He knew for a fact that he himself was safe from Schneizel so long as they remained allies (and so long as Schneizel still needed him), but how was he supposed to keep his brother from hurting everyone else? Was he supposed to send Schneizel a complete list of all those who worked for him. And then what about others? What about Nina – who technically worked for him in a very very unofficial sort of way? And what about his friends . . .

He was worrying too much. Ignore it. Pretend it never happened. He could do that, he supposed. He wouldn't forget. He would never forget this transgression, but he could move on. Or appear to move on, couldn't he? Pendragon was built on the fake smile, after all. But Schneizel was at strike one and if he ever moved against Lelouch's people again, all bets were off. Forgiven – to the untrained eye, at least – but definitely not forgotten.

"Fine." He said eventually as he uncrossed his arms, giving his brother a curious look. "It surprised me that you actually came here today." It was a little gratifying to know that he could dictate the Prime Minister's schedule to some degree. That little ounce of power made him feel a little less like a pawn in their partnership. He had some authority.

"I wasn't aware it was optional." Schneizel answered simply.

Another strained silence fell between them and Lelouch sighed. Even with the agreement to let sleeping dogs lie and move on they were both still wary of the other. He decided to skip pleasantries and their former playful banter and moved on to the more pressing matters.

"So what's next then? What's the next step?" Lelouch asked, aware that the cemetery was empty now except for Kanon who was hovering a few feet away and a couple members of his staff from the Aeries Villa. The rest of the mourners had moved on to the wake.

"After your wedding, you mean?" Schneizel asked, latching onto the opportunity to talk about something less strained. "I've arranged for you to enlist on the first. Your basic training should last nine weeks before you'll probably be sent out on active duty. Most likely either to the E.U. border, Area Eleven or Area Eighteen. In the meantime, I'll continue to procure resources and support. Unfortunately, I think I've raised the suspicion of Bismark – the Knight of One – so I'll have to slow down my acquisitions for a while."

"You've arranged to have me enlisted on the first?" Lelouch asked disbelievingly. "The day after my wedding? I thought he was being sarcastic when he said that."

"Did you want more time?" Schneizel asked. "I could arrange that. I suppose you should have a honeymoon."

"No." Lelouch said suddenly. Spending time with Abigail after their wedding should be kept to an absolute minimum. Especially with ideas like honeymoons floating around. "The first is fine."

It would give him an excuse to duck out of the festivities early and it would also keep him out of his wife's clutches for a while. He could certainly live with that. The woman had only been in Pendragon for four days but already he was sick of her. She was . . . pushy. And arrogant. And it bothered him that all she had to do was smile and most people wouldn't notice her glaring personality flaws. He was definitely not disappointed that she'd be returning to the west coast that very day. And that he wouldn't have to see her again until the day of the wedding.

So really all he had to do was get through the ten or so hours that the wedding and reception would take before he could be free of her for a couple months. And then if he was shipped out, who knew how long he'd be away for. If he was forced to stay in Pendragon, he'd be taking Schneizel's advice and start looking for a pleasant country estate.

* * *

A home.

No, a house.

No, a residence. That was different.

She needed a place suitable for a lost princess of Britannia. Unfortunately, all of those kinds of places weren't wheel-chair accessible. She knew Lelouch and she knew Nunnally. They wouldn't thank her for sacrificing practicality for the sake of luxury. And really, their suite in the clubhouse wasn't all that luxurious to begin with.

Nina paused her rapid clicking through real estate listings on her computer, a small smirk forming on her lips as she read over the listing's details. It would be perfect with a bit of modification and it was well within her price range. Better yet, it would allow her to have her cake and eat it too.

_Vacant Laboratory for Sale_

_ Footage: 20,000 square feet_

_ Storys: 2 + basement_

_ Electricity: Solar power + auxiliary generators. _

_ Heating: Geothermal_

_ Features: Loading bay, elevator, fenced lot._

_ Former EcoLife biology research facility for sale. This facility boasts 20, 000 feet of open laboratory space with twenty foot overhead clearance plus a second story loft. The building is self-sustainable with over two hundred feet of solar paneling and geothermal heating throughout. It's the perfect facility for a small research team looking to make a low impact on the environment. _

_ For more information or to view the property, call Jeanne at 885 742 9635_

Nina reached for her phone as she eagerly clicked through the pictures the website provided of the property. It would take a little work to make certain parts of it inhabitable for a blind, wheel-chair ridden princess of the Empire, but otherwise it would be perfect.

By converting the basement into a residence, she'd be able to hide Nunnally far more effectively than a house ever could. And if anyone ever came poking around wanting to see her research facility, she could show the the main floor and loft, claiming she used the basement for storage or something. After all, it would be difficult to explain why she'd listed a house as a research facility if she was ever audited. And Nunnally probably wouldn't be bothered by the lack of natural scenery due to her blindness. Even at the clubhouse, she had rarely left the building.

She looked up the address and her smile got a little wider. It was located on the outskirts of an industrial park. There would be little to no traffic to worry about. She could install a gate to keep anyone unwanted out, just in case.

She paused – the number from the listing half-dialed into her phone - when she realized it was currently two in the morning. She doubted the real estate agent would be pleased with the wake up call. She'd have to call them in the morning.

* * *

AN:

Thanks so much for all of your super kind reviews. I've had a couple of you asking if the rating was going to change due to the need for Lelouch to consummate his marriage. The answer is no, it's not going to change. I don't write lemons. Sorry if that disappoints you.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I, for one, enjoyed writing Jeremiah.

Don't forget to leave me a nice birthday present in the form of a review. ^.~

Thanks for reading!

Allora

PS: Oh, and if any of you lovely readers happen to have actually gone through basic training, please send me a PM. I'd love to pick your brain a bit about the experience.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Jeremiah had gone from frustrated to aggravated to downright seething. _Two weeks._ It had taken two weeks for the people from the medical lab to get back to him about the autopsy he'd ordered on the Eleven terrorist he'd hauled out of the ghettos. Apparently because he was an Eleven and because the cause of death was known (he'd been shot in the heart – it was obvious) it knocked him down the priority list a bit. It didn't matter that Jeremiah told them the information was vitally important to an investigation on a terrorist cell that Prince Clovis had sanctioned himself. Not when Marquis Lawson had been found dead in his home under 'suspicious circumstances' the same morning he'd dropped off his corpse.

What he'd been hoping for was some kine of biological clue to help point him in the right direction. Maybe a distinguishing tattoo or something that would link him to a gang with a known territory or something. _Anything_ that he would be able to use. He'd already examined the dead man's personal effects and had found him sorely wanting. The clothing was from a low end department store. There was no cellphone. The wallet identified the man as Kenji Yamamoto. He wasn't listed in the Eleven registries, but he'd found mention of him in the old Japanese official archives. Mr. Yamamoto was born on August 12th in 1993 to Ayame and Tomoya Yamamoto, residents of Tokyo at the time. That was all the information available to him.

His investigation into the cop-killer had turned up similarly scarce results. Officer Michael Penber had been reported missing after failing to return from an unscheduled patrol in the ghettos. The police hadn't found any trace of him, nor anyone who knew anything about his disappearance despite harshly questioning the local Elevens. He'd informed them that the man was dead and that his body had been mangled before it had been hidden. He'd also submitted a statement detailing part of the conversation he'd overheard. He'd dropped the name 'Kouzuki-chan' but failed to mention that the killer was connected to a terrorist cell. Clovis had wanted him to take care of this problem discreetly after all. So far, everyone he'd questioned about Clovis' pet project had been terminated.

Except for the medical examiner. But he was thinking about remedying that situation soon – even if he was Britannian – just for the aggravation the man had caused him. There was nothing worse than having to wait for someone else to get their shit together when you were trying to wrap an assignment up quickly.

Worse, the man was unapologetic for the hold up. Everything about the man – every movement and gesture – was slow and relaxed. A nonchalant casuality that ground on Jeremiah's last nerve. Sure, the man looked tired, but it was a tiredness born more of disinterested laziness than of exhaustion.

"Right, the dead Eleven that's been taking up space in my morgue." The doctor said as he lazily flipped open a folder on his desk to consult. Jeremiah sat opposite from him, his anger keeping his back stiff and a scowl on his face. "The man died of a single bullet wound. The projectile punctured the right ventricle, killing the subject almost instantly. Though I assume you know this, because I believe that you were the one who shot him, weren't you, Lord Gottwald?"

"Did you find anything of use to me, Dr. Olsen? Or are you just wasting my time?" Jeremiah asked blandly instead of responding.

Sighing, the medical examiner turned back to the folder and flipped a page over. "The subject was a moderately healthy twenty-four year old man who I expect would have lived into his seventies if he'd been fated to die naturally. The subject exhibited minor inflammation of the lungs. Toxicological analysis surmises it was likely caused by smoking. There were a couple of healed wounds. X-rays revealed that his left femur had been broken at some point in the last five years. There was also scarring suggestive of damage caused by a bullet penetrating his left calf and a gash across his torso suggesting he'd been stabbed. All of these wounds were completely healed at the time of death.

"As far as natural pathologies go, there was evidence of malnutrition at some point during his late development. I didn't bother trying to date it exactly. At a glance, I would guess it coincides with the invasion of Area Eleven. I doubt such information will be helpful to you, however.

"There were no tattoos or distinguishing markings on the subject. The best you can do is try to cross reference the scarring with hospital records. If the subject were Britannian you'd have a shot at finding the records and linking it to the police report. As the subject is an Eleven and most likely was treated by some quack voodoo doctor with magic herbs in a dilapidated ruin, I'd say you're out of luck."

Jeremiah stared at the man across from him for a moment in disbelieving incredulity. "You've told me absolutely nothing useful." He growled. "And you wasted two weeks for this rubbish?"

Dr. Olsen shrugged. "I'm a busy man, Lord Gottwald. I'm sure you're aware that I'm a highly respected figure in the fields of medical examination and pathology. A lot of assignments draw on my time and, quite frankly, an Eleven just doesn't outrank and dead nobleman. I wouldn't even have consented to working on the Eleven if you hadn't told me you were on an assignment for the Viceroy himself."

The urge to kill the man was growing stronger by the second, but he resisted. Even he couldn't indiscriminately kill Britannians unless there was a good reason for it. Instead of acting on the urge, Jeremiah rose to his feet and left the man's office before he could be further tempted.

"Don't you want a copy of the report?" Dr. Olsen called after him.

He didn't bother responding.

If he thought he'd been seething before, he was furious now. He had _nothing_. It had been three weeks and he had absolutely nothing to show for his efforts. There was nothing on the Kouzuki-chan lead and the dead Eleven had been nothing but a time sink. He was back to square one. A blank slate. No leads. Nothing to go on. And everyday this Naoto Kouzuki remained at liberty and alive, he made Jeremiah look like an even bigger fool.

He needed to end this. He needed to catch this man. And he needed to do it before the Purebloods could turn on him and Prince Clovis lost faith in him. He needed more information. He needed ears to the ground. But he doubted any of the Elevens would willingly cooperate with him . . . unless . . .

Prince Clovis' brainchild. The Honorary Britannian system that allowed Eleven's rights in return for swearing fealty to Britannia. The system that allowed Elevens into the military . . .

If he could _persuade_ one of those Elevens into helping him, he'd possibly be able to infiltrate the terrorist cell and find out exactly what they knew. Not personally, of course, but by acting through the Eleven agent . . .

It would be risky, not to mention distasteful. If the Eleven betrayed him it would turn into even an bigger waste of time than dealing with the medical examiner had been. He would have to select his agent carefully. Someone young, most likely, so they wouldn't remember too much of what had happened during the war. And it would have to be someone with something important to lose to ensure obedience. There was no better leverage to force someone into doing your bidding than to threaten to hurt/kill their family.

With new determination, he set off towards the administration center on the base. He would peruse through the records of the Elevens that had joined the military under the Honorary Britannian system carefully before making his choice. He couldn't afford to be betrayed, not after wasting so much time.

This stratagem might take a little more time than he had originally anticipated, but short of flattening the entire ghetto and hoping he got them all, it had the best chance for success. He just needed to be patient. He still had time. Even Kewell's feeble attempt to usurp him was still in an early stage of development. At the moment, his comrade-turned-rival was still scared of moving against him. But he'd sent out feelers – poking and prodding the others to figure out where they stood on the subject of his loyalty and leadership.

Yes, he still had time before he had to deal with Kewell too. In any case, loyalty to his prince would have to come first. And unless there was some great windfall, this newest plan of action showed the most potential for giving him Kouzuki. He'd still keep an eye on the cop-killer's investigation, of course. If he was lucky, they'd find the killer soon enough for her to be of some use to him.

In the meantime, he'd just have to be patient. He _would_ capture Naoto Kouzuki. And when he did, he would make sure the bastard died painfully for all the trouble he was putting him through.

* * *

Nunnally was excited. She knew it was horribly selfish and that she shouldn't be, considering that her own brother had sacrificed himself to an arranged marriage for her sake, but the only thing she could think about at that moment was getting out of that much hated sensory deprivation cell that the Ashford's called a summer home. If she had things her way, she'd never be going back.

Nina had called the night before and told her about the arrangements Lelouch had made for her. A new house. Better yet, a new house in the city (no more silent afternoons with only wind chimes to break the lull). All because he suspected her location had been compromised.

For a moment she felt a little regret over her brother's over-preparedness. She'd been close – so close – to being with him again. She shook her head and quickly squashed the rebellious emotion, telling herself that that wasn't true. Hoping to be found wasn't something she should wish for because she was supposed to be dead. Nunnally vi Britannia _was_ dead and that girl could never come back to life.

Not if everything Lelouch had told her about the Emperor was true (she herself could only fleetingly remember her father in fuzzy childhood memories before she'd lost her sight). Not if Lelouch had been right about the other members of the Imperial family. And he had to be right – he just had to – because why else would he go through all this trouble to keep her safe and out of the way? Why else would he sacrifice himself like he had? Why else would he be going through with this travesty of a marriage if it weren't true? If they weren't forcing him? It had to be true, because Lelouch would never lie to her. To anyone else – to everyone else – yes, but never to her. Not after everything they'd been through together.

She had passed the point of no return, she realized. Now, even if she wanted to disregard all of Lelouch's warnings and rejoin the Imperial family with him, it was no longer a possibility. Nunnally vi Britannia was dead. Lelouch had said so himself. On national television. He had likely told the Emperor the same thing.

The only way she would be able to rejoin the Imperial family now was to discard her own loving brother. One did not lie to the Emperor and get away with it. She imagined if her existence was ever revealed, Lelouch would be in for a world of pain. The Emperor would make him pay – if he was anything like Lelouch had described him – for lying to him.

She would likely never be with him again.

How many times over the last month had that thought drowned out every other concern? How many nights had she spent silently weeping for her lost brother, praying Sayoko wouldn't hear her. How many times had she wished she could see again – even to the point of forcing open her sightless eyes – if only so she could see photographs of Lelouch? She had never been more grieved by the fact that she didn't know what her brother looked like anymore.

Her last memory of Lelouch's face was of him standing in the fountain at the Aeries Villa with Clovis, both of their pant legs rolled up to the knees with mischievous grins on their faces. She'd run back into the house before she could get caught up in whatever it was they'd been about to do. She wished now – even more than she'd ever wished before – that she'd stayed with him, regardless of the trouble they would likely get into. She wished that she hadn't taken her brother and her sight for granted.

But she couldn't go back now and that grinning little boy was the last real memory of Lelouch's appearance that she had. In the years since, she had mapped out the features of his face with her fingers countless times creating in her mind's eye a picture of how he had grown. The sharp angle of his cheekbones, the straight point of his noise, thin lips that were almost always curved into a smirk of some variety. In her mind, it was always that same mischievous smirk he'd worn in the fountain with Clovis. If she didn't know better, she'd have said he was born with that expression on his face. She could always hear it in his voice, the teasing smile that had made him so popular.

The car slowed down as it pulled off the paved road onto gravel. She supposed the only benefit to losing her sight, aside from making her grateful that the rest of her senses were intact, was that it had made her almost hyper-aware of her surroundings. She doubted most other people would be able to draw as many conclusions about a place simply by listening.

The gravel was most likely a parking lot. It was quiet here, but of a completely different quality to the Ashford's summer home's silence. They were in the city – she could hear the muted thrum of traffic in the distance – but they were far removed from the busy hustle and bustle of downtown. Instead, there was a strange grinding and clanging sound coming from nearby. She wasn't familiar with that particular sound, but it sounded like something industrial. A factory, maybe. Just outside the open window of the car was the sound of the wind rushing through leaves. There were trees – or at least _a _tree – nearby.

The car pulled into what must have been a garage as all of the sounds she'd just been examining became hollowly muted and the engine was turned off. A door opened and closed, then the trunk and the soft click of her wheelchair being made ready. Moments later, she felt hands, steady and gentle – Sayoko – releasing her seat belt and helping her into the waiting wheelchair.

"Have we arrived then? Is it nice?" She asked as she shifted a little in her wheelchair to get comfortable. In the background, she distinctly heard the sound of a garage door rolling shut.

"It's . . . different." Sayoko said uncertainly. "There's someone here to greet us."

For a moment, unbidden hope sprung in her chest that Lelouch had defied all the odds and come to visit her. But she knew that was impossible. Aside from the fact that her brother was currently half a world away, he also had to be busy helping to plan his wedding. If he'd suddenly started globetrotting, if would have raised suspicion and possibly revealed her location.

He wouldn't take that risk.

Instead, she heard footsteps uncertainly approach her chair and the ruffle of clothing as someone knelt down next to her. It was a tradition that she had demanded a long time ago. She didn't want people to simply tell her who they were, she wanted to find out for herself. To _recognize _them. She did it with hands because she felt it was less intrusive than touching someone's face. She only touched the faces of people she was close to, like Lelouch.

She took the person next to her's hands and smiled. They were cold and small – bony – ended in jagged nails that were either chewed on or frequently broken from activity. Uncallused.

"Nina." She said warmly as she squeezed the shy girl's hands. "I've missed you. How have you been?"

"Hello, Nunnally. I've been well, and yourself?"

Nina had always been shy around the others, but when they were alone, the other girl usually didn't mind opening up a little bit. Nunnally thought it might have had something to do with her blindness. Because she couldn't actually _see_ Nina, she supposed Nina didn't feel the need to be as shy.

"I'm happy to be moving in to somewhere new. The Ashford's summer home was way too quiet for my liking. Even the radio barely worked there. Most of the time we just got static." Nunnally answered. "Sayoko sounded skeptical of this new place. Where are we?"

"Oh! This is a research facility I bought using the money Lelouch sent me. I had the basement converted into living quarters. I . . . well, I used the basic design from the suit you and Lelouch used to live in at the club house so you wouldn't have to learn a whole new place. It's not exactly the same, the kitchen's not in the same spot. But I couldn't get the proper piping into the area -"

"That's so nice of you, Nina." Nunnally said brightly, cutting off the girl as she began making excuses. Nina would always be able to find flaws in anything she did. It was almost maddening. She'd listened to Lelouch complain about it a few times, when Nina would hand in an assignment and get a perfect score only to critique it after it was handed back. "I can't wait. And let me guess, you're going to use the rest of the lab for your research? That way no one will ever suspect you of hiding me. And I'll get to see you all the time now."

"Um, yes. That was the plan." Nina said hesitantly.

"Not to be rude to you, Sayoko, because you've always been kind to me and I love you, but I'm so glad that there will be someone else to talk to now. I missed all the chaos that went on around the Student Council." Nunnally continued, almost without pausing for Nina's confirmation.

"I'm not offended, Mistress Nunnally." Sayoko said with a smile. "About this suite, though. I have some concerns. Nunnally can't be expected to be imprisoned in a basement and her mobility issues dictate that she has to be kept on the main floor."

"There's an elevator down to the suite." Nina explained nervously. Sayoko had always made her nervous, but Nunnally wasn't sure why. After all, as far as she knew, Sayoko had been nothing but kind and gentle to Nina. "And a stairwell in the back in case of emergencies."

"Let's not judge before we've even seen it. I'm sure Nina put a lot of thought into how she set this place up for us." Nunnally said placatingly as she held out a hand to each of them. Secretly, however, she was determined to like it no matter what shape it was in. There was _no way_ she was going back to the summer home, even if Sayoko had to carry her over her shoulder every time she wanted to go outside.

Her worries were unfounded however, as further investigation revealed that the place Nina had created for her was almost exactly like her old house. It was perfect. She'd replicated the clubhouse suite almost exactly, right down to the furniture. She wondered briefly if Nina hadn't actually pillaged the furniture out of the old suite for this one.

In any case, it reminded her of Lelouch. The feel of the place made her almost expect to hear him coming through the door any minute to ask how her day had been.

"I'm staying." She made up her mind. She didn't care if Sayoko disagreed. "It's perfect. I . . . Thank you, Nina."

"I'm glad you like it." Nina replied embarrassedly.

"Come sit with me." Nunnally smiled as she maneuvered her wheelchair next to the dining room table. "Tell me about what's been happening with everyone. And with you. Now that you have this big research lab, I bet you'll get lots of work done."

"Yes, I hope so." Nina said timidly as the scraping of a chair against the hardwood floor indicated that the young scientist had done as she'd been told.

"How's Shirley doing?" Nunnally asked first. She'd always liked Shirley the most out of all of Lelouch's friends. The girl was so naturally kind and caring that she'd found a kindred spirit in her. The fact that she'd been completely in love with Lelouch had only added to the affection she felt for Shirley. She'd often dreamed of what it would be like if they'd gotten married and Shirley had become her sister. But that didn't look like it would ever happen now.

"She's upset that Lelouch is getting married." Nina answered. Despite the fact that Nina rarely contributed to general conversation at the clubhouse and that she was usually ignored due to the fact that she was busily at work on her research, Nina still listened carefully to what went on around her. Nunnally was willing to bet that if Nina hadn't been so shy, she'd have made an even bigger gossip than Milly. "She was thinking about not going to the wedding, but Milly talked her out of that. Or rather, yelled her out of it. I haven't seen Milly that angry in a long time."

"Shirley was invited to the wedding?" Nunnally asked anxiously.

"I . . . yes, we all were. I'm sorry." Nina apologized softly. "I was thinking about not going too so it wouldn't draw attention to my friendship with Lelouch, but I think Milly would yell at me too."

"Don't apologize. I think you should go. I'm glad Lelouch will have people there who love him." She said sadly. "I just wish I could go."

"I could tell you about it when I get back." Nina offered hesitantly. "If you'd like."

She smiled. Any news of Lelouch would be more than welcome. In fact, it was what she'd been craving. She'd made Sayoko read her every news article and record every announcement. Of course, most of them had sounded made up to her. "I would love that!" Real news would be worth more than gold to her.

"Okay. I'm glad the contractors finished before I had to leave tomorrow. I was worried they weren't going to finish in time." Nina said.

"You're leaving tomorrow?" Nunnally asked suddenly. So soon? She understood that Lelouch had to get married, but she hadn't realized he was being so rushed. The date of the wedding had never been publicly announced.

"Mhmm."

Nunnally reached into the small purse she'd had sitting on her lap and pulled out the only flimsy object inside. She'd made it in the car on the way there. She held it out to Nina in her open palm. Number two hundred and thirty seven. "Can you give this to Lelouch when you see him?"

"What is it?" Nina asked uncertainly as she delicately picked up the object.

"It's a paper crane. Sayoko told me that if you make a thousand of them, your wish will come true." Nunnally said kindly.

She wished that she'd be able to be with Lelouch again someday.

That hadn't been her original wish. Her original wish had been to be cured – to get her sight back and the use of her legs again. But she'd abandoned that project when Lelouch had been captured and she'd had to go into hiding. Now, all she wanted was Lelouch again. Even if she couldn't see him. Even if she couldn't walk with him and race him and dance. She just wanted to be with him again. She wanted to feel him near her, to hear his voice, to hear his smile – that sarcastic little smirk that he wore so well. She just wanted to smell him, to have him take her hands in his and tell her again that he loved her. That he'd protect her from anything and everything.

She missed him so badly.

"You will give it to him, won't you?" She asked, letting only a hint of desperate pleading enter her voice. He had to realize that he was in her thoughts at the very least. She didn't want him to think she'd forgotten about him.

"Of course I will, Nunnally." Nina said softly with a smile. But it wasn't a happy smile – she could tell the difference. This was a sad, pitying smile and Nunnally hated it.

* * *

Kallen lay sprawled across her bed at the Stadtfeld estate, one arm flung over her eyes as she desperately wished she was somewhere else – anywhere else. On the other side of the room, her mother was busy dusting the desk that she hadn't touched in who knew how long. Next to her bed, harping at her, was her step-mother.

"Really, girl, why am I even paying for your tuition if you don't go to school?" The Britannian woman demanded. It was always bad when her step-mother actually deigned to come into her room. It meant her step-mother meant business and there was nowhere left to retreat to.

Not that she hadn't been expecting this for a few days now. She'd been steadfastly avoiding the woman for weeks. But then again, she'd been avoiding everyone.

"You pay for my tuition because Ashford Academy is the most prestigious school in Tokyo and you're scared of what people would say if you didn't." She growled without looking at the woman. "And because my father would chew you out if you stopped paying for my education. Believe it or not, I am the Stadtfeld heiress."

Her step-mother stiffened. The fact that she had never bore any children of her own had always been a sore point for Lady Stadtfeld. Usually Kallen tried not to bring it up. It made the woman downright miserable to be around for the next several days, but her step-mother had already been harrassing her for over half an hour and she was feeling vindictive enough to risk it. Her step-mother has begun her assault on her lack of good manners after Kallen had chosen to walk mutely by instead of politely greeting Duchess Granstein who had been visiting earlier that day, which she had followed up on by blaming it on her Japanese heritage (animals couldn't help acting like animals, after all). She'd then moved on to criticizing Kallen's continued contact with her brother. Naoto had told the woman to stuff it the day he'd turned seventeen before he'd run away and moved in with Ohgi in the ghettos. He'd also stolen a substantial chunk of her jewelry and all of the cash available in the house before he'd left. Lady Stadtfeld had never forgiven him for it, nor was she likely to considering he hadn't spoken a word to her since.

Kallen wondered briefly what her step-mother would say if she knew Naoto had pawned the jewelry for start up capital to form his resistance group. She wondered what her step-mother would say if she knew he'd used the money to buy guns and ammunition. She'd probably go into hysterics.

And now she was attacking Kallen's attendance record. She wasn't exactly sure when the last time she'd actually gone to school had been. It certainly hadn't been recently. Despite Naoto's orders for her to return to the Settlement and lay low for a while, she hadn't been able to force herself into going to school. She didn't want to deal with people yet. High school concerns seemed so petty compared to the emotional baggage she was still carrying.

Instead, she'd spent the majority of the last three weeks either hiding in her room in a brooding daze, or hiding in the library down the street – it depended on whether or not her step-mother was home. The school term was almost over anyway, so there wasn't much point in her going now. She'd kept up with her school work, of course. She was fairly smart, if she did say so herself, and so most of the work didn't present a challenge. Besides, between the fact that she pretended she was chronically ill and the fact that she was the daughter of an Earl, she was pretty sure the teachers marked her easier than the rest of her classmates.

"Then you'd better start acting like a heiress," Her step-mother snarled as bony, Britannian fingers closed over her wrist and pulled the hand that was shielding her face away. "understood, Kallen? No more gallivanting in the ghettos. No more speaking Japanese. And you're going to go to school. You are going to present yourself as a proper Britannian lady."

"Fine." Kallen grumbled, if only to get the woman out of her face. Arguments almost always ended like this, or with a door slammed in her step-mother's face. There was no winning. Lady Stadtfeld was relentless and Kallen just didn't have the stamina to put up with her any more. It was always easier to just agree to temporarily appease her. It would create a peace in the house that would last until the next time she disappeared to the ghetto or skipped school or was caught talking to Naoto on the phone.

On the other side of the room, her mother knocked over a pile of half-completed school assignments she'd left precariously balanced on her bookshelf. Kallen's eyes flickered to the maid before she averted them and sighed in annoyance.

"Make sure you put those back in the order they were in." She ordered sternly. God, she hated her mother. How weak could a woman get? Her mother should have held on to her pride, stood up on her own two feet and told Lord Stadtfeld to go to hell after he'd cast her aside like something used and disposable.

Kallen swore to herself again – certainly not for the first time – that she would never love any man to the point that she forgot her pride. She would never be as weak as her mother.

"Yes, Mistress."

"Much better, Kallen." Her step-mother praised. Apparently being rude to the house staff qualified as acting like an heiress.

"Just get out, will you?" Kallen scowled. "Both of you." She added before turning her back on her step-mother and burying her face in her pillow. Just a few more weeks and she'd be able to leave this place for good. Maybe she'd clean out Lady Stadtfeld's jewelry box when she went like Naoto had, just for good measure.

* * *

AN: Phew, I know you were all hoping this was the wedding but I had to get Nunnally and an update on Jeremiah's investigation out of the way before I could just jump three weeks. I PROMISE that the next chapter is the wedding. It's already half written.

Anyway, thanks so much for reading everyone. I love to hear from you.

Allora


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Abigail was halfway down the aisle when it finally actually hit him.

He was getting _**married**_.

The word had been tossed around so much over the last month that he'd subconsciously desensitized himself to it. Married wasn't the same as _**married**__. _Not even close and it was only now that the reality of the situation hit him in full.

Panic momentarily seized him as she took another halting step in time to the archaic wedding march being played – ten feet away. Why hadn't he run? Why the hell had he ever consented to this? He could have been long gone by now, in hiding with Nunnally. He could have taken her to China or the E.U. and they could have resumed their lives in obscurity. That would have been the smarter option.

Not _this_ – five feet away.

Taking a deep breath, Lelouch forced himself to calm down. He'd made his decision. He'd chosen his revenge. He'd chosen his alliance with Schneizel over ducking out of this unwanted marriage. It was a price he would pay to see the Emperor deposed.

It's just a business contract, he told himself repeatedly. It didn't really mean anything. He didn't have to even _like_ her. That's what Schneizel had told him. He didn't even have to like her, which was good because he didn't like her at all.

He focused on his bride as she came level with him and her father – just as arrogant as she was – proudly handed her over to him. She looked stunning, even he had to admit. But, he thought bitterly, for the amount of money she'd spent on the dress he was willing to bet it could make even Schneizel's bloated seal look like an angel descended from heaven.

She smiled proudly as she took his hand and they turned to face the priest who began the ceremony. This was the only part of the wedding that he'd actually given his input to. Over the last month, their wedding planner had bounced Abigail's ideas off of him at least three times every day. He didn't _care_, he'd told the pesky woman many times.

But when it came to this part – when it came to the vows they would say – he'd actually stepped in and voiced his opinion. He wasn't going to put on a show any more than he had to. Any vow that expounded on the ideas of love and happiness had been kiboshed. After much argument and three separate shouting matches (Abigail shouting through the phone while he calmly and disinterestedly stated his opinions), she'd finally, begrudgingly agreed to a ceremony and vows that were ninety percent legalese.

He probably would have almost found it funny if it was anyone else's wedding. The insincerity of the vows lost their humor though because it _was_ his wedding. At least Rivalz would probably chuckle about it. Thinking about his friend caused him to cast his gaze over the assembled crowd. He could barely pick them out near the back of the cathedral.

He hadn't actually had the chance to talk to his friends since they had arrived. Their flight had landed that morning, but by the time they had gotten through customs and Edith had picked them up from the airport, he'd been summoned by Schneizel and been forced to down a few glasses of whiskey to help 'calm his nerves'. Thankfully, he'd sobered up a bit by the time he'd arrived at the cathedral because he'd found – to his absolute horror – that the Emperor was actually going to be in attendance.

Even now, he could feel the cold gaze of the Emperor on him. He was trying to keep himself from looking at the man that had put all of this into motion. He'd met the Emperor's gaze once as he'd first entered the room and the man had had the audacity to raise his eyebrow as though daring him to try and run away from the fate that had been ordained for him.

If he'd still been as drunk as he'd been at Schneizel's – which he could admit he had been, because he'd slurringly told Schneizel he forgave him for trying to kill Edith (which he didn't) – he might just have thrown himself at the man and tried to strangle him with his necktie. Even despite the fact that the Emperor had decided to bring _all_ of the Knights of the Round with him.

He was brought out of his dark thoughts by the dour old officiate clearing his throat. He focused his gaze on the old man who sent him a slightly tolerant smile in return – he was royalty, after all – before beginning.

"We are gathered to unite the two of you in marriage, which is an institution ordained by the state and made honorable by the faithful keeping of good men and women throughout all ages, and is not to be entered into lightly or unadvisedly.

"Do you, Prince Lelouch vi Britannia, take the Lady Abigail Chapman to be your wife; to love, comfort and cherish from this day forth?"

For one crazy moment he actually considered saying no and leaving her at the alter. It would be madness, practically a death sentence, but he wouldn't be signing away his independence. "Yes." He answered instead and tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice. Beside him, Schneizel, as his best man, snickered under his breath at the lie. Lelouch barely repressed the urge to roll his eyes at his brother.

His relationship with Schneizel had slowly begun to heal since the funeral. It had got to the point where they could stand each other's company again without it descending into an awkward strained silence. Lelouch blamed the current sense of camaraderie with Schneizel on the fact that his brother had had more to drink than he had, and that he himself might still have been slightly inebriated.

"And do you, Lady Abigail Chapman, take the Prince Lelouch vi Britannia to be your husband; to love, comfort and cherish from this day forth?"

"Of course." Abigail answered with a smirk. Well, at least she seemed pleased with the situation, Lelouch thought bitterly.

A moment later, Schneizel was handing him the ring he'd kept for safe keeping. It felt heavy in his hand, like a shackled weight – especially at the thought that he'd be wearing one very similar to the one in his hand in a few minutes. Sighing, he took Abigail's left hand.

"Abigail, I give you this ring that you may wear it as a symbol of the vow's we've made this day." He said with all the solemnity of a eulogy.

Abigail repeated the sentiment, albeit in a much more cheerful fashion and slid the offending piece of jewelry onto his own left finger. He wondered if it would be in bad taste to take it off after the ceremony. Probably, he decided. It felt strange and he couldn't help but run his thumb over the smooth metal. He'd never been one for wearing jewelry, so he wasn't sure it it was just unfamiliarity with the object or because of what the ring represented, but he found that he was hyper-aware of it.

He'd been claimed.

Bought and sold like a horse at auction.

"Having thus pledged yourselves each to the other, I do now, by the authority vested in me by the Holy Britannian Empire, pronounce you husband and wife." The officiate declared. "You may kiss your bride, your highness."

Lelouch grimaced. He was pretty sure he'd told the wedding planner to skip this part. He was positive, actually. He wondered if it had slipped the officiate's mind or if Abigail had managed to connive the man into saying it. Either way, there was no help for it now. If he refused to kiss her, he'd just end up looking like a fool. Swallowing his pride, he bowed his head and gave his new wife a chaste kiss on the lips. The moment their lips touched, polite applause sounded around the cathedral.

Lelouch turned to face the audience, the move well scripted, and took Abigail's hand as the old man announced them.

"May I present to you, their highnesses Prince Lelouch and Princess-Consort Abigail vi Britannia. Long life and happiness to you both."

It amazed him at just how _short_ such an important ceremony could be. He had just signed his freewill away in a ceremony with less pomp and fanfare than being crowned king of one of Milly's festivals at Ashford Academy.

He led Abigail down the aisle out of the cathedral, Schneizel falling in behind him holding the arm of Abigail's maid of honor, into a hail of confetti and the releasing of a pair of doves.

After congratulations from a thousand people he barely knew (or didn't know at all, as was the more common case), the motley assortment of siblings that had deigned to attend and the Emperor himself in a receiving line a mile long, he was finally greeted by a much sought after familiar face.

"Lulu! I'm so happy to see you." Shirley cried as it was finally her turn to approach him.

Beside him, Abigail stiffened and cut off her conversation with an overly sycophantic Margrave that had offered to help him get into politics no less than four times during their brief conversation.

"You will address my husband with the proper respect due to his station." Abigail said firmly as she turned to face off against Shirley, cutting off the warm greeting that Lelouch had been about to utter. Despite her short stature, Abigail managed to cut an imposing figure when she wanted to. It was certainly enough to intimidate Shirley.

Shirley gaped, eyes wide and jaw hanging open before she blushed a furious shade of red and began to stammer out an apology. "Oh . . . I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to disrespect you . . . I just . . . Lelouch, I mean -"

"Don't finish that sentence, Shirley. You certainly didn't disrespect me and you know I've never minded when you call me Lulu." Lelouch sighed. It was going to be a very long day if this was any indication of it. He just hoped he'd be able to run interference enough to spare his friends from his wife. "And you, Abigail, will treat my closest friends with less disdain."

Beside him, she pursed her lips and shot him a dirty look. It seemed informality was one of her pet peeves, which was unfortunate because he hated formality. He stood his ground against her, face cool and neutral despite the fury in her eyes.

In an attempt to break the tension, Milly stepped forward and curtseyed. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, your highness. I'm Milly Ashford. Congratulations on your wedding."

Unfortunately, she only managed to redirect Abigail's ire. "So, you're the other woman, are you?"

To her credit, Milly didn't blush or stammer. Instead, she raised a questioning eyebrow before chuckling softly. "You've been reading too many magazines, your highness. Prince Lelouch and I have never been anything more than friends. I assure you, I can't even picture him as anything other than a brother after living with him for seven years."

Milly's response was calm and confident, the byproduct of being the center of too many people's ire at far too many failed festivals. It didn't seem to comfort Abigail, however, who's eyes shot down the line, judging just how much longer they were going to have to stand there for. Thankfully, it seemed his friends were the last.

"I see." She said simply before wrapping her arm around his and glancing at the clock. "We have to be going, Lelouch. The photographers need us at two."

To say he wasn't impressed with her behavior would have been an understatement. He was livid. Here, his friends had flown halfway across the world just to be with him today and she wasn't even going to allow him the chance to speak with them. He frowned, his brows descending into a scowl as he opened his mouth to argue.

"We'll see you at the reception, your highness." Milly said quickly, before he could get a word out, her voice dripping with her particular brand of forced cheer. "Make sure you wipe that frown off your face before the photographers can see it. Why, anyone would think that you're not happy about being married." She added in an undertone.

Yes, Milly was a master at damage control. It took a certain gift of flexibility that Lelouch lacked. But instead of arguing and creating a scene, he sent her a grateful smile and said his goodbyes. "Of course, Milly. Thank you guys for coming. I will definitely come find you at the reception." He promised before leading his wife away.

* * *

He wasn't sure just how many pictures Abigail needed of this sham of a marriage, but after two hours of being poked and prodded and shifted and 'tilt your head a little to the left, your highness', he packed it in. Or tried to.

"But we haven't had any taken yet with your father. We have to wait until His Majesty arrives." Abigail explained as she gestured to the photographer to keep going.

She wanted to have a photograph taken with the Emperor? Was she insane? There was no way the Emperor would be willing to do that, was there? And even if he was, there was no way that Lelouch would be able to put on a fake smile and pose for a picture with the man that had caused this travesty to happen in the first place.

Even as the thought crossed his mind, a car arrived with a half a dozen Knightmares escorting it. The Knights of the Round, in their customized Knightmare frames, stood alert and ready for trouble as the Emperor emerged from the car flanked by two men.

"This can't be happening." Lelouch mumbled as he watched the grand entrance.

But it was happening. Every second that passed, the man he hated most in the world drew closer until he was sycophantically greeted by the photographer and directed – or rather, humbly requested – to take his place behind the 'happy couple'.

Lelouch stiffened, but managed to force himself into a courteous bow. "Your Majesty, you do us a great honor today." He said formally, the question evident in his tone. Lelouch watched from the corner of his eye as Abigail lowered herself into a polite curtsey murmuring a reverent "Your Majesty." – the very image of genteel obeisance.

"Well, you are my son, Lelouch." The Emperor said haughtily, as though the reason for his being there was obvious. "It's my duty to attend your wedding."

A duty he had heretofore neglected. Lelouch refrained from pointing out that the Emperor had never once attended the wedding of even one of his other children. He doubted the man would appreciate being called on it. Instead, he let a brooding silence descend while the Emperor positioned himself behind Lelouch.

He thought he might be able to ignore the man's presence so long as he didn't have to look at him. But that theory was shot all to hell when the Emperor rested his hand on Lelouch's shoulder in what would, no doubt, look like an affectionate fatherly gesture.

Lelouch broke out into a cold sweat even as an inconsolable rage began building in him. He wanted to shout – to slap the hand away. How dare the Emperor lay his hands on him after everything he'd done. After causing this mess – this misery – the man thought he had any right to act like a _father_ to him? As far as Lelouch was concerned, he had never had a father. Fathers did not sell their sons for Sakuradite. Twice. Fathers did not banish their children from the only home they'd ever known for back talking. Fathers did not dispassionately play their children like chess pieces.

"Tilt your head a little to the right, Prince Lelouch. Down a little. Perfect. Now smile." The photographer instructed.

Smile?

Behind Abigail, Lelouch's hand had curled itself into a fist so tightly that his nails were biting into the flesh of his palm. Smiling was impossible. He saw Schneizel sending him a warning look out of the corner of his eye and inwardly grimaced. He forced – each muscle resistant to the farce – his lips to tilt upward.

"Beautiful." The photographer encouraged as he snapped off a handful of pictures before beginning to cycle in other members of the wedding party. First Schneizel and Carmen – the maid of honor. Then Duke Chapman, who stood proudly at the shoulder of the Emperor. Then the whole array of Abigails bridesmaids.

On and on until five-thirty rolled around – the reception started at five – and he finally convinced the photographer to pack it in and for them all to disband. He was tired. He was hungry and Abigail was beginning to wear on his last nerve. He just wanted to go to the reception, find his friends and engage in normal teenage conversation for a while.

Unfortunately, that would have to wait.

They arrived late, and Abigail was agitated that they hadn't left the photographer sooner. He refrained from pointing out that he'd wanted to leave over an hour ago which would have left them plenty of time to get to the reception in time. He was trying to keep arguments with her to a minimum and it really wasn't worth the effort to fight over something so small.

"Prince Lelouch vi Brittania, seventeenth heir to the Imperial throne, and Princess-Consort Abigail vi Britannia." The man at the door announced.

Lelouch froze on the threshold, his eyes rapidly moving from the herald at the door to where the Emperor was standing with a group of nobles. That wasn't possible was it? That this had been arranged? He was _not_ seventeenth in line to the throne. He had forsaken that position seven years ago. Glancing around, he could tell exactly who had been present the day of his fateful temper tantrum. There was a hesitant tension in them at the man's blunder. That man was probably going to die.

Across the room, the Emperor inclined his head in Lelouch's direction – almost imperceptibly. Lelouch bit the inside of his lip in anger. So it _had _been planned. And this marriage was nothing more than a test. Nothing more than the Emperor seeing just how far Lelouch was willing to bow his head. He hadn't been found wanting and was thusly rewarded – acknowledged as a son and heir of the Empire.

Of their own volition, Lelouch's fingers curled into a tight fist – furious at the way he'd been used.

_"That is what it means to be royalty."_

Closing his eyes, he took a breath and released it slowly. That was right. This was what it meant to be royalty – the fate he would do anything to protect Nunnally from. From being used and manipulated like a piece on an expansive board. Being tested and judged. Constantly critiqued and evaluated. This was what his life would be like from now on – or at least until the Emperor was dead and gone. Opening his eyes, he politely returned the Emperor's nod before smiling to Abigail and leading her into the hall for the beginning of what would turn into a very long night.

First there was the dinner (an extravagant five course affair) followed by speeches and toasts from anyone and everyone who was hungry to be in either Lelouch, Schneizel or the Emperor's good graces (many of whom Lelouch had only met that day). After which, he was forced to dance with Abigail to a slow, classical waltz. Followed by schmoozing, as Schneizel would call it.

By the time he finally managed to fulfill all of his other responsibilities, it was past eleven o'clock and he simply abandoned Abigail to the gossiping clutches of Countess Bryant to seek out the members of Ashford Academy's Student Council.

"Well, has the groom fulfilled all of his husbandly duties for a while?" Milly teased as he approached.

"I'm sorry, you guys. I didn't think it would be like this." Lelouch groaned. He had thought that after the dinner he would have been free to do as he pleased, instead of being hung up by well wishers and shameless opportunists seeking to ensure he remembered who they were.

"This is exactly how I thought it would be like." Milly answered before handing him a glass of wine she snagged off the tray of a passing server. "You look like you could use a drink, Lelouch."

"I'm so sorry about earlier, Lelouch. I didn't mean to cause you any trouble." Shirley apologized frantically.

He shrugged. "Abigail's just like that. You don't have to apologize. She tried to tear a strip off of Edith the first time they met too. Despite all of her charm, she's horrible with people when they aren't blue bloods. But enough about her. Are you guys all okay? You've been uncharacteristically quiet, Rivalz."

His friend shrugged and smiled. "Well, after Shirley was chewed out by your lovely bride, I decided I didn't really want to experience it for myself. How are you holding up though, buddy? I certainly don't envy you, that's for sure."

Lelouch snorted. "I'll survive. I wont have to deal with her much after this is over, so it wont be that bad." He answered nonchalantly before his expression turned serious. "Listen, Rivalz . . . It should have been you up there as my best man. It _would_ have been you if this wedding had been my choice. I hope you know that."

In fact, Lelouch had even originally suggested Rivalz as his best man before he'd changed his mind. Holding up Rivalz for all the nobility to scorn wasn't something you did to the guy who was probably your best friend in the world. But still, Rivalz _was_ his closest friend and it should have been him.

"Lelouch, geez, just forget about it, buddy. I'm pretty sure your life is messed up enough right now without worrying about whether or not you've hurt my feelings." Rivalz laughed.

"I guess you're right. How have you been, Nina?" He asked warily, hoping that she'd have enough presence of mind to _not _mention the little side project he'd given her. He was curious about how it was coming along, but not curious enough to risk talking about Nunnally in a crowded room of nobles and royals.

Nina shrugged under his scrutiny - like normal - before answering, "I've been okay. And you?"

Good, she was taking protecting Nunnally seriously.

He had briefly considered not inviting Nina at all. He didn't want the person he'd put in charge of ensuring his sister's safety within a hundred feet of the Emperor or Schneizel or anyone else in Pendragon. But it would have looked suspicious if he'd invited all of the other Student Council members except Nina. It was an inconsistency that Schneizel, at least, would have picked up on if he'd cared to look.

He had half hoped that Nina would decide not to come of her own volition, but that hadn't gone according to plan. And if it had been more than a simple passing wish, he could have contacted her and asked her not to attend. But he'd decided that was rude. The last thing he wanted to do was offend her.

"I've been better." He smirked. He question barely merited being uttered.

"What a question." Rivalz teased. "Didn't you see his wife zero in on Shirley earlier? That's one scary lady you've got there, Lelouch."

"Rivalz!" Milly scolded as she snagged him by the collar and dragged him a few feet away. "Do I have to go over proper etiquette with you again?"

"Milly, maybe you shouldn't . . ." Shirley began as she took a hesitant step towards her bickering classmates. "Milly, Rivalz, both of you behave." She cried as she moved to break them apart.

Nina looked relieved for a moment and pulled a small box out of her purse. "This is from someone we both know." She said quickly as she pressed the box into his hands.

Frowning, he glanced at the altercation still occurring between three of his friends before flipping open the lid to see what was inside - only for his heart to clench painfully at the sight of a single paper crane folded on sunny yellow paper. On the left wing, in Nunnally's delicate, thin-lined script was the number 237.

Nunnally.

His fingers closed carefully over the delicate paper as he lifted it out of the little box. If you folded a thousand paper cranes, your wish would come true. Nunnally's wish . . . to be cured. To be completely healed and whole again. To not be weak so he wouldn't have to look out for her so much.

But no, that wasn't right. Before he'd left her, she'd been working on her eight hundredth crane. This crane – 237 – had to be for a different wish. A new wish.

"Did she . . ." He was ashamed of the way his voice cracked, but his mouth had gone completely dry. "Did she say what her wish was?"

Nina shook her head.

_Nunnally. . ._

This hurt more than anything else, like his heart was being constricted in a vice. God, he missed Nunnally's sweet innocence. He missed her kindness. Her gentleness. In this moment, with this otherwise insignificant crane in his hand, he missed her more than all the days and weeks previous combined.

She'd sent him the crane for a reason. A new wish. A wish that had to do with him. A wish more important than regaining her sight and use of her legs. He shouldn't . . . he wished he wasn't this important to her. He wished she was more selfish. For the first time in his life, he wished Nunnally loved him less so she wouldn't be as hurt by this separation.

Delicately, using only the tips of his fingers, he placed the crane back into the box and closed the lid before gesturing for Edith to approach – always nearby but just out of hearing distance. "Take this back to the house and put it in my room." He ordered, handing the box over to her. "And Edith . . . it's important to me. Make sure you keep it safe."

"Of course, your highness." Edith said, bowing to him slightly. He raised his eyebrow at her formality and she sent him a quick smile. "I have to keep up appearances in public, don't I?"

"Sure." He chuckled hollowly. "Thank you for bringing it to me, Nina. Let's see if we can't break them up, shall we?" He said, gesturing to where Milly and Shirley were fighting over Rivalz.

"What interesting friends you keep, Lelouch."

"Schneizel." He greeted, turning away from his suddenly shame-faced friends who had ceased their struggling.

"You must be Miss Ashford." Schneizel greeting, holding his hand out to Milly. "I remember you as a child; Reuben's granddaughter. You've grown up quite lovely."

Milly actually blushed as she took his hand and curtseyed politely. "I'm honored that you would remember me, your highness."

Schneizel smiled, practically oozing charm and charisma. "I'd like to thank you and your family for sheltering Lelouch these last seven years. If there's anything I can do for you, please don't hesitate to ask."

"I can't believe you're looking for acquisitions at my wedding, Schneizel." Lelouch forced a laugh while sending Milly a quick warning look.

Schneizel smiled and ruffled Lelouch's hair teasingly – just like he had when he'd been a boy. "Don't be upset, little brother. I'm always on the look out for interesting people. Are you going to introduce me to the rest of your friends?"

Slapping Schneizel's hand away, he turned to introduce the others. "This is Rivalz Cardemonde, Shirley Fennette and Nina Einstein. This is, as I'm sure you guys know, my half-brother Prince Schneizel. He's also the Prime Minister."

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance." Schneizel smiled. "And you really _do_ keep interesting friends, Lelouch. You wouldn't happen to be the same Nina Einstein who received the Moris Foundation bursary this year, would you?"

Lelouch was pretty sure his heart skittered to a stop for a moment. The very last thing he needed was for Schneizel to take an interest in the bursary he'd rigged. But it seemed he was too late to prevent that. If Schneizel knew off hand who the winner was, it was more likely than not that he'd looked into it thoroughly.

He managed to force his expression into a pleasantly surprised eyebrow arch instead of a look of abject horror. "Is that true, Nina?" He asked calmly despite his suddenly pounding heart. What was Schneizel up to?

Did he know about Lelouch's part with the bursary? Even worse, did he know what the money was actually for?

No, he couldn't. That was impossible. Even Lelouch didn't know all the details and he'd been the one to plan it all. The only people who actually knew where Nunnally was now were Nina and Nunnally and Sayoko themselves.

But if Schneizel suspected . . . and if he could manage to charm the secret out of Nina . . .

Would she do that? No, not on purpose. But if he tricked her . . .

"Um . . . yes, your highness." Nina answered timidly, blushing bright red.

"What? You never told us about this, Nina!" Milly exclaimed.

"Well, I . . ." Nina hesitated, sending him a panicked look. A silent plea for help.

Lelouch smirked. "She probably just didn't want you to make a big deal about it, Milly. Knowing you, you'd have organized a school wide festival in her honor."

"_Of course_ I'm going to. Isn't the Moris Foundation a big deal?" Milly demanded.

"The most prestigious scientific organization in Britannia." Schneizel agreed. "I had been told you were young, Miss Einstein, but I hadn't realized you were still in school. I procured a copy of your dissertation and I have to say, I found your research fascinating."

"You . . . you did?" Nina asked in surprise, throwing another glance in Lelouch's direction.

The dissertation he'd written based on Nina's research was nothing to worry about. He was sure he had a decent enough understanding of the work she was doing for it to have all made sense. Even put on the spot like this, Nina wouldn't have to worry about her true research and the faux dissertation he'd written not matching up.

No, that wasn't what he was worried about. Neither, suddenly, was whether or not Schneizel knew what the bursary money had actually been used for. No, what was suddenly very worrying to Lelouch were the implications of Nina's research - the practical applications it could be put to. He'd never really thought about it before. They were uranium isotopes. When they were divided using fission, they created energy. The scope of her studies at present was merely on a microscopic level.

But under Schneizel's encouragement. . .

The implications of Nina's research was terrifying if it was ever put on a grander scale. And Schneizel - who was always seeking the latest research, the best weaponry, the keenest edge - would be only too eager to give her a nudge in the right direction.

Frowning, he told himself not to worry. Even if Schneizel did convince Nina to weaponize her research, he was Schneizel's ally. Except, as a weapon, Nina's research would be devastating and in Schneizel's hand's it had the very real potential for misuse. He already knew his brother viewed human life in a less than sacrosanct manner.

"Indeed. If you ever need anything – funding, resources, connections – don't hesitate to contact me." Schneizel said while gesturing to Kanon – like Edith, always hovering nearby - who produced a contact card and handed it to Nina. "I've made it my personal duty to help those most promising individuals in the scientific community in any way I can."

Lelouch glared disapprovingly. "Schneizel." He growled warningly.

"Fine, fine." Schniezel said placatingly. "Let's talk about something else. Do any of you play chess?"

"Geez, it must run in your family. Lelouch is crazy about chess too." Rivalz laughed before tensing. "I apologize, your highness. I didn't mean -"

Schneizel cut him of with a nonchalant wave of his hand. "It's fine. You're friends of Lelouch's and Lelouch is my favorite brother. Therefore, formality is optional." He said, putting them at ease. Yes, Schneizel was a master at people – it didn't matter whether they were commoners or blue bloods, he could put anyone at ease if he chose to. A natural charisma that still left Lelouch awed (and slightly disgusted) every time he witnessed it in action.

It certainly put Rivalz at ease, as it only took a few more minutes of small talk before he was regaling Schneizel with a tale of one of Lelouch's more daring chess matches in which his opponent (an upstart tycoon who'd made millions from the construction contracts on the Concessions) had refused to pay up and threatened to call the police. Instead of fleeing (probably the smarter choice), he'd casually run his finger over the lip of an antique vase sitting on the man's mantle and asked if it had cost him more than he owed Lelouch. He hadn't left without his winnings.

Lelouch was reasonably certain that, given enough time, Schneizel would have his friends telling him any embarrassing story about him they could think of. Milly in particular had a devious glint in her eye that made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. He hated that look on her. It usually meant mortification for him.

"So this is where you've gotten off to."

The arrival of his wife was a mixed blessing. On the one hand, Milly probably wouldn't try to embarrass him in front of her. On the other hand . . . it was Abigail.

"Abigail." He greeted calmly, noticing the sudden tensely nervous atmosphere that had descended around them. His friends sent her strained smiled and stiff bows or curtseys.

"Prince Schneizel, it's nice to see you again." She said, smiling beautifully at him as she ignored everyone that wasn't a member of the Imperial family, an over-indulgence in the wine causing her cheeks to flush pink. "I didn't expect to find you in such company." She added a little disdainfully.

The change that came over Schneizel was instantaneous. He went from loving brother to formidable foe in the blink of an eye and Lelouch could have hugged him for it. "I don't know what you mean, Lady vi Britannia. I find Lelouch's friends charming." He said crisply. "Rivalz here was just entertaining me with tales of Lelouch's exploits."

"Very charming, I'm sure." Abigail agreed and if Lelouch hadn't seen her silver tongue effortlessly navigating through a chaotically strained press conference, he might not have noticed the insincerity of it. Then again, maybe he would have. There was a distinct firmness to her gaze that contrasted with the gentle smile she was wearing.

"Was there something you needed from me, Abigail?" He asked, eager to separate her from his friends. Forced with the choice, he'd rather leave them alone with scheming Schneizel than subject them to Abigail's abrasive attitude.

"Yes, actually. There's someone who wants to meet you." She said calmly. "I said I'd introduce you."

"There are many people here who want to meet me." Lelouch sighed.

"Yes, but not all of them are friends with my father." She said calmly as she wrapped her arm around his. "Nice to meet you again." She said with a semi-polite nod to his friends before tugging on his arm and leading him away. On the other side of the ballroom was a middle-aged man with short red hair. "Lelouch, I'd like you to meet Earl Calvin Stadtfeld."

Lelouch sent the man a strained smile as he shook his hand. "A pleasure to meet you." He lied charmingly. He really didn't care one way or the other who this man was. In fact, he was willing to bet he cared _less_ about who the man was, if only because it was Abigail who was introducing them.

"Lord Stadtfeld works with my father. He runs a company that specializes in refining Sakuradite here in Pendragon." Abigail explained politely.

"Well, I only live here part-time." The man explained. "My wife and daughter live in Tokyo. In fact, I believe you may have met my daughter. She also attends Ashford Academy. Kallen Stadtfeld?" He questioned, his quest for connection and recognition inherently obvious. Lelouch wondered briefly if he _had _met this Kallen – if she'd been one of the many girls on campus that had sought his attention only to be rejected.

It surprised him, the sudden wave of regret that washed over him. Almost from the moment he'd hit puberty, the female population of Ashford Academy had sought his company. Company he had always rebuffed in favor of the few true friends he'd managed to make. It was only now that he realized what he'd given up. The freedom of choice. Even if none of the girls had ever actually struck his fancy, he'd still possessed the freedom to choose one of them. That was gone now, chained as he was to the blond woman beside him.

It was always like this with him. Fated to be miserable. Fated to never truly appreciate things until they were wrested from his grasp. First his mother – stolen from him by an assassin. Then his childish sense of importance – sacrificed the day he'd given up his claim to the throne. His first real friend – separated due to his ethnicity. The sanctuary Nunnally and he had found with the Kururugis – destroyed by the Emperor's call to war. Nunnally herself – removed from his presence by his intense desire to protect her at any cost. And now this – the unwilling sacrifice of his freedom of choice.

It was too late now to do anything about. He could do nothing but regret. He was so sick of all of his regrets.

"It's possible. I wasn't the most social on campus. I preferred to keep my company with the Student Council." Lelouch explained, forcing himself back to the conversation at hand. Was this why Abigail had wanted to introduce him? So one of her father's friends could try to firm up a connection to the Imperial family? He didn't hide his annoyance when he glanced at his wife and managed to politely excuse himself ten minutes later – not only of the Earl's company but also of Abigail's – by claiming he needed to use the restroom. He decided he'd rather hide in a lavatory than deal with another noble at that moment.

Unfortunately, the fates were not on his side and he was only halfway through making his escape when he was suddenly interrupted by a young blond man no older than he was. "Prince Lelouch, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Gino Weinberg." He introduced, proffering his hand. It was only after he shook it that he noticed the glaringly conspicuous white and gold uniform partially hidden beneath his gold and green long cape. "The Knight of Three." He added as he shook Lelouch's reluctant hand.

How was it that this guy – this _boy_ – was a Knight of the Round? He couldn't be any older than Lelouch was, judging from his appearance. Somehow, Lelouch had always imagined all of the Knights of the Round as grizzled war veterans with enough scars to write a novel about. The Knights of the Round were the most elite, most prestigious, most feared fighting force in the Empire. They were the be all end all, the last resort, the proverbial 'holy shit button'. Answering only to the Emperor with a mandate to act independently of the rest of the military, they were untouchable. Unaccountable.

"The pleasure's mine." Lelouch answered, eying the other warily. What business did a Knight of the Round have with him? Somehow, he wasn't willing to believe the Knight was looking for connections and favor. As one of the Emperor's favorite dogs, he no doubt had more influence than necessary.

"You're annoying him, Gino." A quiet monotone said from behind him, causing him to glance over his shoulder.

Gino's grin widened as he reached around Lelouch to pull the girl who had spoken to the fore. "Ah, your highness, may I introduce my good friend Anya Alstreim, the Knight of Six."

Lelouch stared at the girl blankly for a moment. If anything, the girl looked even younger than the Knight of Three. How was it even possible for them to have distinguished themselves at such a young age? Technically, neither of them should have even have been allowed to enlist in the military yet. But, he figured that rule was easily overlooked if his own enlistment was any indication.

Looking at the petite pink-haired girl, he couldn't help but think she looked familiar to him somehow. And the name seemed to ring a bell to him as well, even if he couldn't place it at first. And then he remembered the little girl that had briefly befriended Nunnally before their mother's assassination. She'd been sent to learn etiquette from his mother – almost laughable considering his mother had mostly been viewed as nothing more than a brutish, commoner soldier.

"It's nice to see you again, Anya." He said as he shook her hand.

Gino gaped. "You _know_ each other? And you never told me?" He demanded with mock hurt and Lelouch realized that he was dealing with a male version of Milly Ashford. Loud, demanding, attention-seeking and overly friendly.

"I told you I used to live at the Aeries Villa." Anya replied in the same bored tone, refusing to grant his desire for drama. He'd done the same thing to Milly countless times. Instead, she turned to Lelouch. "They said you were dead." She pointed out, but without a questioning tone or, apparently, any other motive behind the statement.

"Yes, well apparently 'they', whoever they are, were mistaken." Lelouch answered with a smile.

She didn't smile back. Instead, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and snapped a picture of him on it. "Recorded."

Lelouch frowned, unimpressed by yet another picture that would more likely than not be used as fuel for some kind of gossip. But what could he do? She was a Knight of the Round and somehow he thought trying to force her to surrender her camera phone wouldn't go over well.

"Don't worry about her, she just does that. But she never shares her photos with the press. Promise." Gino said, holding his hands up in a gesture of peace, as though Lelouch were capable of doing anything about it.

"Sure." Lelouch said, then hesitated. "How is it that you're both Knights of the Round when you're so young? I mean, how old are you guys?"

Gino chuckled and then sent him a boastful grin. "Well, I'm seventeen. I ran away from home and joined the military when I was sixteen. Apparently my Knightmare piloting skills are something to brag about, so I was recently recruited for this position. And Anya's just a prodigy. She's fifteen and she still hasn't told me how she managed to attain her position."

Anya shrugged and decided against solving the mystery in favor of updating her blog. But when she glanced up at him again, there was something that had changed about her – an intense familiarity that was out of place. It was in her eyes - the way she looked at him as though suddenly the sun rose and fell with him. And yet she remained silent, devouring him with her gaze in sudden mute admiration.

He looked away, uncomfortable with the scrutiny and self-consciously stuffed his hands into his pockets. Normally, he wouldn't let it get to him. Normally, he'd be damned to let anyone make him visibly uncomfortable in public, but there was something about that look that stripped away his usually thick defenses.

"Was there something you needed from me, Lord Weinberg? I'm sure the Emperor is missing the protection of two of his finest." Lelouch said, attempting to wrap things up an get out from under the unnerving gaze of Anya.

"Oh, no, not at all. I just wanted to introduce myself. And you don't need to worry, the Emperor's completely safe. Bismark's got it covered." Gino replied, gesturing across the room to the grizzled and scarred man – much more the image of a Knight of the Round in Lelouch's opinion – who was standing by the Emperor's shoulder, watching the crowd suspiciously.

Lelouch refrained from snorting. Him, worry about the Emperor's safety? He would love nothing better than to watch the old man die. Biting the inside of his lip to keep his sentiments private, he smiled. "Of course. I'm sure no one would dare attack the Emperor in a place like this anyway." He said, and it was true.

This place was a logistical nightmare. Anyone hoping to dispose of the Emperor here would have to be incredibly foolish or suicidal, despite the fact that it would be easy to get lost in the crowds. Lelouch was willing to bet that the entire palace could be locked down in a matter of seconds. There would be no escape.

"I'm sure you're right." Gino agreed, glancing up at the expansive roof and noting all of the security cameras.

It was then that Lelouch began noticing little things about Gino that seemed to draw his attention - like the stiffness of his stance and the firmness of his gaze, despite his outwardly friendly appearance. He realized it was a facade. Despite the overly-cheerful front he put up, Gino Weinberg was, first and foremost, a soldier. That no matter how charming he seemed in conversation, he would most likely kill anyone in the room with little to no hesitance at a single word from the Emperor.

It worried Lelouch. As with the wedding, it was only hitting him now that by this time tomorrow he'd be settling in at the military base outside of the city limits well on his way to establishing his military career. It worried Lelouch that Gino was no older than he himself was, that Gino should still have been a student rather than an elite soldier, and yet his normal countenance had been so irrevocably altered.

He wondered, not idly, if the same rigidity would be ground into him over the following months. Would he lose himself? Would he become like them? Mindlessly obedient. Rigidly strict. Disciplined.

For the first time, he felt a cascade of panic wash over him – not over his marriage but over his stupid request to join the military. He was _not_ cut out to be a soldier. He was not physical in nature. It was all well and good for Schneizel to compare war to chess, but Lelouch was willing to bet that it was an entirely different experience from the front lines as opposed to the command center in the background looking at blips on a monitor.

And he was expected to succeed at this newest venture. He was expected to gain the respect and admiration of men that would be inherently better suited to the lifestyle of a soldier than he was. Not only by the Emperor, but also by Schneizel – his partner in crime. It seemed, suddenly, a daunting task. Impossible.

"Is everything alright, your highness?" Gino asked and Lelouch realized he'd let his face twist into a thoughtful scowl as his mind had wandered.

He sent the Knight a reassuring smile to keep up appearances. "Quite alright." He said calmly as he caught movement out of the corner of his eyes. Abigail again.

She hesitated before she moved to join him, the flush in her cheeks more pronounced than it had been earlier and her gaze was slightly glazed. He wondered how much more she'd had to drink since he'd left her company only a few minutes ago.

"Lelouch." She said with a strange inflection, almost questioning. "You said you were going to the restroom." She accused as she slid her arm through his and latched herself to his side.

"So I was." Lelouch stated as he glanced back at the Knights apologetically only to find that Anya's uncanny familiarity had morphed into an unabashed glare at the newest member of their company. "My wife, Lady Abigail vi Britannia." He introduced, slightly unnerved by the younger Knight's behavior. "This is Lord Weinberg and Lady Altreim. Knights of the Round."

"A pleasure to meet you, your highness." Gino said with a flourishing bow as he surreptitiously pinched Anya's arm. Instead of a verbal greeting, Anya bowed coldly.

"And you . . ." Abigail said politely, but distractedly. "I'm ready to leave now, if you are, Lelouch."

To leave?

And then he remembered that she would be going home with him. That she would be living with him from now on in the Aeries Villa. That Abigail was now the lady of his manor. The mistress of his household.

"Uh, yeah. Sure." He said awkwardly as he glanced at his watch. Half past twelve. He'd hoped to be home hours ago, but hadn't counted on being held up by so many people. "It was nice to meet you, Lord Weinberg, Lady Alstreim."

He led Abigail out to a chorus of applause and catcalls, feeling relieved she'd been willing to give up on the celebration so early. Especially considering the early morning he was going to be in for the next day. According to the information Schneizel had left with Edith, he was expected on base at five a.m. That didn't leave him a lot of time to sleep.

The car ride back to the Aeries Villa was mostly silent – due to the fact that Abigail was half passed out next to him.

"How much did you drink?" He inquired.

Her eyes fluttered open and – for the briefest of seconds – there was vulnerability there. She looked frightened, awkward and hesitant before she clamped down on her out of control emotions and returned his gaze impassively.

"More than I should have." She admitted.

He chuckled. He'd been expecting a scathing retort or for her to tell him to mind his own damn business. He certainly hadn't expected the wry admission that she'd been in the wrong. If there was one thing that he'd learned from dealing with her over the last month, it was that she was never wrong. Or rather, that she would hate you if you told her she was wrong. About anything.

"Lelouch." She said softly and suddenly she was way closer to him than she had been a moment before. He was mildly surprised that she could move so quickly in her current state without getting dizzy. Though the slight swaying she was doing was probably an indication that she was more dizzy than he'd originally thought.

Before he could ask her what she wanted, her lips were pressed firmly against his and she was kissing him – a variety of kiss very unlike the one they had shared during their wedding ceremony. Her hands clenched firmly around the lapels of his jacket and he noticed that she tasted strongly of wine. Had she rapidly downed a glass or two after he'd left her with Lord Stadtfeld?

He jerked away, hands on her shoulders to both steady her and push her away. "Abigail?" He asked uncertainly. He'd never asked her outright, but he'd always kind of assumed that she felt the same way about him as he did about her – meaning an necessary evil in the pursuit of their goals. She wanted his title and he wanted to avoid suspicion from the Emperor for just a little while longer.

"I . . ." She blushed as she attempted to explain herself, turning away from him to hide her embarrassment. "I just thought I'd . . . God, I need another drink."

"I think you've had enough to drink already." He informed her.

"I don't want this to be a sham." She said suddenly as she turned back to him. "I don't want . . . us . . . to be a sham." She said again, more slowly.

Lelouch frowned. "It is a sham." He said mercilessly. He didn't like Abigail and he wasn't going to pretend he did over misguided feelings of pity. Unlike himself, she'd had the chance to say no to this wedding. It would have damaged relations with her father, but her life most likely wouldn't have been in danger. He hadn't been granted such a luxury.

"But it doesn't have to be -"

"It does." He cut her off firmly. "I don't like you . . . in that way." He added as an afterthought, the unamended statement a little too cruel, even for him.

The car arrived at the villa and he couteously helped her out of the car. He may not like her, but he wasn't willing to let her stumble alone into her new home either.

She was silent as she walked beside him, staggering less than he'd expected her to as they made their way to the door and she stared firmly at her feet. He hoped she wouldn't cry.

"Why?" She asked quietly and he was thankful that her voice didn't break. He couldn't count how many times his admirers had burst into tears at his rejections.

"Does it really matter?" He asked as he opened the front door to reveal Edith and a handful of other staff members who had waited up to greet their newly married master and mistress.

She hesitated on the threshold, hands clasped tightly together in front of her before she let them fall limply to her sides and sighed. "No. I suppose not." She whispered before raising her head, revealing the cool, calm, collected facade she usually wore.

"Welcome home, your highnesses." Edith said reverently – she'd learned during Abigail's four day visit that it was exponentially better for her if she just stuck with formality in Abigail's presence.

Lelouch nodded to her. "Is everything prepared for tomorrow?" He asked. He'd left her in charge of packing everything he would need for his leave the next day.

"Yes, your highness." Edith replied, gesturing to two nondescript army green bags waiting at the door.

"Good. Please see to it that Lady Chapman . . . Lady vi Britannia has everything she needs. I'll be retiring for the evening." Lelouch said as he released himself from his wife's grip and headed for the stairs.

"What?" Abigail asked sharply as she watched him go. "This is our wedding night, Lelouch."

He paused, foot resting on the first step of the grand staircase. "I believe we just discussed this."

"That's grounds for divorce, you know?" She scowled, and he was glad to see her temper return. Given the choice, he decided he'd rather take her angry than mopey and despondent.

He smirked and raised his eyebrow as he turned back to her. "Are you going to divorce me, Abigail?" He asked hopefully. She glared at him in response. No, she wasn't going to divorce him. She wasn't _allowed_ to divorce him. And neither was he allowed to divorce her. They were stuck with each other. "I didn't think so. Sleep well, wife." He said, the parting shot falling from his lips like a provocation.

* * *

AN: Wow, sorry for the wait. I just finished the chapter now. It took a long time to write, but it's also the same size as two of my regular chapters, so I think that justifies the update lapse. It was frustrating trying to write the entire chapter from Lelouch's pov. I was wishing for a break from him, but I couldn't justify interrupting his wedding day.

Anyway, so Lelouch is headed to the army now. Hoorah. Kind of. These chapters may take a bit longer to write because I want to get them right. Many of you have already commented on mistakes you think I'll make about Lelouch's time in the military so I want to make sure I do the next several chapters right - as realistically as possible considering the fact that his is fanfiction based in an alternate universe.

Thanks for being patient with me and sticking it out this far. I really appreciate all of your support and appreciation. Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed.

Allora


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Lelouch awoke at an ungodly hour to the hellish blaring of his alarm clock. He groaned as he tried to stuff his head under the pillow to block out the pale early morning light filtering through the crack between his curtains. Inevitably, the sliver of light fell upon his face.

He blindly smashed his hand against the blaring device on his bedside table before reluctantly pushing the covers back. It was only then, as he stood in his underwear in the pale morning light, that he remembered _why_ he'd set his alarm so early.

Basic Training.

He felt his anxiety twist in his stomach. Nervous tension settled over him as he dressed – in casual army fatigues that had been left out for him by Edith the night before. When he caught sight of himself in his mirror, he couldn't help the scowl that came to his face.

This uniform . . . this much hated symbol of the solidarity of the Britannian army was something he'd never thought to see himself in. Something he'd never wanted to see himself in. He tugged on the sleeve of the heavy jacket uncomfortably as he scrutinized himself in the mirror.

He looked just like one of _them_. Just like one of the men he'd watched massacre the Japanese people without hesitance or remorse. He felt nauseous as the memories washed over him. One in particular standing out amongst all the horrors he'd seen.

A group of three men, dressed exactly as he was now, standing arrogantly over a handful of Japanese civilians who had been caught trying to barter for safe passage on one of the many ships or boats fleeing the harbor, hoping to escape the horror of Britannia's invasion.

He'd cowered behind some piece of equipment – guilty of the same crime – with Suzaku, his very first real friend, and Nunnally, one hand clamped over her mouth to keep her from making any noise. His other hand had been clamped over his own mouth to muffle the horrified sobs that had tried to escape him as the soldiers opened fire on the Japanese. Suzaku had sat next to him, eyes squeezed shut and knees pulled up to his chest, trying to block out the horrors his best friend's father had unleashed upon his people.

Unforgivable.

He would never – he swore vehemently to himself as he glared at his reflection – he would never commit, nor tolerate such atrocities in his presence. He would _never_ become like those men, heartless, lacking compassion and human decency. Never. Nothing they could do to him – nothing the military could throw at him – would make him that callous.

He noticed the box Nina had given him the previous night sitting on his dresser. Unobtrusive. Insignificant – except for the fact that it contained the one thing he treasured most in his entire household. His fingers flipped open the lid of their own volition and he gazed almost lovingly down on the little yellow bird perched in the box.

237.

A wish.

A wish for him.

Nunnally . . .

His very reason for living. His reason for all of the sacrifices he was making. His reason for fighting against the oppressive rule of the Emperor. One day, when the Emperor was dead . . . One day, when he had destroyed every aspect of the Britannian Empire that he loathed . . . One day, he would be with her again. He would see her smile again. He would hear her laugh. And he would know that she was safe.

Safe not only from war, but also from political deception. Safe from being used as a tool, like he was being used as a tool, by the Emperor and Schneizel.

Closing the lid of the box, he picked it up. He would take it with him. It would help remind him of what he was fighting for. Nunnally. Always Nunnally. A reminder of his promise to protect her, no matter the cost. And it would help keep him as 'Lelouch'. Even if he was a soldier, he would do what he could to remain 'Lelouch'.

It would be a bittersweet victory indeed if the cost of his success was that he was no longer worthy of Nunnally's love.

He opened the door and quietly exited into the hall, surprised to find Abigail waiting in the door frame of her own room – the master suite – his mother's old room. She looked tired and pale and probably a bit ill. How many times had he and Rivalz overindulged on wine? Enough for Lelouch to know that it caused worse hangovers than anything else he'd tried.

She took in his appearance in surprise before she let out a small, depreciating chuckle. "I thought you were joking. I didn't realize the thought of my company was so unbearable that you actually had to run off to join the army to avoid me."

"An order from the Emperor." He reassured her, regretting the jibe he'd let loose on the phone two weeks prior. "It has nothing to do with what I think of your company."

She snorted and looked down at her feet, pulling the white silk robe she was wearing closer around her. "Listen," She said softly, and for the first time, Lelouch thought she actually sounded genuine. "I'm sorry about last night. I . . . I was out of line. I shouldn't have tried to force myself on you. Just forget about it."

He felt a little sorry for her suddenly. He had been a little more harsh than was necessary to her. But that didn't change the fact that he held absolutely no interest for her. At least not in the romantic sense. He was responsible for her now, after all. As a member of his household, the same responsibilities – his duty to protect and provide for – applied to her as they did with the rest of the people who lived at the Aeries Villa.

"I also apologize. I could have been kinder." He said awkwardly, glancing at a spot on the wall as though it held the secret to all the mysteries of the universe. "I . . . assume this marriage wasn't your choice."

Abigail glanced away as well. "It's not that. I -" She cut off at the sound of someone rushing up the stairs.

"Lel – I mean, your highness." Edith gasped as she turned the corner. "Princess." She bowed. "You're going to be late, if you don't hurry. I've had something prepared for you to eat on the way."

Lelouch nodded. "Thank you, Edith." He murmured before turning back to Abigail, at a loss for words. What did you say to your unwanted wife before leaving her for several months? "Erm . . . take care of yourself."

"You too." She said softly before turning back into her room and closing the door. He stared at it for a moment, thinking he should say something else to her, but unsure of just what exactly. Instead, he rushed down the stairs and out to the car where, true to her word, Edith had left him a breakfast consisting of fruit, cold toast and a juice box full of orange juice. He wished she'd thought to bring coffee - after the meager three hours of sleep he'd managed to catch he could use it - despite the fact that he usually despised the vile liquid.

He remained silent for the car ride as his mind raced, jumping between the problems his enlistment would present and the problems already present with his wife. He didn't know where this sudden honesty was coming from, but it bothered him. From the moment he'd stopped her from assaulting her maid, they'd butted heads constantly. He was willing to bet that last night in the car was the first time she'd been anything but a cold bitch to him.

He couldn't help but wonder if she'd fooled him. Was it all an act? She was a master at the fake smile, she could also be a master at false vulnerability. And while this explanation certainly made sense to him, he couldn't help but wish that he was wrong about it. A part of him wanted to find something redeeming about his wife.

If it was an act, she might just end up getting whatever it was she wanted because of it. He'd actually felt genuine pity for her this morning. He was sure that, under a constant barrage of similar incidents, he'd have eventually ended up her puppet. No, not a puppet, but definitely swayed by her influence. She was too charismatic for her own good.

So perhaps it was a good thing he was going to be away from her for a while.

The training camp was . . . barren. Not that he'd really expected to find that they'd spruced the place up, but he was kind of taken aback by just how desolate it looked. Trees, it seemed, were optional. His car arrived, sleek and black next to a handful of dusty army jeeps and he sighed at how conspicuous it was.

Very few people had been told about his enlistment and details had been strictly kept from the press. The public were supposed to believe him off on an extensive honeymoon with Abigail during his basic training. While they were off searching the world over for a glimpse of him and his wife at some kind of remote vacation villa in Spain, he would be getting the snot beat out of him in basic training. Schneizel thought doing it this way would help enamor the soldiers. If they thought it was just some sort of publicity gimmick, he wouldn't get very far. Lelouch agreed, so news of his arrival was being kept pretty low key, even from the base staff.

He emerged from the car and stretched. He was five minutes late, but he doubted it mattered that much one way or the other. Training had begun two days ago for the rest of the recruits, but there had been no way in hell that the Emperor would have allowed him to miss the wedding in favor of training. So he was, technically, two days and five minutes late but that shouldn't be too much of a problem. Arrangements had been made on his behalf.

Shrugging under the heavy fabric of his jacket again (far too heavy for the desert sun that was already causing heat lines to rise in the air), he grabbed his bags from the trunk and sent Samson back to the villa. He would be alone here. There was nothing quite like being thrust into a completely new environment without a single friend or ally to your name. This would be worse than being sent back to Pendragon even. At least when he'd been forced to return to the Imperial family, there had been Schneizel and Euphemia to welcome him warmly. This time he was truly on his own. He felt like it was Lelouch versus the world all over again.

Instead of dwelling on it, he straightened his back as much as he could under the weight of the bags Edith had packed for him and walked into the administration office, drawing his false confidence around him like a protective mantle. He would shield himself with a forged self-assuredness, force himself to be confident rather than admit his inadequacies. Showing weakness would gain him nothing. And being weak would ensure he failed. Here, at least, he could accept the idea that only the strong survived. He would do what he could to become stronger, but not at the expense of those weaker than him. Not that he expected to find many here weaker than himself physically.

The man behind the reception desk was in his mid-twenties, had his head shaved and was dressed in a formal uniform much like the one folded into one of Lelouch's bags. He scowled and opened his mouth ready to berate Lelouch – wondering why the fuck he was interrupting him, no doubt – before he recognized who he was speaking to. Scrambling to his feet, the man snapped himself up into a salute, rigid as a board.

"Your highness!" He barked in surprise.

Letting his bags fall to the floor with an overly loud _thwump_, Lelouch gestured at him to be at ease. "Let's not make a big deal about this." He said, attempting a winsome smile. "Arrangements have been made for me to enlist here."

"Sir?" The man questioned as he glanced down at his desk, as though searching for some kind of post-it he'd missed with the information on it. "I wasn't notified, sir. Forgive me for suggesting this, your highness, but are you sure you're in the right place? There isn't an officer's academy on site."

"I'm not here for officer training." Lelouch said. "I believe Major Masen is familiar with my situation."

"Right. I'll call him right away, sir." The man said as he saluted again and hurriedly punched a number into the phone sitting on his desk.

The short phone call was followed by a brief wait in an awkward silence, the receptionist holding himself at strict attention as Lelouch stood with his hands in his pockets. He briefly wondered if he should attempt to emulate the soldier's stance but decided against it. As of this moment, he was still technically a civilian and could stand however he liked. He'd relish the casuality while he still could. Unbidden, his mind wandered back to the Knight Gino Weinburg and the tense lines of his stance even in a casual environment. It almost made him want to slouch in rebellion, but he refrained.

The major arrived moments later. His hair was graying, a short mottling of salt and pepper that seemed to throw his darkly tanned skin into further contrast. He had a small horizontal scar beneath his left eye which he wore like a medal commemorating some incident – with the state of Britannian medical science as it was, he could have easily had it removed. "Your highness. Rather, Private vi Britannia." He greeted, returning Lelouch's sloppy salute. "At ease, Reynolds." He said, releasing the receptionist from his stiff stance. "If you'll follow me."

"Private?" He heard the secretary murmur as he was led past the man into a spartan office on the second floor. There was a desk, two chairs and three filing cabinets.

"Well," The major began, gesturing to a hard chair across from his desk before flipping open a plain, manila folder and sitting behind the desk. Somehow, Lelouch doubted that the major was in charge of making sure the paperwork was in order for the other recruits. "Most of your paperwork has already been completed. Between Prince Schneizel and Miss Cardston, everything seems to have been taken care of. All I need are a couple signatures." He said, setting a handful of papers out facing Lelouch on the desk top.

"Of course." Lelouch said calmly, setting confident elegant strokes to the paper as he signed his name.

"Welcome to the Britannian army, your highness." The major said as he collected the papers up and flipped the folder closed and leaned back in his chair, considering the prince carefully. "I wonder if you wouldn't mind telling me just what it is you're doing here though."

"Is it unusual for a prince to want to serve his country?" Lelouch evaded. He wasn't about to tell the man that this was an attempt to gain support from the military for his and Schneizel's future coup. Somehow he doubted that would go over well. And yet, at the same time, it was the obvious answer. Why else would a prince go through all this trouble if not to garner loyalty? At least, it was obvious to Lelouch.

"It's embarrassing for a prince of the Empire to hold such a low rank. Don't you agree? You should be going to school at an officer's academy."

Lelouch smiled sardonically. "Perhaps." He agreed. "I imagine thinking like that will lead to future windfalls for me, Major."

"Then why bother with this then? Enlisting as a private? Why not simply begin as an officer?" The Major asked, eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Is it just a game?"

"I would suggest, sir, that you leave the business of the Imperial family to me. In return, I'll leave the running of this base to you." Lelouch snubbed the man calmly. Even despite his lack of official rank, it was within his power as a prince of the Empire to request the service of any soldier who had sworn himself to Britannia. It wasn't a common occurrence and was usually reserved for times of crisis, but it had been done before and would require very little effort on Lelouch's part to usurp command from the Major.

Not that he would do it. It tended to tread on a lot of toes and, as his primary mission was to acquire loyalty, it would be completely stupid of him to do so. But the major didn't know that and Lelouch wasn't inclined to inform him of that juicy little detail either. He had found that idle threats worked well as a means of persuasion.

The major frowned. "I'm not the base commander," He said, pointing to the small plaque on his desk where 'Unit Commander Masen' was embossed in blocky official letters. "But I see what you're saying. I'll leave it to you then."

"I appreciate it." Lelouch smiled.

* * *

Jeremiah drummed his fingers on the table slowly, each motion precise and deliberate as he considered the man in front of him. The Number. He'd spent hours going over one dry profile after the next. Narrowing down his selections. Reviewing them a third and fourth and fifth time until only a handful remained.

He had been surprised by just how many Eleven's had managed to worm their way into the army. They had ranged from ex-Japanese forces officers to kids would could hardly remember the invasion. The candidate in front of him was one of the latter. He'd even found, much to his horror, that the deceased Japanese Prime Minister's son had enlisted. _That_ was a treasonous offense just waiting to happen. If it had been up to him, he'd have had the boy disposed of before he could form a real rebellion. That boy was a potential symbol to all of the Japanese, able to pull those unwilling to fight against Britannia into the fray. The Elevens would flock to him and then Britannia would have no choice but to stomp on Area Eleven again. It amazed him that the boy had even been allowed to enlist.

Pushing thoughts of the Kururugi boy out of his mind, he turned back to the matter at hand. This candidate seemed the most promising and yet he still wasn't impressed. He probably never would be. The man – no, boy – was an Eleven after all. He couldn't hope to compare with some of the men Jeremiah had served with over the years.

Private Hideki Matsumoto, nineteen years old, had excelled in every aspect of the combat training he'd been given. He was also an accomplished martial artist. But the best part about him was that he presented so many different tools Jeremiah could use as leverage.

He'd married two years ago and had a one year old daughter. His sister idolized him and both of his parents had survived the invasion. So many strings he could pull. So many buttons he could push. With proper care and application of force the man wouldn't dare try to betray him. He would become Jeremiah's puppet.

The Eleven shifted uncomfortably under his scrutiny. He hadn't been told why he was there. He'd been issued a summons and had simply followed the order. That had been a point in his favor. Other men – even some Britannians – would have tried to figure out what it was about beforehand. Or at least would have tried to question him about it by now. The Eleven hadn't said a word more than the customary greetings exchanged between a private and an officer.

"Why did you become an Honorary Britannian? Why did you join the Britannian army?" Jeremiah asked, finally breaking the suffocating silence.

"I would rather work to preserve order than act as an agent of chaos, sir. Even if they aren't actively opposed to Britannian rule, most Elevens wont betray their friends who are and it just leads to more problems in the end. I chose not to be part of that cycle."

"By 'those actively opposed' you mean terrorists, don't you?"

"Yes, sir. I would wager that most Elevens know of someone who, if they aren't a terrorist themselves, knows how to contact them." The Eleven answered.

"And you? Do you have terrorist friends, Private?" Jeremiah inquired, his eyebrow arched questioningly.

The Eleven hesitated. "Yes, sir. Though we haven't spoken since before I enlisted. We had a falling out over his involvement."

Jeremiah's fingers drummed down on the table once more and then stopped. He'd made up his mind.

"Private Matsumoto, from this moment on, you work for me. Understood?" He drawled.

"Yes, sir!" The Eleven answered, predictably enthusiastic and loud. After all, it wasn't every day that the leader of the Pureblood faction enlisted the help of a Number.

His fingers rose and fell in another soft staccato on the tabletop before he reached inside his jacket to pull out a handful of photos and began laying them, one by one, out in front of the Eleven.

"Your wife, correct?" He asked and the man nodded mutely as the blood drained from his face. "Your daughter. Your sister. Your parents. Right?"

"Sir, what -"

"They'll be safe." Jeremiah said nonchalantly, holding up one hand to cut the Eleven off as he leaned back in his chair. "If you follow my orders to the letter. If you betray me, however . . ." He let his fingers slide lazily across the table, stopping above the photo of the Eleven's sister. "I'll start with her."

"That's not necessary, sir." Matsumoto said firmly, losing his previous enthusiasm. Jeremiah watched the man clench his jaw with secret satisfaction. Given enough to go on, he could get to even the most hardened of men.

"Well, that's up to you. This is a secret assignment." Jeremiah drawled.

"I understand, sir."

"You'll be going undercover. I want you to infiltrate a terrorist cell. They've put their noses somewhere they ought not to have and Prince Clovis wants them taken care of as a result." Jeremiah informed him, sliding a second folder out from underneath the first and tossing it across the table to the Eleven. "We're looking for a man named Naoto Kouzuki. He doesn't happen to be your terrorist friend, does he?"

"No, sir." Matsumoto answered as he began flipping through the pages in the folder. It contained everything the boy would need to know about his assignment.

"There's also a man named Tamaki amongst them. A loudmouthed type." Jeremiah informed him but didn't go into the details of how he'd found that out. He wasn't about to admit his failure to an Eleven.

"What do you want me to do once I've found them, sir?" Matsumoto asked, flipping the folder closed and devoting all of his attention back to Jeremiah.

"Let's just find them first. There are a few questions I have to ask this Kouzuki character before I put him down." He said lethally. He could guarantee that the questioning wouldn't be painless. Not after making him enlist the help of a Number.

"Understood, sir. When do I check in?"

"Weekly." Jeremiah answered as he slid a cellphone across the table. The number to the disposable phone Jeremiah was keeping was already programmed into it. Also, it contained a GPS tracker in it. Just in case things turned south and the Eleven did decide to sacrifice his family, Jeremiah would be able to find him, or at least know the location of the terrorist's meeting places. "And as soon as you find them."

"You can count on me, sir." Matsumoto said firmly.

"Of course I can. You know what will happen if you fail."

* * *

_Day 1_

Lelouch refrained – barely – from touching his head again. It wouldn't do for someone to see him in mourning, but the loss of his hair had hit him harder than expected. He looked strange, like some kind of hairless alien. His head was . . . lumpy. He'd hardly been able to recognize himself when he'd demanded that a mirror be brought to him so he could survey the damage. Perhaps it was simple vanity, but he hated it. Even if he had to use some of his princely authority, he wouldn't be letting them shave it again.

The Major was summarily unhelpful, he'd found. Instead of a proper orientation or tour or something of the like, he had been shown a map and sent off on his own to where the rest of his comrades were supposed to be being put through their paces. He didn't relish showing up late, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

However, Lelouch found, with thinly veiled relief, that their drill instructor had yet to arrive. Instead, he found his comrades perfectly lined up and at attention. Lelouch couldn't help but draw comparisons to his overly strict phys. ed. classes back at Ashford (one of the reasons he'd skipped it so much). Except, at Ashford, they all would have been talking amongst themselves the second the teacher turned his back. This silent discipline unnerved him. Even without someone there to enforce them, they followed orders. But then again, they weren't a bunch of rich high school students used to getting things their own way.

Taking a steadying breath, Lelouch once more drew the mantle of false confidence around him as he strode unhesitatingly down the line and took his place at the end. He could feel the eyes of the the other recruits on him as he went by, boring into his back with silent curiosity.

The man next to him shifted awkwardly and broke from his rigid stillness to turn his head ever so slightly – watching him out of the corner of his eye. Lelouch ignored him. Ever since he'd returned to Pendragon, he'd gotten used to people staring at him. It was annoying, but he could tolerate it.

"You're new?" His neighbor asked, lips barely moving.

"Obviously." Lelouch breathed, adapting the stiff posture of the others so as not to seem out of place when their instructor arrived.

"You're two days late. Sergeant's going to tear you a new one."

"I'm aware." Lelouch replied, turning to face his inquisitor. He was older than Lelouch, probably nineteen or twenty with grey-green eyes and an earnest face that bespoke almost of friendliness despite the military attire and the shaved head. "Was there something you needed of me?"

The man opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by an angry shout.

"What the fuck do we have here?"

Ah, their drill instructor had arrived.

Lelouch grimaced and faced forward, ignoring the man to his right. "Who's your friend, Private Zimmerman? Did you think it was bring your friend to training day?"

"I don't know, sir!" The man next to him shouted in response.

Lelouch waited, sensing the soldier drawing ever closer. He forced his face to remain neutral and placidly returned the instructor's stare when he got in Lelouch's face to intimidate him.

"You think this is your local gym, boy? Think you can come and go as you please? Think again. Training started two days ago. The way I see it, you owe me. Drop and give me thirty!" The instructor shouted.

Lelouch stifled a groan. And thus began hell. Without a word, he began his 'punishment', intensely thankful that Edith had convinced him to start going to the gym in the weeks leading up to his enlistment. He was, by no means, physically adept. But he was in shape enough now that at least he could complete this task without making a fool of himself. He hated to think how pathetic he might have looked if he hadn't taken Edith's advice.

The sergeant waited in silence, scrutinizing Lelouch as he completed his push ups. No doubt, he was ready to jump down Lelouch's throat the second he did something even remotely wrong. Lelouch didn't give him the chance and completed his task textbook perfectly. When he was done, the sergeant continued with his lecture.

"My name is Sergeant Harken. You may _not_ call me Slash Harken. In fact, if I so much as hear you say the word slash harken outside of the Knightmare simulators, I'll make you wish your daddy had never even set eyes on your mother, understand? Now, I want to hear why it is that you're two days late, Private. And it had better be good."

"I was getting married, sir." Lelouch deadpanned, holding his back straight and forcing himself not to breath any heavier than usual after the exercise. He suppressed the grin that attempted to curl onto his lips at the thought of the instructor's despised moniker. Slash Harken. He bet that had been fun to begin a military career with.

"Well holy hell, we've got ourselves a newly wed. Tell me, Private, is your pretty little wife more important to you than serving the Holy Britannian Empire?"

"I don't see how my wife is any of your business, sir." He said coolly and decided that he didn't like the sergeant at all.

Lelouch had the pleasure of watching the drill instructor's eyebrow twitch. "What the hell is your name, Private?"

He bit his lip to keep the smirk from creeping onto his lips. "Lelouch vi Britannia, sir."

The silence that followed the declaration was deafening. He could practically feel the surprise and apprehension emanating off the other recruits. Harken, for his part, didn't blanch or apologize. Instead, his lip twitched and he kept his expression firm.

"Is that right? I bet you think that just because your daddy is the Emperor, I'll go easy on you? You've got another thing coming, Private."

Lelouch couldn't believe it. The man didn't even flinch. Anyone else would have been cowering after talking to a prince of the Empire in such a manner. Lelouch wielded enough power to utterly destroy this man and yet he remained just as abrasive and impertinent as he had before he'd known his identity. Just referring to the Emperor as his 'daddy' made Lelouch want to destroy his career - even though he knew he wouldn't. He had to be careful not to rely on his heritage too much here. He had to earn their respect through actions, not his blood.

"Not at all, sir." Lelouch growled. He could tell already that Harken was going to make this difficult.

This was going to be a long nine weeks.

* * *

AN: Phew. Another chapter done and done. Special thanks to DarthNacho for agreeing to be my military encyclopedia and for giving this a read through before I let you all see it to make sure it was okay. Also, thanks to SomebodyLost for sharing their military experiences with me too.

Sorry that there's no Suzaku in this yet. I promise he will be joining the cast, but not for a little while yet. Similarly, C.C. will eventually be showing up too. Please have patience.

And yeah, I'm so happy you all like Abigail and Edith as characters. I was a little leery of adding oc's because sometimes their characterizations are all out of whack, but you guys seem to like them so I feel a bit more confident about them now. And lots of you have actually asked to learn more about Abigail, so now I've had to go and give her a back story. Lol. You'll get to see it later maybe.

Thanks so much for reading Dauntless and for liking it. It's really great to know you guys are enjoying this. Don't forget to review.

Allora

Ps: Oh, and I just wanted to point out that, with this chapter, I have finally crested 100 pages. I've never attempted a story quite this epic before so I'm really excited about the milestone. :D


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Kallen sighed, fingers resting on her cellphone tentatively. It had been over a week since she'd last spoken to Naoto. And it had been almost a month since she'd killed that police officer. Surely, things had cooled down enough for her to return to the ghetto. Surely enough time had passed to allow her to leave the confines of the Stadtfeld manor (both a prison and a sanctuary).

Naoto had said she could move in with him. She'd already gone through all of her belongings three times now and had sorted everything into piles. Things that were important to her that she would take and things she would leave to gather dust in her abandoned room. The pile of things she would take was significantly smaller than the pile of frivolous, meaningless things she had no desire to remember, let alone take with her.

"Why hasn't he called me?" She murmured quietly to herself, running her fingers over the smooth surface of the phone's faceplate. As a rule, she didn't call Naoto. She waited for him to call her. With the lifestyle he led, it was almost impossible to tell when he was or wasn't in a place safe enough to take a call. And she'd hate to be the one to get him in trouble for a phone call.

But, her brother also didn't usually let more than a couple days pass between check ins. It had been eight days now – she had counted – and the last one had been nothing more than a perfunctory 'Don't worry, I'm alive'. She was past the point of caring whether or not he was in a safe place alone or not. She'd be content just with knowing that he was _alive _and unharmed.

Giving up on patience, she dialed his number. He picked up on the first ring.

"Kallen, I'm sorry. I was going to call you tonight." Naoto said, foregoing greetings.

"Where the hell have you been? What's going on?" She demanded, reverting to Japanese the moment she heard his voice.

"I'm at home. Nothing's going on."

A lie. She could always tell when he was lying to her. It was almost instinctual. And it never boded well when he decided to lie. Something must have gone wrong otherwise he would have just told her to mind her own business.

"Tell me the truth, Naoto." She ordered.

Naoto hesitated. "Kenji's dead. Some Britannian bastard shot him a couple weeks ago here in the ghetto. I've been trying to find his body. His killer took it with him. I . . . I wanted to return it to his mother. But I haven't had any luck. He's probably been cremated by now. Or donated to medical science." He said grimly.

But that wasn't all. She could still hear the hidden tension in his voice. He was tightly wound almost to the point of snapping. The death of one of his men wouldn't cause him that much tension. As horrible as it was, Yamamoto wouldn't be the first person under his command that he had lost.

"What else?" She asked, her lips going numb with dread. Kenji had always been nice to her and she was grieved to hear that he was gone, but at the same time, she knew there was far worse news to come. Naoto wouldn't have tried to deflect her with Kenji's death if it wasn't worse news.

Naoto sighed, almost a huff of annoyance. "Tamaki and Ohgi were there when he was shot. They think the shooter was an undercover cop and they were . . . discussing you. God damned idiots. There were talking about that guy in plain Britannian. There's no way the cop didn't hear. But they used your Japanese name, so you should be safe if you say with the Stadtfelds. I've been trying to keep my distance so they can't find a link between us. There's a chance they might try to investigate me. Apparently they were talking about . . . my job as well."

"Fucking idiots." Kallen hissed. Tamaki. It had to be Tamaki. Not that Kenji had had much more sense when it came to gossip but Ohgi had more sense than to be so careless.

Kallen clenched her hands into fists. If the police began investigating Naoto . . . it would be all over for the resistance. Much as she hated to admit it, none of the other members possessed the same ability to lead. If they lost Naoto, they lost the best chance they had for liberating Japan. Ohgi would probably take command, but he lacked her brother's natural aptitude and charisma. Naoto was confident in his command and it showed in everything he did. In turn, it made the others confident in him.

She couldn't let Naoto be caught.

So, if she . . . turned herself in to put a halt to the investigation. . . What would her punishment be? Her father was an Earl and being a member of the nobility held a lot of sway, even over the law. But if they found out she was half Japanese, she doubted her father's name would count for quite as much. And there was no way they'd be able to do it without finding out she was half Japanese. If Tamaki had been using her Japanese name, she'd have to admit that she was Kallen Kouzuki.

So what was the best she could hope for? Life in prison if they took into account her Britannian half. A swift execution if they didn't.

"Just sit tight until this all blows over." Naoto sighed. "I know you don't want to be there, but it's safer for you than being here right now. And don't do anything stupid, Kallen. I swear, I will kick your butt if you do. You are my priority right now. Once I'm sure they're not going to swoop down on you, I'll come get you. I promise. Just wait a bit longer."

She sighed heavily. He knew her too well. And knowing him, he'd put himself in more danger trying to rescue her. "Naoto . . . you should worry about yourself."

"I am worrying about myself. Trust me. I have enough worry pent up for the both of us. Just go to school, pretend to be Britannian. I've curtailed almost all of the resistance's missions for now and everyone's gone to ground. And I've started using a fake name. If anyone asks you, my name is John Lorne."

"A Britannian name?" Kallen demanded disdainfully.

"Hey, it makes sense. If the cops are looking for a resistance member named Naoto, they're naturally going to suspect that the guy they're looking for looks Japanese. As I don't exactly look Japanese, as long as I keep an alias I should be okay. It'll work for a while at least."

"Are you sure you're okay? Maybe you should come back here. If you're going to hide behind a Britannian name, it might as well be Stadtfeld." Kallen asked hopefully.

Naoto chuckled. "As if that woman would let me step foot in her house. She'd probably just call the cops. Nah, I'll be okay here with Ohgi. Anyway, how's Mom?"

"Pathetic, as always." She grumbled.

"Don't do that. She loves you." Her brother sighed.

"She loves _him_, ungrateful bastard that he is."

There was a long moment of silence between them. This was always an awkward subject for them. Naoto loved their mother and couldn't find her at fault for serving the woman who had stolen her husband away. But Naoto was a man and maybe he didn't understand just how demeaning it was for their mother.

To have to smile and bow to the woman who had stolen her husband and usurped her place as mother to her children . . .

"She loves you more."

"Sure." She said noncommittally. She didn't feel like arguing with him at the moment. Not when things were so dire.

Naoto sighed loudly into the phone. "Anyway, I've got to go. Send her my love. And stay safe, Kallen. I wont forgive you if you do something rash. Just lay low like the rest of us."

"Kay." She mumbled and a moment later he hung up the phone.

_"... like the rest of us."_

Us.

Did that mean he considered her a member of the resistance now? Was she one of them? Was he allowing her to join?

Yes, she decided. It was kind of a moot point for him to allow her to move in with him and continue to try to keep her out of the resistance. His apartment was their main planning center. If she was living with him, she'd be involved no matter what he had to say about it.

A small smirk crept across her lips.

Finally, he was going to recognize her. Finally, she'd be able to actually _do_ something to help the resistance. To help free Japan from the Britannian tyrants that had stolen it away from them. She was finally going to be able to make a difference.

. . . Supposing that the police didn't suddenly swoop down on Naoto or herself. Her smirk turned into a frown as she silently cursed Tamaki to hell and back for his stupidity. She would have done the same to Kenji but she didn't think it was a good thing to curse the dead.

And then it hit her that Kenji was actually _dead_. She would never see him again. He would never greet her with an overly loud 'Kouzuki-chan!' and he would never joke around with her again. He was gone. He was _dead_. And his body had been stolen by the Britannian asshole that had killed him.

Did they have no respect for the dead? It was absolutely barbaric to desecrate a corpse. And, if Tamaki and Ohgi were there when it happened, then the resistance already knew that Kenji was dead. There was no reason to hide the body. Especially not if he was a cop. And the Britannians had never felt remorse about leaving Japanese corpses I their wake before. So why take Kenji with him then?

Unless . . . unless the wound hadn't been fatal, maybe? If Kenji had only been wounded would they take him and treat him until he was well enough to be interrogated?

Did Naoto suspect that was the case too? Was that why he was trying to find Kenji despite the inherent danger to himself? And if Kenji was alive, would they get any information out of him? Would they torture him? She doubted Kenji could hold up under torture.

Shit. Now she just had more questions to ask Naoto. She glanced at her phone but decided against calling him back. It would just make him annoyed and he wouldn't answer any of her questions if he was annoyed anyway. She'd wait a day or two and lay low, just like he'd suggested. But she'd make sure to question him next time he called. And if he left it too long again, she'd call him and demand answers.

She just had to wait a few more days to get back in the loop. It was something to look forward to. A less daunting goal than waiting until everyone eventually forgot about that dead cop. Just a few more days.

* * *

Lelouch was ninety percent sure that he was going to puke. No, make that ninety-five percent. His kneecaps felt like they'd been turned into jello and every muscle in his body was trembling. Add to those glorious symptoms that his lungs felt like someone had poured acid on them and his acute sense of dizziness and Lelouch was in fine form.

And still, Harken was on his ass howling at him to move faster. He _couldn't_ go faster. He didn't care if Harken started chasing him in a Knightmare, there was simply no going faster for him. He was at his maximum speed. He was the slow gazelle in the herd, the one doomed to become prey. He had never been a physical person and he was well aware that he couldn't compete with the other recruits in this area of the training. However, he was willing to bet that he could out-strategize any one of the others there, Harken included.

Unfortunately, tactics and strategy weren't part of his training.

They crossed the arbitrary finish line of their endurance run and Harken called them to a halt.

"That's enough, ladies. Get back to your barracks and make sure everything's up to par. If I find even one thing out of order, I'll have you running obstacles all night, understood?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" The recruits around him shouted – Lelouch followed along, having no desire to attract more attention to himself at this particular moment.

He managed to keep his legs solid until Harken disappeared into a nearby building before his bones turned to liquid and he sank to his knees, gasping for breath. He could feel his vision sinking as he tried to draw more oxygen into his deprived lungs.

"You're not the most fit, are you?" A voice asked from next to him, drawing him momentarily out of his agony. "Take slower, deeper breaths. You've going to hyperventilate."

He glanced over his shoulder and felt the world tilt with the movement. He caught a glimpse of Private Zimmerman hovering over him before he closed his eyes to keep the world from spinning and shook his head slightly. "Used to . . . skip gym class . . . go gambling." He gasped.

"Oh? Were you any good?" Zimmerman asked.

"Enough to survive on." Lelouch said quickly between breaths before he tried taking the other private's advice and drew in one deep steady breath and held it for a second before letting it out slowly. It didn't help the burning in his lungs at all, but it did help the dizziness to recede a little.

"So that's a yes." Zimmerman laughed. "Let's get back to barracks before Harken decides he wants our heads, your highness."

Lelouch shook his head, forcing the dizziness to recede through willpower and determination alone. "Don't call me that." He grumbled as he forced himself to his unsteady feet.

"You don't want me to address you as 'your highness'?" Zimmerman questioned.

"Just call me Lelouch."

Zimmerman quirked his eyebrow a little in surprise. "You know, for a prince, you're way more down to earth than I thought you'd be. I'm Lukas Zimmerman."

Lelouch shrugged as the trembling in his limbs began to subside and his breathing began to even out. "Nice to meet you." He said as he held out his hand to shake despite the fact that his bones still felt partially maleable.

"And you." Zimmerman said hesitantly before shaking his hand. "Listen, I'm sorry about getting you into trouble with the sergeant when you joined the lineup. I was curious. My entire family's been in the military for generations and I've never heard of anyone joining training late. But, considering that you're a prince, it's not hard to see why they might bend the rules for you."

Lelouch snorted. "Harken doesn't seem like the type to bend rules, does he? I get the impression he doesn't think I should be here."

It had already been a long fucking day and Harken had rode his ass the entire time, whipping out 'your highness's – each time with a sneer – like they were insults. And it certainly didn't help that he was two days behind the other recruits when it came to experience doing the exercises and going through the obstacles. He'd blundered more times that he could count and the sergeant had been only too happy to call attention to his mistakes.

"I'm sure that's not it." Zimmerman hedged. "Sergeant Harken is known for being a hard ass. But he's also known for having the highest success rate in all of Britannia. I mean, I'm really honored that I'm going to be trained by him. He's put more soldiers in Knightmares in the last seven years than any other instructor in Britannia and the Knightmare Corps only takes the best."

"He's that good?" Lelouch questioned as they began making their way to the barracks. It made sense that Schneizel would have arranged for him to get into the group that presented the best chance for success. His influence in the military would be unspeakably helpful when the time came for them to move against the Emperor.

"Yeah." Zimmerman chuckled. "The only person in my family to make it into the Knightmare Corps is also the only person in my family trained by Harken. I'm hoping to rectify that."

"Yeah, well good luck with that." Lelouch said. For a moment he considered failing on purpose if only to damage Harken's stellar record, but he quickly decided against it. He wanted his ultimate revenge on the Emperor far more than so petty of a revenge on Harken.

"What about you? What do you want to do after basic?"

_Kill the Emperor and topple his corrupted Empire . . ._

Lelouch shrugged. "I'll go where I'm told." He answered as they entered the barracks where the other recruits were already busy gathering their shower supplies.

He made his way to his bunk where he'd carelessly tossed his bags that morning in his rush to join the rest of his unit, acutely aware that none of the other recruits spoke to him. Hell, most of them refused to even look at him. He had to wonder if it was out of embarrassment over his performance or if they were intimidated by his heritage.

Behind him, he heard Zimmerman scoff. "All a bunch of fucking pansies. He's not that scary." The other private muttered as he kicked open his footlocker with the toe of his boot.

Lelouch chuckled softly and gathered his shower things out of his bag. He'd never been much of a fan of communal showers – princes didn't share their bathrooms – but he figured that if he didn't get over it, he'd be going without. And that was simply not an option. He could . . . smell himself and it was disgusting. This was one of the primary reasons why he'd played hookey during Phys. Ed. classes at Ashford.

Again, he'd just have to get over it. He was going to become a soldier at the behest of Schneizel and the Emperor and he was determined to become a damn fine one. Even if that meant getting his hands dirty and becoming soaked in sweat.

He was going to make the Emperor regret sending him for combat training.

"I'm Grant Moore, your highness." The occupant of the bed next to him introduced himself after a moment of awkward silence.

Lelouch had always considered himself tall – slender and frail looking, yes, but always tall. However, Private Grant Moore towered over Lelouch and had all the girth to match it. The man was built like a tank. Normally, Lelouch would automatically assume that all of his body's energy had gone into the creation of muscles and had left his braid atrophied, but the private didn't automatically come off as a complete idiot so Lelouch gave him the benefit of the doubt and offered his hand.

"I'm Lelouch." He said, deliberately leaving off the Imperial name. He didn't want to remind them of his heritage. "No honorifics are necessary."

And that was all it took for the rest of the recruits to come around. The barracks housed twenty of them and Lelouch made a point of getting to know each and every one of them over the next few days. He learned each of their names, where they were from, what kind of background they'd had, if they were married, had kids or whatever else crossed his mind during casual conversation when Harken wasn't breathing down their necks.

The one question he made sure to ask them all, however, was 'why?'. What was it they wanted to fight for? Why had the joined the Britannian military?

Most of the answers were predictably shallow. To serve the Holy Britannian Empire and the Emperor. For glory. To prove the might of Britannia. All things they thought a prince of the Empire would want to hear.

Lukas Zimmerman was the only one who's answer had surprised him.

"For peace." The private muttered, averting his gaze.

Lelouch stared at him incredulously for a moment. "You _do_ realize that we're an invading army, don't you? The Britannian military conquers. It doesn't defend."

"It's a theory my brother taught me. And one I believe."

Lelouch frowned for a moment and continued cleaning the lavatory with his comrade – their 'chores' for the week. The other recruit had become a support for Lelouch, always quick with advice that would save him face and make his time easier. Lukas was a generally good guy and Lelouch didn't want to offend him, but the thought of someone actually joining the _Britannian_ _military_ with the idea of fighting for peace made him seriously wonder if he hadn't misjudged the other's intelligence.

"Explain to me the theory?" Lelouch requested after a moment of tense silence.

"When there's no one left for Britannia to invade, there will be peace. So the quicker we can bring the rest of the world under the dominion of the Empire, the better."

It was so simple.

And yet, Lelouch couldn't quite convince himself that he hadn't thought along similar lines in the past. In theory, that plan would work. Without an enemy to fight, the Empire would be forced into peace. However, that was all it was. A theory. In reality, it would never bear fruit. Not within the current system.

"The Empire thrives on strife and war. Peace means stagnation, according to the Emperor's doctrine. Even should the entire world fall under the heel of the Empire, peace wouldn't be certain." Lelouch said slowly.

"How could it not be? Who would we go to war with? Ourselves?" Zimmerman asked hotly.

Well, that was always an option. And he wouldn't put it past the Emperor to subtly encourage revolt in a certain Area in order to provide target practice for his soldiers. "No, I was meaning more that even if Britannia managed to take over the entire world, it wouldn't mean much unless the people were united. Look at Area Eleven – it's been conquered and yet they're still at war. The Eleven's refuse to bow their heads completely."

As long as there was discrimination against the Numbers – hell, as long as the Area-Numbers system existed – there would never be true peace in the Empire. But once the Area-Numbers system was abolished and Schneizel was on the throne . . . then peace might be possible.

"Once we're have the entire world at our command, the Empire wont have to be so hard on the Numbers. Easing up on them will diminish their desire for dissent." Lukas countered.

Lelouch quirked his eyebrow in surprise. Could this really be a home grown Britannian with a soft spot for the Numbers? "What you're suggesting is an egalitarian society." Lelouch pointed out casually. "There's nothing the Emperor hates more than equality. He believes it fosters weakness and stupidity. The Emperor would never consent to your amendments to his ideology."

"But the Emperor wont live forever." Zimmerman murmured thoughtlessly.

Lelouch's eyes snapped up, wide in surprise as the other recruit realized with dawning horror what he'd just said. "That's dangerously close to treason, Lukas."

"I didn't mean it like that!" He exclaimed.

They regarded each other warily for a moment before Lelouch laughed. "Don't worry about it. I wont tell anyone."

The private looked taken aback for a moment before he frowned. "Why? What I just said, well, anyone could construe that to mean I wanted your father dead."

"I hardly consider that man my father." Lelouch said caustically, his eyes narrowing into a glare. "But in any case, I know you didn't really mean it. If you had, you wouldn't have said it so carelessly. I guess you're lucky that I was your audience and not someone else willing to accuse you of something."

Zimmerman eyed him warily for a moment before turning back to his task. "I guess."

Another awkward silence fell between them. They were not friends. Not yet. But they were . . . allies of a sort. They both wanted to see the other get through basic training and so they helped each other in whatever ways they could. Granted, Lelouch couldn't do very much for the other who was in his physical prime and seemed to have spent his childhood going through obstacle courses, but still Lelouch wanted to see the other succeed. So no, they were not friends, but they were united by a common goal.

"What about you?" Lukas asked after a while.

"Hmm?" Lelouch inquired.

"What are you fighting for?"

Lelouch paused. What, indeed? Revenge? No, that might be the over all urge driving his actions thus far, but it wasn't what he was going to be thinking of when he came under live fire. It wasn't going to be the Emperor's face that drifted into his mind when his life was on the line.

No, what was it that could drive him to any lengths? The one thing that he would do absolutely anything for? The only thing that he would actually consider joining the military and knowingly consenting to being deployed to an active war zone for?

Nunnally.

It was all for Nunnally. To help create a world where his beloved little sister could survive without worrying about protecting her identity. Without having to worry about war looming over her again. Without having to worry about being used as a tool for political gain.

In short, he was fighting for change. But to say so would only inflame any doubts Zimmerman already had about his loyalty. Instead, he smirked enigmatically.

"Maybe I'll tell you one day."

* * *

AN: Sorry about the wait everyone. It's been getting harder and harder to get into Lelouch's head lately. Also, there was a death in my family so I haven't really been on top of things. Also I watched 07-Ghost and fell in love with it. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.

Anyway, there were a few things I wanted to address here (lets see if I can remember them all). First off, some of you have been commenting on how ooc Lelouch seems because he's kind and not maniacal. Well, the Lelouch in canon was also kind (in the first episode he goes out of his way to help the terrorists because he thinks they've been hurt, also, Shirley's story about him helping the elderly couple in the car wreck) before Geass. It is my firm belief that Geass twists Lelouch. We'll get into those changes later.

Secondly, I apologize for shaving Lelouch's head, but take comfort from the fact that it will grow back. And yes, I completely agree that he would look weird bald.

Thirdly, thirty push ups are not that hard. Even for someone who isn't physically fit, thirty pushups is easily attainable with enough determination. I suggest any of you who doubt me to try it yourselves and see if you succeed. Besides, it's not like Lelouch is fat and has to lift like three hundred pounds or anything. Just because he isn't fit, doesn't mean he's completely useless. In canon, Lelouch revealed his lack of physical prowess when he couldn't keep up with Suzaku to catch the cat. Not being able to run at the same speed as Suzaku shouldn't have much bearing on on his arm strength. Also, he's had a couple weeks to begin building up his stamina at his local gym. I don't think Lelouch completing the push ups without much difficulty is unrealistic.

Fourthly, thanks so much to everyone who commented on Edith and Abigail natural fit into the story. I'm very pleased that you think so. However, I will never base a chapter or scene from an OC's pov (except with the possible exception of Hideki Matsumoto during his investigation, though I'll try not to.) After all, I know you're all here to read about the canon characters.

Fifthly . . . actually I think that about sums it up. I had to go back through my reviews to remember what all I wanted to say.

Special thanks again to Darth Nacho for reading this and pointing out any errors I've made about life in basic training.

And super special thanks to all of you who have read and reviewed this story. I'm really very touched by all your praise.

Allora


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Her fingers traveled across the thin paper with visible confidence, nail dragging across the fold to ensure the crease was set into the paper firmly as her thoughts wandered. Nunnally was not happy. She hadn't been happy since Nina had returned from Pendragon and had delivered a concise but detail-oriented accounting of all that she'd seen at Lelouch's wedding.

It was easy to tell that Nina was a scientist. She had explained the happenings of the wedding with the same detached professionalism as though the people she'd encountered were simply isotopes reacting under the lens of her microscope. It had given Nunnally all she needed to know about the wedding in as unbiased of an opinion she could have hoped for. And still, Nunnally wasn't happy.

She didn't like what she'd heard about Lelouch's wife.

Surely there was no possible way that her brother could be happy with that woman. The woman who had publicly scorned Lelouch's friends and tried to pick a fight with both Milly and Shirley. No, there was no way Lelouch would be happy with her.

Sighing, she pushed the half finished crane away from her. She wondered what Lelouch was doing now. Was he off on his honeymoon? Was he making an effort to make things work with his new wife? She hoped he could at least be happy with her. All she wanted was for her brother to be happy.

No, that was a lie. She couldn't even lie to herself about it. She was selfish. Selfish, selfish, selfish. A horribly selfish person. Yes, she wanted Lelouch to be happy. But what she wanted most was for Lelouch to be happy with _her_. She wanted him to come back. She wanted things to be like they had been before Clovis had taken Lelouch away from her. She wanted her brother back.

She felt disgusted with herself. She couldn't even wish happiness on her own brother if it didn't involve her. How could she be so self-centered?

Ah, but Lelouch had spoiled her. He had treated her like she was the most important thing in the world and she had done the same for him. Lelouch was the bright star at the center of her universe. Her every thought and action took him into account in some small way.

He had practically raised her. He'd taken care of her when no one else would. He had loved her when they'd been abandoned by everyone who had professed to care for them. He'd always been there. Always nearby, waiting for a word from her. She knew he would have done anything for her if she had only asked. Anything under the sun.

Which was why this was hurting so much – this separation. Because she'd asked him to run away with her . . . and he hadn't.

So maybe she wasn't as important to him as she'd thought?

When she'd first heard that Lelouch had been in contact with Nina, she'd been overcome by an inconsolable bout of jealousy. Oh, she had hidden it well, but she'd still been green with envy. He'd called _Nina_. He hadn't called her. Maybe she wasn't as important as she'd thought she was.

Then she'd found out that he'd also been keeping in contact with Milly and her jealousy had morphed into anger. She'd been furious with him for the first time since before their mother had died. For the first time since he'd become the only rock in her life – the foundation that kept her happy and healthy and safe – she'd wanted to shout at him.

It was a far cry from the gentle, generous girl he had nurtured her into. A far cry from the sister he'd loved. He'd have been disappointed in her if he knew. Maybe.

She wondered if he was happier now? She'd been a burden to him, she knew. She'd always known. If she hadn't been so weak. . . That was probably it. He was happy to be away from her, to be relieved of the responsibility of maintaining her well being.

He was married and had resumed his life as a prince of the Imperial family. From all accounts, things were going well for him. It sounded like Schneizel had taken him under his wing and that they were getting along swimmingly.

He didn't need to worry about his invalid little sister any more. He was a thousand miles away and could easily forget about her. He could easily move on to bigger and better things.

Maybe . . . maybe she was thinking too much.

How many times over the last few weeks had she been plagued by these doubts? She was just thinking too much. She was reading too much into his actions. He was staying away to keep her safe.

_He loved her_. He had to. He was her brother. She was his sister. His only _real _sister. Euphemia, Cornelia, Guinevere . . . Carline – they didn't count. None of the others counted. She was his only real sister and he couldn't forget that. He wouldn't. He loved her.

Of course he loved her. She shouldn't question such things. They were proven, universal constants. He would always love her. More than that, he would always love her with the exact same intensity he had in the past. A steady constant. Like how gravity would always pull things down to the earth or how sun would always continue to rise in the morning.

Oh, but those weren't constants, she reminded herself. Gravity could be altered. Gravity could disappear. _Zero gravity_. Could Lelouch's love for her be altered and eradicated in the same manner? And the sun wasn't a constant either. One day it would die. One day it would die and maybe it would explode, obliterating the rest of her world with it.

Such morbid, morbid thoughts. When had she become so bitter? When had she begun to doubt Lelouch? It was _Lelouch!_ He was her constant. He was her foundation. Her rock. The rock that held everything in her life together. He wouldn't betray her. He was just trying to protect her.

She was just . . .

Lonely?

Bored?

Depressed?

All of the above.

She missed him, but she also missed people in general. She felt like she was being imprisoned. Like she had done something wrong and was now being punished. This beautiful suite that Nina had created for her with such tender attention to detail had become a prison to her.

She missed Shirley – all of the caring goodness, tender friendship and awkward infatuation the girl had embodied.

She missed Milly – the vibrant, chaotic aura that surrounded the girl that she viewed more as a sister than any of the other members of the Britannian royal family. It was Milly that had used to crawl into her bed at night when she was a little girl and would sooth away the nightmares that would plague her after Reuben had decided that Lelouch was too old to spend the night in his sister's room. Milly was family. And still she was segregated from her.

She even missed Rivalz. She missed the goofy grin she could always hear in his voice, his unrivaled loyalty and kindheartedness. She missed knowing that there was someone there looking out for Lelouch. That Lelouch would never be alone.

Lelouch. Lelouch. Lelouch. No matter what she thought about, everything came wheeling back to him. Back to her brother who she missed so terribly. She reached for the crane and resumed folding the paper. She didn't know what color this one was, but she knew it was number 284. She had a long way to go. A long way until she folded her final, one-thousandth crane and then her wish would become a reality.

She'd have Lelouch back.

She just needed to wait a little longer. Patience was a virtue, Lelouch had told her once. Patience and determination. She had limited stores of the first, but had the second in spades. She was determined to get Lelouch back. Somehow. She would entreaty every god or celestial being there was if she had to. She would fold cranes and search for four-leaf clovers and whatever else it required if she could only have Lelouch back.

Just a little longer. The cranes would work. They had to. After she had put so much work into them, they just had to work.

* * *

_Day 9_

Lelouch dodged, barely careening out of the way of Zimmerman's fist as it whizzed past his face.

Unarmed Combat Training.

He dodged again as the other private tried to catch hold of him, slipping under Lukas' outstretched hand and dancing back out of reach. They had been taught, over the previous week, a whole gamut of useful moves and techniques for taking down and subduing a target with only their bare hands.

Lelouch wasn't good at any of them.

He was, however, becoming very proficient at evading said attacks and techniques. Not that most of the recruits tried very hard to land any of their attacks anyway. A few of them had refused to be partnered with Lelouch at all, afraid of what would happen should they injure him. The rest usually threw blows they knew would miss and evaded Lelouch's feeble attacks.

Zimmerman was different though. Zimmerman didn't pull his punches. He treated Lelouch like he would have treated any of the other recruits. He wanted to win this match. He wanted to do his best. He wasn't going to throw in the towel just because his opponent was an Imperial prince. In a way, Lelouch was thankful for the attitude. He would have to remind himself again just how thankful he was for it when the other private pounded him into submission again.

He still had bruises from the last time Lukas had taken him down.

Another charge, arms attempting to wrap around his torso, to trap his arms uselessly. He ducked and turned, pushing the offending appendages away quickly before withdrawing. He'd been caught like that before – left his hand on Lukas' arm for a second too long only to have it trapped and used against him.

"The fuck are you doing, vi Britannia?" Harken shouted at him. "This is a fight, not a ballroom. Quit dancing around like a goddamned girl. It's you or him, you pathetic piece of shit. He's going to kill you. What are you going to do? Just dance around like that? Or are you going to fucking take him down?"

Lelouch shook his head, trying to drown out Harken's 'encouragements'. It was probably the reason why he was so bad at this, but he simply couldn't picture Zimmerman as his enemy. Another dodge - this time not as flawless - as Lukas managed to get his fingers tangled in the sleeve of his shirt for a second before Lelouch jumped back and ripped it from his grasp.

"Pathetic. Your mother would be turning in her fucking grave if she could see this shit. Now _there_ was a goddamned soldier! She wouldn't be fucking around like this, she'd go for the kill."

Lelouch clenched his fists. He hated it when Harken talked about his mother. The Marianne he knew, the Marianne he remembered had been a kind, passionate woman. She had a temper, but he'd never seen her actually hurt anyone. Ever. She had never even so much as spanked him when he'd misbehaved. And he'd misbehaved a lot.

No, that bastard didn't know the first thing about his mother. Harken didn't know what would have made her proud and what would have made her ashamed. He was just talking shit. Like usual.

He backed away another step, circling – each stepped matched by Zimmerman – and leonine as his eyes searched for the telltale signs of movement. The split second before he moved, Lukas' muscles tensed. It was all the warning Lelouch needed. His mind was faster than even the fastest of the other recruits' movements.

"God damn it, get your head out of your ass. He's going to kill you. He's your enemy. He's going to take you down. Are you just going to let him? Take him down, vi Britannia, before he takes you down."

Lelouch concentrated. He was his enemy . . . and yet he was also his friend (or acquaintance or ally – _something_ that implied they were on the same side). He focused, trying to blur the definition of Zimmerman's face and summon the urge to attack him. He managed after a moment and Lukas became just a faceless soldier.

He'd seen so many faceless, ruthless, inhumane soldiers in his life. His memories were haunted by them. By the things he'd seen them do. He summoned the nameless identity of one – the one who had tried to kill Suzaku with his bare hands because a scrawny Eleven brat wasn't worth a bullet. The one who Lelouch had actually momentarily abandoned Nunnally for in order to throw himself at the soldier and try to save his friend's life.

His feeble punches had glanced off the soldier's thick body armor, his infuriated screaming more of an annoyance than the actual blows. He was weak, a ten year old boy was no match against a fully grown armed man.

But . . . he wasn't so small anymore. . .

Lunging forward, he let his fist fly and actually felt it connect _hard _with his opponent's gut. Hard enough for him to feel all of his knuckles pop with the impact. Hard enough to feel the surprised whoosh of air rush past his face as the blow knocked the breath out of the soldier. Hard enough to momentarily stagger his opponent so that his next, mad, frenzied punch connected just as solidly.

A hail of blows. Fury. Madness in the extreme. For a second the soldier's face blurred and it was Schneizel wearing that same infuriatingly arrogant smirk as he'd worn after admitting to sending assassins after Edith. And then with devastating clarity it was the Emperor he was pummeling. Punches, slaps, kicks, jabs. He wasn't even aware of what he was doing.

_"You are dead to me. Dead since the moment you were born."_

An impotent, inanimate playing piece used and abused over and over again without thought or care for how he felt. How dare that man use him again? How dare that man profess to care after everything that had been done to him?

_"Take him down, vi Britannia, before he takes you down . . . He's going to kill you . . . It's you or him."_

It was all true. All true. The Emperor was going to kill him, he knew it deep down in his heart. It was just a matter of time. Just a matter of time until death came for him at the behest of the Emperor. His only choice was to kill the Emperor first. It was a matter of survival. _No_. It was more than a matter of survival. It was _justice_. Justice and revenge all tied into one for all of the despicable things the Emperor had done.

Without knowing how or why, Lelouch found himself slammed to the ground, head bouncing off the not-so-soft mat with enough force to send stars through his vision. There was a pain in his chest and he realized that Zimmerman had pinned him, knee digging into his sternum and wrists pinned to the ground.

The other recruit was panting with either surprise or exertion (probably both) and boasting both a split lip and a rapidly swelling cheek. He felt a trickle of guilt oozing through him, infecting everything in it's path. He'd attacked his ally. No, that was what he was supposed to do. What he really felt bad about was that he'd lost it. He'd completely fucking lost it. He hadn't even realized it was Lukas he'd been assaulting until he'd been tackled.

"The fuck was that, vi Britannia? I'm training you to be a solider, not a barroom brawler. Did you listen to a single thing I tried to teach you?" Harken barked from somewhere nearby but he didn't respond, too busy staring in horror at the damage he'd done to Lukas' face. "Pathetic. Get your ass up and get running. I want a mile out of you and if you're not done in eight minutes you'll be running them all night."

"Yes, sir." Lelouch said pliantly and Harken scowled at him before turning away to where the next two recruits were getting ready to begin their fight.

"I'm sorry." He apologized. What were they doing to him here that he could be driven into a berserk rage? He had never been like this before. He was cold, analytical, _logical_. He didn't just fly off the handle like this. Not anymore – he'd been training himself to think first and act second.

Zimmerman shrugged as though it didn't matter and released him. "S'okay." He muttered through his split lip as he pushed himself to his feet and offered his hand to Lelouch to help him up.

Lelouch stared at the gesture for a moment wondering what it was meant to imply - if it was meant to imply anything. Was he forgiven? (He probably wouldn't have been so quick to forgive should their positions have been reversed.) No hard feelings? What? He wouldn't have been able to offer a hand to the person who had just mercilessly mangled his face. He remembered with both vindictive glee and a kind of sick disgust that he hadn't even flinched when Clovis had ordered the execution of the soldiers that had assaulted him. He'd wanted them dead (or at least the one who had brutalized him). And yet here he was, guilty of the same crime, and his victim was offering him his hand.

He tentatively reached out and let the other private pull him to his feet.

"It's what we're here for, Lelouch. So what if you got a bit carried away? Don't worry about it. Nothing I can't take. My brother and I used to beat the shit out of each other as kids. You don't pack near as hard of a punch as he does." Zimmerman explained, seeming to catch on to Lelouch's hesitance.

"Sure." Lelouch muttered bitterly, not comforted at all. Instead of trying to further apologize - to try to make the other recruit understand how appalled he was by his actions - he just turned away and began his mile run. He hated running – it was why Harken always chose it as his punishment when he fucked up. This time, however, he felt like he deserved it.

He didn't eat much that night, dread and horror sapping him of his hunger despite the exercises he'd been put through that day. He picked at his meal moodily, dutifully swallowing a few bites as he was shouted at to eat faster. Three minutes for breakfast. Five for lunch. Ten for supper.

He was disgusted with himself. And a little afraid of what he might be turning into. Had he really suppressed so much murderous rage towards the Emperor that it had the capability to render him completely mindless?

Yes, he wanted the Emperor dead. He wanted that man to pay for everything he'd done to Nunnally. Wanted to make him pay for not even bothering to search for the people who had killed his mother. Wanted to make him pay for using him as a pawn, a chess piece, a tool. But did he really want to bludgeon the man to death with his bare hands?

No.

No, he'd always imagined (it was the primary topic of his day dreams for a time) that it would be quick and merciless. A single shot and the world would be rid of the worst tyrant since Napoleon. A clean death, not that the bastard deserved it. But no matter how furious the man had made him, he wasn't going to draw it out. Death would be enough of a punishment for the man who had destroyed millions of lives in a quest for power or fame or god only knew what that man was actually after. He wanted to be the Emperor that conquered the entire world, maybe. It would be the first time in the history of the world that every nation would be united.

A single shot, not a flurry of wild, unbridled blows.

Had he lost himself somewhere? Was that what had happened? Was he changing? Was he still Lelouch? Yes, he told himself, he was still Lelouch. But he was becoming Soldier Lelouch and Soldier Lelouch was a vastly different person than Nunnally's Lelouch or even Prince Lelouch. He didn't want to be. He wanted to halt the process somehow, but at the same time knew that _this_ was why he was here. _This_ was part of the plan.

He was supposed to become a soldier. How had he thought that it wouldn't change him? He hadn't even completed his basic training yet and he was already warped. Twisted. Harken was nurturing within him a killer instinct. He was trying to make Lelouch cold enough to follow orders. Cold enough to kill on command.

And it was what he was here for. It was exactly what he had signed up for.

He pushed his half-full plate away, ignoring the surprised and concerned glances from the recruits around him. He couldn't eat, not when the roiling in his gut only served to remind him of exactly what he'd agreed to become.

* * *

She was aware of it always. That single little slip of paper was burning a hole in her consciousness like a flare that you could continue to see even after closing your eyes. It was stupid. She was being so stupid about it. She should just throw it away. She didn't need it.

Nina frowned, her gaze traveling over to her purse before quickly returning to the stack of readings she'd printed out. The results of her latest test. But it was difficult to focus when she was conflicted like this. Sighing, she snagged her purse and pulled it into her lap before rifling through it and pulling out the card. That single little slip of paper that was annoying her so badly.

_Kanon Maldini_

_ Assistant to Prime Minister Schneizel el Britannia_

_ Ph: (777) 876-6654_

The card had been taken out and examined so many times that someone would think that she'd been carrying it for years as opposed to weeks. She corners were slightly bent and dull and even the sharp blue lettering was beginning to fade. She ended up staring at the card at least five times a day – considering . . . debating.

There was nothing to debate, she told herself again.

If she ever needed help – and she didn't, she was getting along just fine with her current situation – she was sure Lelouch would help her. She couldn't take the Prime Minister up on his offer anyway because of the less than legal means of obtaining her bursary and the fact that she was hiding a supposedly dead Imperial princess in her basement. So it was stupid to keep it. She should just throw it out. She'd never use it.

But . . . something wouldn't let her do it. It was an opportunity like nothing else. She couldn't believe the Prime Minster had actually spoken to her, let alone that he'd read her dissertation (or rather, Lelouch's forged copy of her dissertation) and approved of it. How many scientists could boast that Prince Schneizel himself found their research worthy?

None that she had ever met.

Still, he was a member of the Imperial family and therefore she couldn't afford to get too close. Not only because of Nunnally though. After the praise he had given her, she would just _die_ of mortification if he ever discovered how exactly she'd managed to win the Moris Foundation bursary. She'd never be able to show her face in public again. She had to keep her distance. Lay low.

And she had Lelouch. While Lelouch may not possess as many contacts and resources as his half-brother did, there was still a lot he could do if she ever needed a hand. And, she thought with a moment of horrible callousness, he would be likely to give her anything she wanted to ensure her silence about his sister.

Not that she'd ever sell Nunnally out.

But this was just another reason why she _shouldn't_ ask Lelouch for help – if she ever needed it. Because of the way his family worked, because he was used to people using him for their own gain, even if she did approach him, he would probably think it was because she knew she could blackmail him. Even so, approaching Prince Schneizel for assistance felt too much like betrayal to her.

Why was she even worrying about this now? She _didn't_ need any help. She was fine on her own. She had more capital than she immediately knew what to do with, she had her own lab now and had finished setting it up earlier that week, she was on the verge of a breakthrough. In fact, her breakthrough was possibly sitting on the desk in front of her while she was staring at the stupid, faded, slightly wrinkled card.

Huffing, she shoved the card back into her purse before standing up. She needed a break. She needed to clear her head. She also needed to get to the Student Council room before Milly decided to hunt her down. Five o'clock on a Friday and Milly had decided to call an emergency meeting for the Summer Gala – the last event of the year – that wasn't scheduled to take place for another four and half weeks.

When she arrived the others were already assembled, their voices trickling out of the door that had been left slightly ajar.

"Where _is_ that girl?" Milly demanded loudly as Nina approached, footsteps quiet as ever.

The President's query was met with awkward silence for a moment before the girl continued. "Rivalz! You did tell her to be here at four, didn't you? If I have to go find her I'm going to smash her computer."

"Yes." Rivalz answered immediately, then " . . . oh. Actually, I think I said five."

"Why would you say five?" Milly roared. "I specifically told you four."

"Yes, but that was when we were still going to get here at four. Before you decided we should come in at three. So I think I just added the extra hour for preparations and told her to come at five." The Treasurer explained sheepishly. "Well, on the bright side, she should be here any minute."

"Rivalz!" Milly exclaimed before the distinctive sound of someone being struck by a rolled up stack of papers echoed out of the room.

Sighing, Nina pushed open the door. "I'm here. You can stop assaulting Rivalz now, Madame President." It was times like these that she really missed the measure of control Lelouch had had over the other members of the Student Council.

"Nina!" Milly exclaimed, turning away from the Treasurer and smiling widely.

And then, without further ado, Nina was promptly covered in confetti while Rivalz blew a loud, celebratory noisemaker and Shirley attempted to save a cake from the floating pastel pieces of paper that were everywhere.

"Congratulations on getting the Moris Foundation bursary!" They all shouted - mostly at the same time.

Nina had hoped that Milly had forgotten about pledging to throw her a school-wide party to celebrate the bursary. The Student Council President hadn't said anything about it since they'd returned from Lelouch's wedding. Nina thought hard, but she hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary when she'd crossed campus on the way over there earlier, but things could have changed in the hours since.

Hesitantly she glanced out the window, mentally preparing herself to find banners and circus clowns and possibly some kind of exotic livestock. Maybe a giant pizza or people dressed up like stereotypical mad scientists. But there was nothing. The campus was quiet and mostly empty.

"We decided just to have a small party with just the four of us. We thought you'd like that better." Shirley explained with a soft smile and it hit Nina for the very first time that she was actually a _part _of this group. She wasn't just an outsider or a cling-on, she was actually a part of their little band of friends and the through inexplicably warmed her.

She smiled back and suddenly her dilemma wasn't so thought provoking. She was a member of the Student Council and so was Lelouch. That was all there was to it. Lelouch was her friend, an integral part of their little group of friends and she would never do anything to compromise that. Even if it meant passing up the opportunity of a lifetime. Even if it meant ignoring or refusing offers for help from the Prime Minister himself.

She wouldn't betray Lelouch.

* * *

AN: Another one bites the dust. :D

Thanks so much for reading and for all your reviews, I hope you enjoy. Again, special thanks to Darth Nacho for giving me pointers on the military stuff.

I've read through this but I'm slightly tired and hungover, so if you see any mistakes, please point them out.

Enjoy.

Allora


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Jeremiah's eyes narrowed in displeasure. Matsumoto had been scouring the ghettos for two weeks now in search of Kouzuki and had still come up with nothing. Either the terrorists knew he was on to them or Matsumoto wasn't trying as hard as he ought to be. He was tempted to take the boy's sister out in order to motivate him, but refrained. It was a delicate situation, and could easily backfire if not dealt with correctly.

"I think I may have caught a glimpse of that man, Tamaki, that you mentioned." Matsumoto said over the phone, thoroughly discouraged.

"Why didn't you get close to him?" Jeremiah demanded.

"It was impossible. I had no viable reason to approach him and he disappeared into an apartment building before I could come up with one. It was only a few seconds that I realized it was him. I broke into the landlord's office and checked out the records. Three men sharing that name have apartments in the building. Tamaki is a very common name."

"I'm aware." Jeremiah growled.

"Well, I didn't want to draw attention to myself by knocking on each of their door's and asking to speak with them."

"Fine. Give me the address to the apartments. I'll send some of my men over in a couple days. Make sure you steer clear of the area. It would be _unfortunate_ if your cover was compromised."

"Understood, sir." Matsumoto said tersely, acknowledging the obvious threat.

"Keep looking. My patience is wearing thin." Jeremiah growled but a knock on his office door prevented more fear mongering. "I'm hanging up."

He flipped the cellphone shut and called for the intruder to enter. His assistant (really, just the girl who took his calls for him when he was out of the office) entered. "There's a Dr. Olsen on the phone for you, sir."

"Olsen?" Jeremiah muttered in surprise before waving for the woman to go and lifting the receiver. "This had better be good, Doctor." He said, sourly. He was definitely not in the mood.

"Charming as always, Lord Gottwald." The pleasant, unperturbed voice of the medical examiner filtered through the phone line.

"What do you want?" Jeremiah sighed, ignoring the snide comment and balling his hand into a fist.

"There's a man here claiming to be your patient's brother-in-law." Dr. Olsen answered.

"My patient?" Jeremiah asked.

"Yes, you know, that dead Eleven you dumped on me a few weeks back. Yamamoto something or other. I thought I should clear things with you before releasing information from the autopsy since it's part of a criminal investigation." The doctor replied snidely.

"You mean he's there in your office right now?" Jeremiah demanded.

"Ah, yes. I'm looking at him now through my office window. He's waiting in reception. May I release the information to him or not?"

"No. Stall him for a while. I'll be there soon."

"Right, I'll - "

Jeremiah didn't wait to hear what the medical examiner said as he slammed down the phone and slipped into his jacket.

He drove like a maniac, thankful for years of experience in Knightmares in hostile situations. It had left his reflexes finely honed and easily able to dodge and weave through the busy noontime traffic. He arrived at the coroner's office in less than twenty minutes only to find that there were no Eleven's in the lobby.

Glowering at the receptionist, he let himself into Olsen's office and slammed the door behind him. "You let him go?" Jeremiah demanded.

The doctor raised his eyebrow at Jeremiah, nonplussed. "What are you talking about? He's right there." Olsen said, pointing with a lazy finger through the glass window behind him to a red haired Britannian man waiting in the lobby.

"_That's_ him? You said it was his brother."

"Brother-_in-law_." The doctor corrected before turning back to his paperwork and flipping over a page. "Let me know when I can release Yamamoto's information."

"You can't." Jeremiah growled before turning back to the door and approaching the dead terrorist's brother-in-law who eyed him warily.

"You're a relation of Kenji Yamamoto's?" Jeremiah asked. If so, it shot his proposed plan of attack all to hell. He'd been prepared to simply take the man into custody and beat some answers out of him. But that didn't seem like it was going to be possible now, not if the brother was a Britannian. He didn't like torturing his own kind.

"He was married to my sister." The stranger said.

"I see." Jeremiah said, holding his hand out to shake. He was going to have to improvise. "Jeremiah Gottwald. I'm responsible for the investigation into your brother-in-law's death."

"John Lorne." The other man said in introduction as he shook Jeremiah's hand, eyes narrowing slightly in suspicion.

"I wasn't aware that Yamamoto was married." Jeremiah said conversationally, keeping his eyes peeled for the other man's tells (he'd been thoroughly trained in a number of interrogation techniques, ranging from passive conversation to active torture). There was something about this man that made Jeremiah uneasy. Something deceptive. Jeremiah was already reasonably certain that he was not, in fact, Yamamoto's brother-in-law, but he'd put that theory to the test. "There was no mention of it in the Eleven registries."

Lorne shrugged. "The Eleven's aren't exactly thrilled with having to register themselves with the establishment like dogs. A lot of them don't bother."

"What about your sister?"

"What about her?"

"She didn't mind not having her marriage acknowledged? In the face of the law, she's technically unmarried." Jeremiah prodded.

"She said they were in love." Lorne sighed. "It's why I'm here. She's been a complete wreck since Kenji went missing. I was surprised to find him here though. I really thought I was going to end up finding him in a gutter somewhere." The man said mournfully, but his eyes were sharp and dangerous – calculating.

No, this definitely wasn't a mourning brother.

Jeremiah hid his frown. It was . . . worrying. If Kouzuki's little terrorist operation had Britannian support it made them all the more troublesome. It was one thing for a couple of rabble rousing Eleven's to know about Prince Clovis' dirty little secret, but it was something altogether different if Britannians were the masterminds behind this ploy.

"When did you last see Mr. Yamamoto?" Jeremiah asked, keeping up his facade as an investigator while trying to gauge how close the two had been.

Lorne frowned. "The morning he disappeared. . . I heard rumors he was shot by a police officer."

Jeremiah smiled inwardly. So Lorne was fishing for information just as much as he was. And they thought Yamamoto'd been shot by the cops. That was good for him. He'd let them take the blame. "Yes, that's correct. That officer is being detained at the moment until it can be determined if he fired on Yamamoto without just cause. However, we believe Yamamoto may have been linked to a Refrain smuggling ring so-"

"Bullshit." Lorne snarled angrily and Jeremiah's lip almost twitched into a smirk at his triumph. Yes, it was a blatant lie, but it had gotten under Lorne's skin. And he had no intention of telling the man the real reason behind his interest in Yamamoto.

"How close were you to Mr. Yamamoto?" Jeremiah inquired.

Lorne hesitated, seeing the trap for what it was. If he said he was close to the dead man, he would fall under suspicion, by the same token, if he claimed to hardly know the man he couldn't refute the charges Jeremiah was laying against him.

"He was my sister's husband." Lorne shrugged. "But I know for a fact that she wouldn't have tolerated him messing around with Refrain. She would have kicked him to the curb in a heartbeat."

"We found three hits and an auto injector on his person." Jeremiah lied. Aside from the fact that Yamamoto had been toting a gun around, there had be absolutely nothing suspicious about his corpse.

Lorne gave half of a disbelieving snort before he censored himself and glared at Jeremiah. "I see." He ground out, "Are we allowed to take Kenji's body for burial?"

"I'm afraid not." Jeremiah said smugly. "He's still part of a criminal investigation." In actuality, Jeremiah had signed off to have the body cremated weeks ago, but Lorne didn't need to know that. "I'd like to speak with your sister, if you would be so kind as to give me her information. She might know more about Yamamoto's activities than you do."

Lorne's eyes narrowed and Jeremiah knew he had him. If there was no sister (which Jeremiah seriously suspected) then Lorne would be forced to either come up with an excuse to evade the request or feed Jeremiah false information. Both of which would cause Lorne to fall under suspicion.

"I doubt she's up for speaking to you. She'll barely speak to me, but sure, if it will help to put away the man who killed Kenji." Lorne said calmly before rattling off an address in the ghettos.

"Excellent. You've been very helpful."

"I'm sure."

* * *

Naoto Kouzuki left the upscale coroner's clinic at a brisk walk with his hands shaking – a mixture between fear and fury (how dare that man try to slander Kenji's good name by painting him as a Refrain user or dealer!). That had been close. Far too close for his liking. If he'd realized the doctor was going to call the 'cops', he'd have split the moment the man had turned his back.

As if that man had been a cop. No badge. No uniform. No rank accompanying his name. No notepad to jot down his information. And Naoto doubted there had ever been a case where a Britannian officer had been called in for killing a Japanese person.

No. That man – Jeremiah Gottwald – had screamed of something altogether more dangerous than the cops. It was a subtle difference in the way he carried himself.

The military.

He was glad he'd decided to give out his fake name. If the military was taking an interest in Kenji's death, then it was likely that the person who had shot Kenji was a soldier, not a cop. That also meant that they'd be taking an interest in the resistance. He doubted the military cared all that much one way or the other about a dead cop, but a terrorist cell would be enough to get them salivating.

Which meant he needed to move quickly to neutralize them. He needed to destroy any leads he'd given them. Glaring at the pavement in front of him as he headed towards the nearest train station, he pulled out his cellphone and called Ohgi.

"Hello?" Ohgi answered on the first ring.

"I need you to go to Kenji's place and torch it. Take Tamaki with you. It'll be his penance. Tell Mrs. Yamamoto she can stay at our place if she doesn't have anywhere to go. Kallen's room is still empty." He ordered, glancing back down the street towards the coroners office only to find Jeremiah Gottwald watching him while leaning against an expensive sports car in the parking lot.

No, that man was definitely not a cop. And he doubted the average soldier made enough to afford such a car either. Something else then . . . an officer maybe? No, even they weren't paid that much. A Knight? Yes, that was possible. A great number of the military's elite soldiers were members of the nobility.

Any way he sliced it, things weren't looking favorable for him. His adversary obviously had a lot of power and a lot of wealth.

"Did something happen?" Ohgi asked in concern.

"No. It's just a precaution. Someone's nosing about our business. I doubt there's anything incriminating at Kenji place but I'd like to make sure." Naoto replied, turning away from Gottwald and lowering his voice a little, despite the fact that he knew he was out of hearing range.

Kenji had lived in a little dive of a low-rise apartment with his elderly mother. Mrs. Yamamoto was in her sixties and had provided countless meals and and a place to crash for any of the resistance members in need. It was only fitting that Naoto would take care of her when she was about to lose her home to his cause when he'd taken advantage of her hospitality countless times in the past.

"Right. I'll grab Tamaki and we'll head over there now. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. A little shaken, but completely unharmed." Naoto assured him. "I'll catch you later."

"Sure thing."

"Oh, and Ohgi, try to do it so that the other suites aren't compromised, eh? I'd rather not be responsible for displacing more people than I have to."

"Got it. See you later."

Naoto picked up the pace as he shoved the phone in his pocket. Now he needed to decide how to proceed. Should he completely back off and disappear for a while or should he push forward his operation? Whatever Prince Clovis' Code-R project was, it was almost assuredly bad for the Japanese people. The amount of secrecy involved and the precautions the Prince was taking to ensure news of it didn't leak out to the public assured Naoto that whatever it was, it was dangerous and definitely shouldn't be left in the hands of a man like Clovis.

Clovis was not a man he trusted with the well being of his people. Sure, the prince had implemented some programs to benefit the Japanese population, like the Honorary Britannian system. But those were mostly just paying lip service to the few liberal nobles who didn't believe the Japanese should be treated like animals and appeasing the Japanese masses. In reality, the Honorary Britannian system didn't change anything and those who took advantage of it gained little and lost a lot. Most of the Japanese scorned those who were foolish enough to take the Britannians up on the lukewarm offer of 'equality' and the Britannians still didn't like the Japanese even if they had become Honorary Britannians. Japanese were Japanese as far as most Britannians were concerned and it didn't matter if the government had given them a little slip of paper granting them rights or not.

So then, he didn't really have a choice. If he couldn't afford to leave Code-R in Britannian hands, then the couldn't afford to stop now. He had to proceed with his mission of taking it off their hands.

He wondered, for a moment, if it was cowardly to remain in hiding and delegate most of the work but then decided it didn't matter. Whether or not it was cowardly, it was tactically sound. He was the only link to the resistance Gottwald possibly had. Well, himself and Kenji's apartment – but that was being taken care of. So he'd take a back seat for now, lead from the shadows as they moved their plan forward. There was still a lot he needed to know – and a lot he needed to do – before they could actually move against the Prince. He didn't want to take any unnecessary risks.

He frowned. Speaking of risks, he needed to decided whether or not to let Kallen participate. His immediate instincts were screaming at him 'no', but he'd learned to occasionally discount them. There was a thin line between protection and oppression and he knew when not to cross it. Kallen was seventeen now and he could hardly use the excuse that she was too young any more considering he himself had only been seventeen when he'd begun walking this path of rebellion.

However, the thought of her getting mixed up in whatever Code-R was made his blood run cold. He wanted her out of danger, not thrust into the middle of it, even if it was by her choice. And it was her choice. She'd been begging for acceptance for years – desperate for approval to fight for her countrymen. Begging and pleading and . . . arguing in a coherent, logical manner that he found it hard to rebuff.

She had been right when she'd boasted about being the best Knightmare pilot they had. He'd checked and she had the highest scores of anyone to ever even sit in the simulator (and that included the scores for the Britannian soldiers from before they'd stolen the simulator). Who would have thought that his own baby sister would turn out to be a Knightmare hotshot. And she was the only one who could make that rusted out Glasgow dance. Tactically speaking, he'd be a fool to forbid her from piloting the Glasgow.

But putting her in the Glasgow was like painting a giant target on her forehead. She would instantly become the biggest threat and the enemy the Britannians would concentrate most of their fire on. He didn't want to put her in such a precarious situation.

And yet, somehow, he knew she would just resent him if she could know his thoughts right now. He was treading that line, he realized. The line between protection and oppression – the line so few knew how to see.

He couldn't refuse Kallen's offers to fight anymore. He knew that. And so, while she was content to be under his command, he should let her fight. Before she began looking elsewhere. Before she tried to fight with someone who wouldn't be so cautious with her life. Good Knightmare pilots were few and far between and he was sure the if the JLF or any of the other resistance groups caught wind of her skills, they be only too eager to snap her up. He was glad of her loyalty – that she wanted to fight with him or not at all.

So how could he oblige her in a way he felt comfortable with? Above all else, he didn't want to lose her.

Naoto smirked to himself as he boarded his train and inspiration came to him. Kallen would be the ace he hid up his sleeve. His insurance. His last resort. If everything went as he was going to plan it, she would never be put in the line of fire. But if, for some reason, something should go wrong, he knew his sister had both the skills and determination to haul all of their asses out of the fire.

Yes, that's what Kallen was. His ace in the sleeve. And he intended to keep her up his sleeve for a while longer yet.

* * *

_Day 14_

Lelouch was awoken by the dulcet tones of Harken shouting at them to get up and at attention. This was not all that unusual in and of itself except for the fact that it felt like he had only fallen asleep minutes ago and he was anything but refreshed.

Blinking blearily as the lights were flicked on, Lelouch was mildly surprised to find that it was still pitch black outside the window next to his bed. Further investigation – which primarily consisted of trying to blink the sleep out of his eyes so he could make out the hands on the clock on the wall – revealed that it was 2:26 in the morning.

"Got to be fucking kidding me." Lelouch groaned and rolled over, briefly wondering what the chances were of Harken leaving him alone if he stuffed his head under the pillow and tried to hide. After calculating that there was approximately a zero percent chance of such an outcome occurring (in fact, there was a much higher probability of Harken trying to smother him with said pillow), he reluctantly pushed back his blankets and joined his comrades lining up at the end of their beds.

"Locker inspection." Harken barked and Lelouch fought the urge to huff in annoyance. Was the cleanliness of his footlocker really something so urgent it couldn't wait until morning? It was bad enough that they had to bust their asses all day for Harken, but now he was going to barge in on their downtime and interrupt their rest too?

Scowling, Lelouch pushed the lid off his footlocker and grimaced when he noticed the top layer was in disarray. He'd been rushed that morning and hadn't bothered fixing it after grabbing his change of clothes. Harken wouldn't hesitate to call him on it. Resigning himself to a midnight jog, he moved his eyes face forward as Harken made his way down the line of recruits, bending over their footlockers occasionally to take a closer look. He noted with a hidden grimace that his was the only footlocker that was out of order.

Harken stopped in front of Lelouch and he almost thought he heard a disappointed sigh escape the sergeant's lips before he began tearing into him. "What the fuck it this, vi Britannia?"

He let his eyes flick down to his footlocker for a moment before answering in an emotionless monotone. "A mess, sir." For once he wished that Harken would just ease up on him and let something slide. From day one, Harken had been a complete asshole to him and Lelouch was convinced he was being harder on him than he was the other recruits. When one of the others made a mistake Harken would occasionally let it slide, but the moment Lelouch messed up Harken was there to deliver a harsh, profanity-filled reprimand that expounded on all of his many faults.

He knew it sounded childish, but he felt like he was being picked on. He felt like Harken _wanted_ him to fail. And for the life of him, he couldn't figure out why. Surely it would only add to Harken's formidable reputation if he could claim to have put an Imperial prince through his paces. Unless, of course, said prince went on to make a complete fool of himself. That was, however, something he had no intention of doing.

"You're goddamned right it's a mess." Harken glared, nose mere inches away from Lelouch's face as he spoke in an attempt to intimidate him. He'd almost gotten used to the sergeant being this close with how often Harken was in his face. "Did you think that just because you're daddy's the Emperor you didn't have to fold your own laundry?" That was a favorite criticism of the sergeants. 'Because his daddy was the Emperor.' As though he could choose the man that had donated half of his DNA makeup to him.

"No, sir." Lelouch answered obediently.

Glaring at Lelouch's complacence, Harken reached into his footlocker and pulled out an armful of clothing before throwing them on the ground.

"Fold them!" Harken barked, pointing at the heap of laundry.

Biting the inside of his lip to keep himself from lipping off, he dutifully lifted a shirt and began folding it to regulation requirements. Why the military felt the need to regulate the way he folded his laundry was beyond him (probably just to stuff more orders down his throat to see if he would obey), but he followed along for now. Personally, he preferred his laundry folded the same way the maids at the Aeries Villa had folded them before his mother had died. He could foresee himself reverted to the more nostalgic method as soon as Basic Training was over.

After successfully folding the first shirt, he snagged a pair of jogging pants from inside and inadvertently revealed the small box containing Nunnally's crane. His heart leaped into his throat as he watched Harken's eyes zero in on the object perched in the heap of laundry. He wasn't sure if he was allowed to have it or not – he'd been ordered to relinquish all of his personal effects (his cellphone, wallet and keys had all been safely tucked away in an envelope with his name on it in some undisclosed location) when he'd been admitted to the base, but he hadn't handed over Nunnally's crane.

He refused.

There was no reason for them to take it as he couldn't use it to contact the outside world or barter advantage somehow. It wasn't contraband – not in the legal sense, anyway – so there was no reason for Harken to try to take it from him. Still . . .

"What the hell do we have here?" Harken asked in mocking rhetoric as he reached his dry, callused hand out to take the box.

And as simple as that, Lelouch slipped out of the soldier persona he'd fallen into over the last few weeks and became again a prince of the Holy Britannian Empire with a mantle of authority that expected to be obeyed. He would be damned if he let Harken _defile_ the delicate crane his sister had folded for him with hands that had caused war and death to come to who knew how many enemies.

"If you touch that, we're going to have a problem, Sergeant Harken." Lelouch said in an icy tone that demanded obedience. He'd been complacent thus far, allowing the man to shape and mold him into the soldier he knew he had to become if he wanted to create a world where Nunnally could be really, truly happy. Although he both feared and dread the results of this training, he'd thought about it a lot over the previous week and he knew that it was necessary.

But this was different. There was close to nothing he wouldn't do to keep this single, tangible link to Nunnally unmolested and unharmed. That crane had been touched by Nunnally – more over, it had been lovingly crafted by her with thoughts of him in mind and he would not allow Harken to taint it with hands that had seen blood.

He tried to communicate what a fine line the sergeant was treading with his eyes, which led to a silent glaring match as Harken slowly withdrew his hand. The man knew when he'd been beaten. It was one of the first lessons he'd taught them. Some battles just weren't worth fighting and it was never smart to charge into certain death unless the prospective gains were at least moderately attainable and worth it. In this case, the gains were negligible and would cost far too much to attain.

"Moore!" Harken barked, not taking his eyes off Lelouch. He felt a stab of guilt for getting the other private involved in this but quickly squashed it. Since Lelouch was currently untouchable as a prince of the Empire, Harken would take it out on someone else – but he harbored no disillusions about Harken not getting his retribution in the next few days on Lelouch for this little stunt. He could foresee himself running a lot of miles in the near future.

"Yes, sir!" Grant responded instantly, taking the two steps necessary to come to stand at Lelouch's shoulder.

"Your bunk's next to his. Did you see the state of vi Britannia's footlocker before the inspection?" Harken demanded.

Moore tensed for a moment, eyes shifting from Harken, to the footlocker to Lelouch and back to Harken in less than a second. "Yes, sir."

"So why the hell didn't you say anything?" Harken snarled.

"Survival of the fittest, sir." Moore answered hesitantly.

"I fail to see how the state of my footlocker is any of Private Moore's concern." Lelouch growled, attempting to avert Harken's attention back onto himself. He hated dragging other people into his messes. But Harken ignored him.

"Survival of the fittest, huh? That's all well and good when you're talking about your enemy. But when it applies to your comrades, I'd better see you hauling ass to make sure all your allies do the best they can. You are no longer an individual, Private. You are a measly little part of a whole and if you're ever selfish and let the whole fail again, I swear to God I will make you regret the day you were born. Understood?" Harken shouted, addressing both of their comments.

"Yes, sir!" Moore responded.

"Zimmerman!" Harken barked and his friend approached the sergeant with similar haste.

"Yes, sir?"

"You're vi Britannia's squad leader," Harken growled. Now _that_ had been an interesting development. When they'd been split into groups for team exercises earlier that week, Harken had deliberately kept Lelouch out of a leadership position. Instead, due to his general excellence at almost everything he tried, Zimmerman had been made leader and Lelouch had found himself lucky enough to have been made part of that group. "why didn't you ensure your squad's preparedness?"

"I apologize, sir. I was remiss in my duties. It wont happen again, sir." Zimmerman answered calmly, despite the livid glare the sergeant was giving him.

"Damn right." Harken snarled before turning away and continuing through the rest of the inspection. Moore and Zimmerman, having not been dismissed, helped him fold the last of the laundry Harken had thrown on the floor before standing awkwardly at attention next to him.

Lelouch almost let out a sigh of relief when Harken finished the inspection and ordered them all to bed. Almost – that is until the sergeant suddenly turned back and pointed at them. "You three, get dressed and get running. The sun rises at approximately 4:17 this morning. I want to see how many miles you can run until then."

"Son of a bitch." Lelouch groaned.

"What was that, vi Britannia?" Harken barked.

"Nothing, sir." He scowled back before reaching into his footlocker and pulling out a freshly folded change of clothes. This was going to be a freaking long day. He'd never done well with sleep deprivation but was comforted by the fact that they had classroom instruction later that day. He could catch up on his sleep then if he was discreet.

Neither Moore nor Zimmerman spoke as he followed them out into the brisk midnight air to begin their mutual punishment for his transgression. He regret that they'd been dragged into it, but he didn't particularly regret preventing Harken from seeing Nunnally's crane (He'd made double sure that his locker was locked before leaving, just in case Harken decided to press the issue in his absence.). He'd make this up to Moore and Zimmerman later. Somehow.

* * *

AN: Apologies for the wait. This chapter was difficult for me. I debated whether or not to make Naoto a main character and write from his POV for like three days because he is, essentially, an oc since he didn't really appear in canon. In the end I decided that I would (and I hope you enjoyed it) so that I wouldn't have to write from Matsumoto's pov when dealing with the resistance.

Also, Jeremiah kind of frustrated me a bit and didn't want to cooperate. Eventually I had to beat him into submission to follow the plot.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this and thanks so much for reading and for all of your reviews. This sucker hit over 450 reviews with the last chapter. Makes me warm and fuzzy inside.

Thanks again.

Allora

Ps: Again thanks to Darth Nacho for input on Lelouch's basic training experience.


	19. Chapter 19

Forgive me readers, for I have sinned. It's been 13 days since my last update. ^^;

* * *

Chapter 19

Jeremiah was unsure whether he should be frustrated or satisfied. On the one hand, one of the few leads he had on the resistance – the Yamamoto residence – was now nothing more than a smoking pile of rubble. On the other hand, it at least proved that he was barking up the right tree. The fire was too conveniently soon after his conversation with John Lorne to have been anything but arson.

It proved that Yamamoto had something that his friends wanted to keep hidden. It also proved that either Lorne or Yamamoto were high enough up in the resistance to warrant the use of uncontrolled arson to cover their tracks. The fire had taken the suites on either side of the Yamamoto residence along with it. And the arsonist hadn't cared if the fire had seemed suspicious or not either. Already, the fire crew had told him that the place was bathed in burn patterns indicative of the use of an accelerant.

Jeremiah was willing to bet that the arsonist had simply shown up with a jerrycan of gasoline and a lighter. It didn't take a genius to start a fire. It did take someone of moderate intelligence to keep a fire under control. Of course, keeping the fire under control would have required human maintenance, which the arsonist clearly hadn't bothered with.

However, on the off chance that the fire starter had decided to stick around to admire his handiwork, Jeremiah had sent half of his men around the surrounding neighborhood to see if they could scare up any suspicious characters.

The other half of his men were poking through the ruins in search of anything that could be considered a lead. Some things hadn't completely burned, but most things had. Because the fire had taken place in the ghettos, the fire crew had taken longer than usual to arrive on the scene. Had the Yamamoto residence been in the Concession, there might have been more left that was at least semi-intact.

"Sir," One of his men said, saluting before approaching with a half-charred, smoke damaged photograph in one hand. "I found this in the bottom of a what was once a closet. Is this Lorne?"

Jeremiah eagerly took the photo from his subordinate, fingers holding the corners gingerly as he hoped the photo didn't decide to dissolve into useless bits of ash. Half of the photo was blackened, the laminated gloss bubbled and curled away from the paper beneath. The other half still showed, beneath hazy smoke and heat damage, the image of John Lorne posing with a semi-automatic machine gun next to half a dozen Elevens – one of which was Mr. Yamamoto himself.

Lorne was younger in the picture, maybe eighteen or nineteen, as opposed to the mid-twenties he had seemed to be when they'd met, but there was no mistaking him. The man carried himself with a confidence that translated itself even into photography. The kind of confidence only found in the well born.

A trickle of unease swept through him. Just how far up did this go? Who was backing this group of terrorists? And why? Was it an attempt to discredit Prince Clovis? An attempt to get the prince disinherited? If so, the attempt was a waste of time in his opinion.

However great Prince Clovis may have been at governing Area Eleven, he had little to no hope of ever coming to the Imperial throne, even if he was fifth in the succession. Not when there were more powerful and competent men like Prince Schneizel standing in his way. And now, with Prince Lelouch back on the scene . . .

Ah, but that was just wishful thinking. Prince Lelouch was seventeenth in line for the throne and had an even less likely chance of inheriting the Empire than Clovis did. And, according to the prince, he stood a lot higher chance of being assassinated before the Emperor died, than of anything else. Another wave of dread crashed over him, as it always did, when he considered the danger Empress Marianne's only remaining child could be in.

But there was nothing he could do about it here. And if Prince Lelouch didn't want his help, it wasn't as though he could force him to accept. Lelouch was a prince of the Britannian Empire and, despite his wealth and titles, Jeremiah was only a servant to the Imperial family. It was better, he told himself, that he concentrate his efforts here, where he was acknowledged and appreciated, than chasing after a prince who wanted nothing to do with him.

Forcing his wandering thoughts back to the matter at hand, Jeremiah flipped the photo over, a feral grin creeping over his lips. On the back of the photograph, written in thin, scrawling Britannian, was a half-blackened list of names, only four of which he could make out.

_ Kenji Yamamoto_

_ Jin Nakata_

_ Naoto Kouzuki_

_ Nobuo Minami_

This was an even better confirmation than he had hoped for. One of these men the fire had left in the photograph could possibly be the face they were looking for. One of these men could be Naoto Kouzuki. Of course, Kouzuki could also have been one of the people who's faces had inhabited the burned half of the photo.

Regardless, he now had a tangible link between not only Yamamoto and Kouzuki, but between Lorne and Kouzuki as well. And an alive link was incomparably more useful than a dead one. He'd love to get his hands on that traitorous bastard again. And then he'd love to ask him why he was posing with a terrorist cell in that photograph. It would make a wonderful interrogation tool.

He carefully tucked the photo into his inside jacket pocket. It would probably leave soot stains on the expensive fabric, but a coat was a small price to pay for such a valuable lead and it was the safest place for it.

"Good job, Haynes." Jeremiah praised before sending him back to sift through more of the charred remains of the apartment.

He pulled out his phone and dialed Matsumoto's number. It wasn't time for their weekly check-in, but he wasn't going to wait another week to update his undercover agent. And he doubted the Eleven was doing anything useful at the moment anyway.

"I've got another lead for you to look into," Jeremiah said as soon as Matsumoto picked up, forgoing any and all pleasantries, as he found them wasted on his Eleven subordinate. "John Lorne. He's a Britannian. Red hair, blue eyes, about six feet tall. We have a photograph linking him to Kouzuki. See if you can't find him for us."

* * *

_Day 20_

"This, ladies, is a Knightmare Frame, also commonly known as a KMF." Harken said proudly as visible excitement rippled through the recruits.

It wasn't exactly surprising. Knightmares were the most effective, efficient killing machines the Britannian military had in their arsenal and it was a massive honor to be chosen as a pilot. All Knightmare pilots were granted the honorary, non-hereditary noble title of Knight and given a massive salary. They were the chosen elites of Britannia's military forces and the goal of almost all soldiers joining the military.

Despite the fact that the Knightmare Corps only accepted maybe two or three percent of all soldiers vying to become pilots, all recruits were put through general Knightmare simulated training during their time in Basic. For most, it was the closest they'd ever get to piloting the real thing. For the few that were destined to actually make the cut, Basic Training was their only chance to prove that they were worthy of the massive machines.

For Lelouch, he was just thankful that they were finally going to be doing something that he was good at. Despite the fact that it was a military exercise, piloting Knightmares didn't take a whole lot of physical prowess. The majority of the work was being able to think quickly and process the movements you wanted the machine to make through the controls. He was at an advantage to the other recruits because he'd been piloting Knightmares for seven years already.

Lelouch hadn't even been at the Ashfords for a full month yet when he'd discovered the hidden, underground lab that housed his mother's Knightmare. The Ganymede – commonly thought to have been destroyed by the Ashfords after his mother's death and the Ashford Foundation had gone belly up – was the predecessor of all Knightmare frames.

He'd been ten years old the first time he'd stolen it, determined to turn himself into a legendary Knightmare pilot and destroy the Emperor. It had been a foolish, childish ploy, but then again, he'd only been a child at the time. A child still hurting from his mother's death and horrified by the destruction his father had wrought on the Japanese people.

He'd grown up since then and had given up on such a foolhardy venture as trying to take down the Emperor with a single, outdated Knightmare. But he had still gone down for a few hours almost every week to keep himself familiar with the controls. After all, knowing how to handle a Knightmare was a handy skill to have if you were an exiled prince hellbent on revenge.

"This particular machine is one of the new RPI-13 Sutherland models. These models specialize in anti-Knightmare combat. They're faster, safer and more efficient than the older Glasgow models and the mainstay of the Knightmare Corps today. If any of you wimps actually make it into the Knightmare Corps, this is most likely what you'll be piloting." Harken continued.

"Each of these units cost 1.7 million pounds to manufacture and maintain. I suggest you keep that price tag in mind when you think about ejecting and abandoning your units. The reason they cost so much is the light weight alloy they made the hull . . ."

Lelouch tuned out after that, instead amusing himself by calculating how many Knightmares he could finance with the money kept in his personal bank accounts (providing Abigail hadn't cleaned them out already). He then amused himself with pondering what he would do with said Knightmares should he have loyal, competent pilots to pilot them all.

He knew all about the Sutherlands. Despite being out of the game, the Ashfords just couldn't leave the topic alone. Reuben had received information from a friend of a friend of his about the Sutherlands while they were still in the prototype phase and it had become the center of dinnertime conversation for several weeks. He knew those machines inside and out.

Nothing Harken had to say about them would surprise him.

After going through the machine's stats, Harken got into basic operational safety instructions. Most of them were common sense – things like 'do not operate your Knightmare in a combat environment with the cockpit open' and 'your Knightmare is not a submarine, don't try to take it swimming without sending it to the mechanic to have all the seals and ventilation completely overhauled' (which was expensive and rarely done).

The sun was actually beginning to set before Harken finished his little spiel and Lelouch was losing hope of getting to show off his piloting skills today when he noticed that the sergeant was leading them towards a building they'd never been in before instead of the mess area for dinner. Inside a large hangar, five Sutherlands were embedded into web of wiring and readout screens.

The simulators.

"This is a team exercise." Harken barked. "Split up."

They all split up into their predesignated groups. He stood at Lukas' shoulder, watching as the first group climbed clumsily into the cockpits of the simulators. Harken led them briefly through the controls, communicated through an oversized headset before the simulations the pilots were seeing were brought up on the monitors.

Each team was given a different objective and they weren't allowed to leave their Knightmares until their objective was met. To Lelouch, it seemed like a bit of a harsh first lesson on Knightmare operation. He'd originally assumed they'd be simple assignments – 'hit so many targets with your slash harkens' or 'traverse this unstable, rocky terrain'.

Instead, they were given realistic mission parameters. Securing a location or infiltrating an enemy base. There was nothing like being thrown in head first. Harken made them do the scenario over and over again until they completed their objective. By the time it was Lelouch's team's turn (Harken had saved them for last), it was well past the dinner hour and he was hungry and tired of standing around watching the others make mistakes.

He eagerly climbed into the cockpit of the machine that was to temporarily be his and settled into the seat. The Sutherlands were nice. The Ganymede may have be the predecessor of all Knightmares, but it had essentially been only a prototype and had had a lot of room for improvement. Compared to the Suthland controls, the Ganymede was unwieldy and awkward. In short, the Sutherland was a lot more user-friendly.

Lelouch smirked and familiarized himself with the controls. They were basically the same, but streamlined from the Ganymede's archaic consoles. This was going to be a piece of cake.

"Well, you guys got a handle on the controls?" Lukas asked over the radio a few minutes later, after Harken's much-repeated tutorial.

"Of course." Lelouch responded confidently as his fingers curled around the controls in front of him. The other members of his team answered in kind.

Their objective appeared in the communications portion of his readouts. Apparently there were four enemy Knightmares headed their way. They were to set up an ambush. Bringing up the 'local map' on his monitor, he scanned for all possible approaches the enemy could take towards their current position. There were only three. Between the five members of their team, they could easily cover them, but that would mean that at least two members of their team would be left sitting out at the unused approaches and the enemy would gain the numbers advantage.

"Let's set up the ambush at point seven." Zimmerman suggested. It was the largest, most obvious point of approach. While it was likely that their adversaries were coming from that direction because the road was actually wide enough for two or three Knightmares to travel down it side by side, if Harken was the one responsible for the movements of their enemy, he'd probably try to throw them for a loop.

"There are two other possible points of approach to the west at points three and four. The underground train tunnel and a smaller road running parallel to this one." Lelouch supplied helpfully, reminding himself that he was not the one in charge. Humility could sometimes be such an annoyance to feign.

"Lelouch, there's a solid string of buildings between us and that road." One of the other team mates argued.

"Slash harkens have enough force propelling them to cut into solid rock. You don't think they could take down a building or two?" He asked archly.

"What do you suggest, Lelouch?" Lukas asked.

Lelouch frowned and wondered if Harken was listening to their communications. Probably. This was a training exercise after all and the sergeant would likely critique them afterward, once their effectivity with the machines had been calculated.

"Move us southward to point twelve," He suggested. There was an open plaza there where both roads converged. Better yet, there was also an underground pavilion connected to the train station. They could cover all three possible routes from within a close radius of space.

"What about the possibility of them turning aside? There's no guarantee they'll head towards the plaza. They could turn off at the freeway at point nine."

"True." Lelouch ascended. "But they probably wont if they come across a single Knightmare on their travels."

"You're talking about sending someone out as bait, Lelouch. That's dangerous and reckless." Lukas argued.

"It's also effective. I'll do it myself if you want." He offered. It made the most sense that he be sent anyway, as he had the most experience and probably wouldn't get confused over the controls while trying to run for his life.

"I couldn't do that." Lukas argued.

"Why not?" Lelouch asked peevishly. They were wasting time arguing over the most effective course of action.

"Because we're supposed to be treating this like the real thing. And there's no way I'd ever send _you_ out as bait."

He sighed heavily. "_Now_ is not the time to start treating me like a prince, Zimmerman. I'm just another one of your men right now. My life is no more important than anyone else's. But I have previous Knightmare experience so it makes the most sense to send me if we're going with this plan." It seemed like he was going to have to work on his negotiation skills. "We're wasting time here. Make up your mind and give us your orders. You're our team leader."

There was a long silence as Lelouch waited, mildly impatient with fingers drumming against the console in front of him and mind working out other possible scenarios for success – none of which were as promising as dangling one of them out in front of the enemy as bait.

"Do you think it will work?" Lukas asked eventually.

"I wouldn't have suggested it otherwise. I don't want to fail at this any more than you do." He replied and was surprised to find it was true. He _did_ want to succeed in this. He doubted he'd ever qualify for the Knightmare Corps honestly, but after sitting in the cockpit of even this immobile simulator he couldn't foresee himself proceeding in his military career as a simple infantry soldier. There was something about the _power_ of the machine he was sitting in that was addicting.

He'd seen the devastation that Knightmares could cause first hand in Area Eleven. He'd fled in terror of them during the invasion along with everyone else. He _knew_ what they could do. And he knew what they would do under his command to his enemies. He needed to work harder or he needed to buy Harken. Something told him his sergeant wasn't completely incorruptible. But it remained to be seen as to whether or not the man would let his dislike of Lelouch get the better of him.

In the meantime, however, he planned on acing this exercise. Providing, of course, that he could influence Lukas enough to do things his way. His friend had already revealed that his ultimate goal for joining the military was to join the Knightmare Corps. Lukas wouldn't want to risk messing up this chance to impress Harken. So really, all he had to do was remain unhesitatingly confident with the plan of attack he had suggested. Lukas may have been a stellar soldier, but he lacked the confidence to lead others into combat.

Not that Lelouch was particularly experienced in that particular subject either, but it seemed to come to him more naturally than it did for Zimmerman. It wasn't his fault. They each had their own innate skills and abilities. His just happened to be geared more towards leading, while Lukas happened to be a follower (but a damn good one).

"Head for point nine, Lelouch. The rest of us will go to the plaza at point twelve and get ready for them."

"Understood." Lelouch said gratefully and let his fingers dance across the controls. He was surprised by how realistic the simulation was. He could feel a slight jostle corresponding with every bump on the road and the images he received on his monitor of his surroundings revealed a modern, if war torn, view of downtown Pendragon. It seemed like he was supposed to have full freedom to interact with his surroundings. He smashed a nearby stop sign with his slash harkens just to make sure.

Lelouch pushed his Sutherland forward faster, racing down the paved main road in front of him. The Sutherlands were faster than the Ganymede could ever be and it handled so much smoother. He wished he'd had something like this to learn on instead of the archaic model his mother had piloted.

He paused when he came to the intersection at point nine on his map, eyes following along the road intersecting the one he was on. There was no movement except for debris floating down the river a little ways to the west.

He tapped his fingers on the top of his joystick for a moment – considering - before hailing his team leader. "Lukas?"

"What's wrong, Lelouch?"

"Nothing. I'm going to take out the bridge at point nine to keep our opponents on course." Lelouch said, careful to let Lukas know that he was not asking permission, but merely informing the rest of his team of his actions.

"If you do that, we'll lose whatever element of surprise we happen to have." Lukas argued.

"Think about things logically, Zimmerman. We're fighting computers that are most likely operating under the guidance of Harken. He's also most likely listening in on our communications. Therefore, whatever element of surprise you think we have is nothing more than an illusion. I don't know how the enemies are programmed, but it we take away one possible route of travel, they will most likely either travel down the remaining route or retreat."

"And if they retreat?" Lukas asked.

"Then we'll hunt them down." Lelouch smirked as he pressed the release on his slash harkens and watched with satisfaction as they punched through the bridge supports, weakening the frame. It took surprisingly little to bring the bridge down. Or maybe it was just a testament to the gross power of the machine he was sitting in, but he watched with fascination as the paved road running cross the bridge cracked, then broke apart and fell into the slow moving river below, almost damming it up.

"The bridge is down and there's nothing close enough on the far side for them to anchor to to jump it. I'd say the freeway exit has been successfully taken care of."

"Lelouch!" Zimmerman huffed. "I didn't say to do it."

"Well, it's been done now and it's not like I can prop it back up. Time to adapt, Lukas. Shall I proceed forward to find the location of the enemy?" He inquired, this time giving him the choice. Either way, it would lead to the same end. They had the number advantage and the enemy's route had been decided for them. "It would be nice to know if they're actually on this road or not."

"Fine. But you look for them only. I don't want you engaging them if you find them."

"Sure thing, boss." Lelouch said sarcastically as he moved forward again, leaving the destruction of what had once been a two lane bridge in his wake.

It took him only a matter of minutes to find the enemy Knightmares. The good part was that they were actually on the same road as Lelouch was. The bad part was that they were only on that particular road because it was the only route large enough to efficiently transport the number of machines in their unit.

Whoever had determined that there were only four enemies didn't know how to count. Either that, or Harken had decided to ensure their failure in this exercise – Lelouch certainly wouldn't put it past the man. Ever since Lelouch had stood up to Harken about Nunnally's crane, the sergeant had begun trying to impede Lelouch's progress in earnest.

He informed the rest of his unit to the new development. A full dozen Knightmares required a different strategy than a meager four did. It would be difficult. But if they could manage to pull this off (especially on the first try), it would be tantamount to punching Harken right in the face. Which was something he'd taken to day dreaming about lately.

"Son of a bitch." Lukas cursed over the radio. "Suggestions, anyone?"

"It's impossible." Ken Lakemen, a member of their team, huffed. "Not only do they have the numbers advantage, but good ol' Slash has probably amped up their piloting effectivity to fuck with Lelouch. No offense to you, man, but I really wish I wasn't on your team right now, Lelouch."

"None taken." Lelouch assured him, keeping one eye on the slow-moving procession of Knightmares coming his way. They seemed to be moving cautiously, probably alerted to the possibility of an ambush already (why not, everything else on this mission was ridiculous so far). "What do the buildings look like around the plaza?"

"Mostly one and two story places, but they are tall enough to hide behind. There are also two highrise apartments on the south side. Why?" Lukas asked.

"What kind of condition are they in?" He asked, glancing around in disdain at his own surroundings. Most of the buildings on either side of the road here had been flattened and were little more than five or six foot high ruins.

"They're mostly intact. The North side looks like there was a fire at some point, but the buildings are still standing."

"So the highrise apartments are still standing okay?" He asked.

"Yes. Though this really isn't the time to be picking out new real estate." Lukas chided.

"Have to find somewhere to put my wife." Lelouch muttered to himself before responding louder. "I'm going to harass the enemy and bring them into the plaza. You guys are going to drop an apartment building or two on them, okay? It's not impossible. We _can_ beat them."

"We're not exactly demolitions experts here, Lelouch." Ken interceded.

"Just take out the supports closest to the plaza." Lelouch said.

"Yes, sir."

"Don't you 'sir' me, Lakemen." Lelouch teased, calling him on the automatic response that had been ground into them every time they heard an order. "Is the plan agreeable to everyone else?" He asked, forced to ask for consensus due to his lack of official authority.

"You realize that this plan of yours will leave you right in the middle of the drop zone, don't you?" Lukas asked.

"Don't you worry about me. I'm not going to let myself get crushed by an apartment building that I told you to topple." Lelouch said confidently.

"Fine. We'll be ready for you." Lukas affirmed.

"Great then, here I go." He said, fingers flying over the controls again. The enemy units were closer now and Lelouch could clearly see a few older Glasgow units mixed in with the new Sutherlands. "I haven't got to play with a KMF rifle before." He muttered as he fired a few shots into the group in provocation, taking a small moment of satisfaction when one of his random shots actually managed to hit the cockpit of one of the Glasgows (not intentionally, but whatever works), forcing the pilot to eject.

It certainly got their attention.

"Down to eleven." Lelouch informed his team mates as the enemy began rapidly approaching, bearing down on him with rifles or stun tonfas at the ready.

Lelouch beat a hasty retreat, careful to stay out of slash harken range. He definitely couldn't afford to be taken down by a pack of pre-programmed computers. It was what Harken wanted, and he didn't feel like giving the man the satisfaction.

His landspinners whirred against the pavement as he raced back down the road, firing blindly behind him to keep them from taking careful aim. The Sutherland specialized in anti-Knightmare combat, which meant he should be able to take one or two direct hits from a KMF rifle, but he didn't want to take his chances with a whole horde chasing him.

He actually felt relief when the plaza came into view, a pair of tall buildings crowning the far side. The enemies didn't even hesitate as they pushed into the clearing (no doubt such cautious behavior wasn't in their programming). Instead, they fanned out to either side as they left the confines of the road and opened fire on him in earnest. Their formation didn't matter. The plaza was small enough that the apartment buildings would cover the entire space in full.

"Now!" He ordered into the radio as he caught a glimmer of movement at the base of the highrises. He was only halfway across the plaza and the enemy had flanked him on either side – closing fast.

"Get out of there, Lelouch! They're falling." Lukas shouted.

"Good job." Lelouch commended as he watched the two buildings waver and begin to topple sideways towards the plaza. Then he calmly pressed his eject button and shot out of the Sutherland back the way he had come and out of danger.

He watched triumphantly as the computer units attempted to scatter before following Lelouch's example and ejecting from their units. But it was too late for them. He'd left it to the very last second to clear the area. Most, if not all, of the ejected enemy cockpits would be crushed by the building.

He also watched as the four other Knightmares in his group stood safely out of danger and took in the destruction. A moment later a triumphant 'whoop' was heard on the radio and one of the units began a victory dance. He chuckled softly before his screen went blank and the harsh hiss of the cockpit opening brought him back to reality.

"Fucking awesome, Lelouch!" Ken howled as they rejoined each other on the ground.

"Quick thinking." Lukas agreed, clapping a hand around his shoulder.

"I must admit, I'm impressed." Harken's voice cut through any further exclamations that might have emerged from his team mates mouths. Something about Harken's tone gave Lelouch the impression that he was anything but impressed. In fact, Lelouch was willing to hazard a guess that the man was livid – but his victory _was_ like punching the man in the face. "Not only did you manage to complete your objective and destroy the enemy units, but you also managed to lose one of your units in the process. If you _ever_ incorporate a planned ejection into your strategy again, I will kick your ass, vi Britannia! Knightmares aren't cheap, Private."

"I'll reimburse you, sir." Lelouch smirked cockily, feeling rather pleased with his victory despite the odds.

"You _also_ managed to slaughter the three hundred and eighty civilians who were taking refuge in their homes when you decided to use their apartment buildings as deadly weapons." Harken continued with a glare.

Lelouch opened his mouth to say something, but sound failed to emerge as the full scope of what he'd just done sank in. He'd completely forgotten about a civilian presence in the area. He hadn't seen anything else that would indicate there were civilians in the area – there had been no cars on the street and no people walking around.

Hardly surprising, however. What was the first thing most people did when they saw Knightmares on the streets? Head for the safety of their own homes, of course.

Lelouch felt like a monster. Even if they were only virtual lives, the simulation was meant to mimic reality. It had _felt_ real and for the most part he had approached the situation as he would have if the situation had been real.

He felt like a murderer.

"Shit." He managed to finally mutter.

"_Yes_, shit." Harken agreed, eyes hard with anger. "You are god damned lucky this was only a simulation. If you had acted so carelessly in real life, I'd be charging you with war crimes! Now, get running, vi Britannia. You've got a couple things to atone for."

* * *

Milly Ashford was, by no means, socially awkward. She had, quite literally, an army of friends and she ruled over her grandfather's school like a queen. But when it came to real, genuine conversation there were precious few who she dropped her socialite facade around. And of those few, there was only one where the mask disappeared entirely and she knew she could confide in anything.

Unfortunately, that one person also happened to be a prince on the other side of the world at the moment. But regardless of the distance, she really needed to talk. Rivalz had completely dropped a bomb on her and had confessed his feelings for her.

It wasn't that she hadn't noticed that her Treasurer was a teensy bit infatuated by her before, it was just that she'd thought it was a harmless crush – admiration due to her charismatic leadership or something of the like. Not something that involved the dreaded l-word (oh yes, _that_ was the bomb he'd dropped on her).

She really needed Lelouch right now to play translator, because she was undecided whether she wanted to slap Rivalz for being an idiot and saying that he loved her, or blush furiously and see where things could go. Rivalz was _not_ a bad catch. He was a little cute – okay, a lot cute – and he had a great sense of humor. Best of all, was his loyalty to his friends – which coincidentally turned out to be her friends too (it goes back to that whole having an army of friends thing).

But Rivalz was being serious about this and she had never been serious about a guy before in her life. She'd dated (oh yes, she had certainly dated her fair share of guys) but they had all been simple flings, one-of dates and escorts to events. She'd never actually cared about them more than if they looked good on her arm. Which they all had.

But if she decided to poke the massive thing that was growing between her and Rivalz, she'd have to be serious about it too. It wouldn't be fair to him to treat him like the others – just a fleeting good time. In fact, she _couldn't_ treat him like she'd treated the others because she did actually care about him. No, she'd never considered him romantically before, but he was a very good friend and she didn't want to lose that for the sake of something she wasn't even sure she wanted.

Flipping open her cellphone (she'd simply left Rivalz staring hopefully at her with an adorable blush on his cheeks as she'd fled the scene) she dialed the number Lelouch had given her for his assistant. She felt a moment of guilt, wondering what Rivalz would think that she was calling his best friend for advice about this particular situation, but then brushed it aside. Lelouch was her friend too. It rang one and a half times before it was answered, and Milly belatedly realized it was almost midnight in Pendragon.

"Edith Cardston speaking. May I ask who's calling?" The prim, proper voice of Lelouch's assistant came over the phone.

"Hi, Edith. This is Milly Ashford. Is Lelouch available to talk?" She asked politely, feeling slightly put out that she couldn't simply call Lelouch directly. But Edith was nice, or at least she had seemed nice from the little she'd actually got to talk to the woman at Lelouch's wedding, so it wasn't as bad as if his wife had picked up the phone.

"Oh, Miss Ashford . . ." Edith said awkwardly. "Ah, Prince Lelouch isn't available right now."

"He isn't _still_ on his honeymoon, is he?" She asked peevishly. It had been weeks since the wedding. Surely he was back by now. Surely he couldn't stand spending that much alone time with the woman he'd been forced to marry.

"He. . . he didn't tell you?" Edith asked hopefully.

"Tell me what?" Milly asked with growing dread. "Is Lelouch in trouble? Did something happen?"

"No, no. Lelouch is perfectly fine, as far as I'm aware. But if he didn't confide in you, then it's not my place to." Edith placated.

"What do you mean 'as far as you're aware'? You live in his shadow, don't you?" Milly demanded.

Edith cleared her throat a little awkwardly. "No, actually. I haven't seen Lelouch in weeks."

"So he _is_ still on his honeymoon? You could have just told me that." Milly grumbled. Now what was she going to do about Rivalz? Lelouch had a way of always giving just the right advice she needed when she needed it without telling her explicitly what he thought she should do. He laid everything out there for her logically and let her examine it so that the answer became obvious. He really was an amazing confidante.

"Who are you on the phone with at this hour, Edith? That's Lelouch's phone. Who is it?" A voice demanded in the background and Milly cringed and was tempted to hang up.

But if Lelouch was still on his honeymoon, why was his wife there?

"It's no one important, your highness." Edith said quickly, almost guiltily as though being seen talking to Milly was a crime in and of itself.

"Give me the phone." Lady vi Britannia ordered. There was a moment of awkward silence, as though Edith hesitated before the phone switched hands. "Who is this?"

"Lady vi Britannia, this is Milly Ashford. Where's Lelouch?" She asking, hoping that his wife would be less tight-lipped than his assistant.

"Milly Ashford." The woman hissed, as though her name were something distasteful. "What do you want?"

Milly took a deep breath, praying for patience. "I wish to speak with Lelouch." She said calmly.

"Why?"

"Because he's my friend." Milly said obviously, a little of her impatience for the woman leaking out into her voice.

"I'm sure. Why would you be calling at _this_ hour if it weren't for something clandestine." Lady vi Britannia accused scathingly.

"Dear God, Lelouch is nothing more than my foster-brother and friend, you over-jealous twit! I told you, there has never been and will never be anything romantic between me and Lelouch. But I haven't talked to him in ages and I'm having a rough day, so I would very much appreciate it if you would put him on the phone." Milly snapped impatiently. She'd never been a particularly patient person and the princess' accusations did nothing to lengthen her already short fuse.

"He's not here." The princess said shortly.

"Where is he?" Milly rolled her eyes. Why wouldn't they make this conversation easy and just tell her what was going on? Edith had been disturbingly tight-lipped about whatever Lelouch was up to and it didn't sit well with Milly.

"Basic Training." The princess huffed in annoyance.

"What?" Milly choked in surprise. Lelouch would _never_ join the military. He hated the military. No, he _loathed_ the military. He would never willingly join them. So why would he tell his wife that was where he had gone? Was he planning something? Or . . .

"_It seems he's decided to try to make me useful, though he has yet to divulge just what purpose I'll be serving."_

Was this what Lelouch's father had decided to do with him? Damning him to a future he could only hate? Could the Emperor be any more petty and vengeful?

Milly was a model Britannian citizen. She'd never been involved with anything illegal, she made Ashford Academy a profitable and desirable place to be (with some help from her grandfather and the board of governors etc.), and she encouraged her peers to express their patriotism for the Holy Britannian Empire.

But, ever since that day seven years ago when Lelouch had shown up on their doorstep (dirty and hungry and terrified) with Nunnally clinging to his back and a blackened tin can that they'd been using to purify their water in balanced in one hand and a book bag half filled with mostly rotten food in the other, she'd been unable to feel anything but disdain and loathing for the Emperor.

Lelouch and Nunnally were that man's children and he'd still left them to suffer during the invasion. She'd had to watch, brokenhearted, as Lelouch blamed himself for months (or years) for the invasion. He'd verbally beaten himself up so many times, claiming that if he hadn't lost his temper after his mother had died, they'd have never been sent to Japan and maybe Britannia wouldn't have invaded. It had taken a long time (and a harsh, unforgiving talk from her grandfather) for Lelouch to realize that he really just wasn't that important. The Emperor was not going to invade a country as pretense just so he could assassinate two powerless children.

"He left the day after our wedding and joined the military." Lady vi Britannia said. "the Emperor himself ordered it. He's taken a real interest in Lelouch recently. He even showed up at our wedding." The woman boasted as though it were some great honor.

Under normal circumstances, it probably was a great honor, Milly thought. But when dealing with Britannia's royal family, nothing was quite as it seemed. Damn near everything was some type of political jockeying or attempt at subterfuge.

So what, then, was the Emperor trying to do with Lelouch?

"I see." Milly said blankly, her mind still racing through the possibilities. Lelouch had returned to Pendragon just to fall into the Emperor's little games again. She wished, now, that she'd volunteered to help Shirley rescue Lelouch before his wedding. Having to watch this game from afar was killing her. At least if they'd kidnapped Lelouch, they'd have been right in the thick of things.

"I'm sure you do. Lelouch has a chance to be successful now that he's with me. The Emperor is going to help him succeed, unlike what would have happened if you'd managed to sink your claws into him any further and kept him prisoner in your basement in Area Eleven."

Milly considered laughing in Lelouch's wife's face but refrained. Instead, she said in a very nonplussed sort of way, "Lelouch didn't tell you anything about his childhood, did he?"

"What do you mean?" The princess asked quickly.

"I mean," Milly said slowly, with great satisfaction, "That Lelouch never told you about how he was exiled by the Emperor to Area Eleven in the first place. Or how the Emperor left him and his sister to die when he ordered the invasion. Or even how Lelouch returned to Pendragon as little more than a prisoner awaiting trial and more than half expected to be executed for his betrayal of hiding away '_as my prisoner in my basement' _for the last seven years." She finished snidely.

Normally, she wouldn't have told anyone the circumstances of Lelouch's life in Area Eleven, but this girl was Lelouch's wife now and it was only fair that she understood exactly what she'd gotten into. "So _don't_ think that the Emperor is showing Lelouch favor and ensuring his success. He isn't. He's mind-fucking Lelouch and stripping away his pride. Even his marriage to you was only meant to humble him." She added a little cruelly.

She knew Lelouch probably better than anyone else alive (except maybe Nunnally) and she understood – or at least, she thought she did – what Lelouch was doing. He was playing it safe. He was bowing his head and waiting for the most opportune moment to strike. Lulling the Emperor into a false sense of security. And if she could see it, most likely the Emperor could too. Which was probably the real reason why he was keeping Lelouch under such close scrutiny. She doubted the Emperor would ever fully trust him (if any of the Imperial family actually trusted each other, that is).

"You're lying."

"Am I?" Milly asked. "Ask him about it some time and see what he says. Or rather, see what he _doesn't_ say. That's often more informative."

The line was silent for a moment before the princess responded – not in hysterical sobs at being unwittingly married to a traitor or furious shouts of denial. No, instead her voice was deadly calm, without even a waver. "Miss Ashford, don't call here again."

A second later the line went dead and Milly was left regretting that she'd taken it upon herself to reveal Lelouch's secret. She should have just left it to Lelouch and be damned if he never told her at all.

The tone of Abigail vi Britannia's voice – that furious, deadly calm – had sent shivers down her spine. Lelouch had a tone that was very similar. Maybe . . . maybe they weren't such a bad match after all.

A little tickle of jealousy touched her then. For seven years she had been his pillar of support. She had been his confidante. She had been there for him - no matter the obstacle she had stood by him. And now he was moving on his own without confiding in her. And it seemed like his new wife could be just a cold as he could.

They would make a deadly pair.

Which brought her back to her original dilemma. What about her? What kind of person would compliment her personality. What kind of person would make her happy?

Rivalz + Milly = . . . ?

When had her life suddenly become so complicated?

* * *

AN: Apologies for the delay. I have no excuse . . . any of you watched Darker than Black and Kaze no Stigma? That's what occupied my time recently. They're both very good.

As for Dauntless, fear not, I have not and will not give up on this sucker. Not after all of the support from all of you lovely readers. But it's going to be a monster of a story.

Thanks goes again to Darth Nacho for reading through this chapter and critiquing the military stuff. I had to disagree with advice to leave KMF training out of the basic training and state canon to prove my point. Suzaku had been trained in KMF simulators before piloting the Lancelot and if it was part of the training they gave Honorary Britannians, then it would sure as heck be part of Lelouch's curriculum.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Not sure yet where I'm going with the MillyxRivalz thing. It just kind of came to me and I wrote it.

By the way, I'm thinking about looking for a beta for this, just so I can have someone to talk to about this story without risking spoilers. So if you know someone who's a good beta, please drop me their name. :D

Thanks so much for reading. Don't forget to review!

Allora


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

A 'few more days' had turned into a 'few more weeks' for Kallen. Naoto was being remarkably tight-lipped about whatever was going on in the ghettos. His phone calls were short and distant – little more than confirmations of life. But at least they came regularly now. Naoto made sure he was calling her every two or three days.

It scared her a little. They were all indications that something big was happening with the resistance. Something big he was trying to keep her out of and keep secret from her. And whatever it was, it was most likely dangerous. It scared her that Naoto would rather get into trouble than ask for her help. She wasn't a child anymore and she knew how to take care of herself in a fight.

She was not impressed by his behavior.

Which was why she was currently on her way to his apartment – warnings to keep away be damned. She wasn't just going to sit around incompetently and let them do all the work. She was a member of the resistance (she hoped), and whether Naoto liked it or not, she was going to fight to liberate Japan.

She made sure to steer clear of the area where she'd killed that cop – a shiver of horror rushing down her spine every time she even looked in that direction. She took a longer route, but it was worth it to her to not have to see the blood stains that were probably barely even visible any more.

She was still having nightmares about the last dying look the man had given her. And the blood . . . But she refused to let it rule her life. Naoto had said that she'd done well to protect that woman and her child. And she wasn't going to argue about it for once.

The ghettos were busy as usual for midday. She'd nearly lost her concealing, low-brimmed hat – twice – as she'd pushed her way through an open market in what had once been a parking lot. No matter what the Britannians said about the ghettos being uninhabitable ruins, the people here thrived. It was a simple matter to turn the parking lot of a flattened shopping mall into a bazaar. The people already knew, after all, that it was a shopping area.

When she arrived at her brother's apartment building, it was with some relief (as always) that she found it still standing. In the ghettos, to put it quite simply, shit happened. She'd seen plenty of buildings over the years that had simply collapsed after damage to the foundations taken during the invasion finally prevailed over structural integrity. And to be honest, Naoto's building wasn't in the best condition.

She knocked on the door to his suit, fist rattling the flimsy door in it's frame and was rewarded with the sluggish sound of movement behind it. The walls were paper thin in this place and no doubt he'd heard her coming up the stairs. But as she was arriving unannounced, he had no reason to be expecting her company.

She frowned when after a few more moments of waiting patiently, the door didn't open. She wondered if he thought the knocking was coming from the neighbors suite? She knocked again and for added measure, shouted at him too.

"Oi! Nao -"

The door banged open and a hand clamped over her mouth. "What the fuck are you doing here, Kallen?" Naoto hissed, looking either way down the hallway behind her. "Are you sure you weren't followed?"

For a moment, Kallen hadn't recognized her brother. He looked like a hobo. His face was covered with several days (or weeks) worth of stubble, his hair was uncombed and (Kallen noticed with veiled disgust) unwashed and his clothes were wrinkled and most likely a day or two old. He also had dark bags beneath blood-shot eyes.

"Of course I wasn't followed. Who would follow me?" She responded impatiently while her brain tried to reconcile the present image of her brother with her much cherished memories of him. "What the hell happened to you?"

Naoto didn't answer. Instead, he checked out the halls for eavesdroppers again before grabbing her wrist and dragging her inside – closing and firmly locking the door behind her. Once satisfied that the deadbolt was in place he turned on her. It was only then that she realized he was holding a gun in his right hand – held loosely and non-threateningly, but it was still present. Things were definitely not kosher here. "Why the hell did you come here? I told you to stay at the Stadtfelds."

"Yeah, well I was tired of you ignoring me and shunting me to the side." She huffed, casting a discerning eye around his apartment.

Kallen had always thought that Naoto's apartment had been unnaturally clean considering that two single men lived in the place. She'd always been kind of impressed by it. However, this time the place was a wreck. There were unwashed dishes and boxes from delivery places strewn across most horizontal surfaces, dirty laundry cast haphazardly here or there and a definite staleness to the air. The only place that looked remotely tidy was the coffee table in the living room where three separate laptops (which she'd bought for the resistance by feigning them as Christmas presents for Naoto last year) were arced in front of the sofa. Judging by the tangle of pillows and blankets that were nested on the sofa, Naoto had been spending most if not all of his time there.

"What the hell happened to you? You look like shit. And your place looks like a pig sty. What the hell is going on?" She demanded again.

Naoto rubbed his face then scratched at the front of his throat, no doubt uncomfortable with the uncharacteristic growth of hair there. He sighed without answering her and pushed his way past her into the apartment, gesturing for her to follow.

"I found Kenji's body," He said quietly, accustomed to keeping his voice down to prevent his neighbors from overhearing anything incriminating. "Well, I found where that bastard took it before they cremated it. Anyway, long story short, the 'cop' Tamaki and Ohgi thought shot Kenji turns out to be military instead. And not just some grunt, he's way up there in the chain of command. And he's been sniffing around the resistance.

"I've deliberately segregated myself from everyone to keep links to a minimum. If he finds me again and decides to take me down, at least I wont take everyone else with me too."

"Again?" Kallen demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. "What do you mean again?" She felt like a mother scolding a small child, but the way Naoto was glossing over things was just irritating her. She wanted to know her brother was safe.

Naoto shrugged. "The coroner I was talking to about Kenji decided to call the bastard up when I asked if I could take the remains. He showed up spouting a bunch of lies about how he was investigating Kenji's death and I evaded capture. Not a big deal, but I decided to go into hiding just to be on the safe side."

"Okay, so why do you look like a god damned hobo?" She inquired, quirking her brow at him.

"Eh, I didn't see much point. I haven't even seen another person face to face in weeks now. Except for Ohgi. He stops by about once a week to bring me groceries – he's staying at Yoshida's place until this all blows over. Otherwise, I've been dealing with everyone either over the phone or via the computer. Unfortunately, most members have seemed to take that to mean that I'm on call twenty-four hours a day."

"So turn off your phone at night." Kallen rolled her eyes. "Problem solved."

"Not quite that simple. Most of what they have to talk to me about is actually important." Naoto grumbled, then his expression softened and he smiled at her. "It's good to see you. I missed having you around." He said, pulling her into a hug.

She wrinkled her nose and pulled away. "You stink, Naoto."

He chuckled. "Well I apologize for offending your delicate sensibilities. Give me fifteen minutes to go wash up and perhaps my presence will be less offensive to the young Miss Stadtfeld." He said snootily with a teasing smile.

"Good. And make sure you shave. You look like a gorilla." She huffed, shooing him away towards the bathroom.

"I thought it was a hobo." He called over his shoulder.

"Both. You look like a hobo gorilla."

She waited silently until she heard the bathroom door close before scooping up an armful of dishes from the living room and making her way to his kitchen - which was just as much of a disaster as the rest of the place. At least she now knew who was responsible to keeping their place so clean over the years. Apparently the place went to hell when Ohgi wasn't around to clean up after him.

Shaking her head, she deposited the dishes on the counter and opened his fridge to find it mostly empty. Ohgi must not have dropped by with groceries for a while. Abandoning the fridge, she opened the pantry and was greeted with a wide assortment of canned and dry goods. Well at least Naoto wouldn't starve, even if he did end up with scurvy from the lack of fresh vegetables in his diet.

Pulling out a couple cans of soup, she was forced to wash a pot before she could begin warming it on the stove. It wasn't often that she was required to cook and as such her culinary skills were meager to say the least. Cooking wasn't a skill Lady Stadtfeld felt she needed to learn. Her step-mother felt it was unbecoming – a task for lower class people to perform in service to the nobility.

But she still remembered a few tricks from her real mother. Before the invasion – when they'd been a real family – her mother had used to cook for them all the time. She remembered helping in the kitchen as her mother had whipped up various Britannian dishes she'd thought her father would like.

Their soup today would, unfortunately, be less gourmet.

She washed dishes as she waited for the soup to warm, trying to put Naoto's kitchen back in order. It was a little disappointing to find out that her brother couldn't take care of himself. But he was only human and he apparently had a lot of more important things on his plate than general hygiene. Things she would be demanding to know about once he emerged from the bathroom looking human again.

She didn't hear him leave the bathroom over the running water in the sink, but she did hear the short bark of laughter that erupted from his mouth as he entered the kitchen. "Well, this is something I certainly never thought I'd see. My dear little sister acting domesticated! I should take a picture."

"Asshole." She grumbled, throwing the dish towel at him and pointing to the overfull drying rack. She was glad to see that he looked more like himself now, but she wasn't as appreciative of his teasing. "Someone has to take care of you, don't they? Start drying. Lunch will be ready soon."

"Yes, boss." He quipped goodnaturedly as he got to work. " . . .You know," he said eventually as they worked shoulder to shoulder, "you really don't have to do this."

"Were you going to do the dishes?" She asked archly. They both already knew the answer. He looked away and chose to put the plate he'd just dried in the cupboard instead of answering. "I didn't think so."

He laughed and pulled her into another hug (this one much less putrid). "I really did miss you, Kallen."

"I'm sure. You've been so busy pacing your apartment that even when you did call me you hardly said more than a dozen words before hanging up." She said bitterly.

"I'm sorry. I just didn't want to endanger you by getting you involved with my mess. I figured the less you knew and the further away you were the safer you would be." Naoto explained.

"Well, I'm here now, aren't I? And as you obviously can't take care of this place by yourself, it only makes sense that I stay -"

"No." He cut her off firmly. "No. Definitely not. I'll have Ohgi drive you home – er, to the Stadtfelds – after it gets dark. It's non-negotiable."

"Excuse me?" She huffed, soapy hands falling to her hips as she glared at him. "What's with you, Naoto? You said that I could move in, remember? Well, I want to move in now."

"I _said_ it's non-negotiable." Naoto growled, using his voice of absolute authority. She wasn't allowed to argue with that tone of voice. "Ohgi will drive you home later. Until then, let's not fight with each other. And let's enjoy this wonderful gourmet soup you've made for us."

"Won't let me pilot the Glasgow but he willing puts me in Ohgi's car. That thing's in way worse shape than the Knightmare." She grumbled under her breath as she snatched the towel out of Naoto's hands and dried off her soapy fingers. "Fine." She huffed, tossing the soapy dish rag at him and ordering him to go wipe down the table as she distributed their soup into bowls.

They had barely sat down at the table when Naoto's cellphone started ringing. His spoon paused, halfway between his mouth and his bowl as he shot her a tentative apologetic look and hesitated.

"Answer it, Naoto. You said yourself that it was usually important." She ordered. She wasn't going to let him slack off on his duties to the resistance just because she'd shown up unannounced. The resistance was more important than either of their petty wants for nourishment.

"I'll be quick." He promised as he leaned back in his chair and flipped open his cellphone. She was surprised. Usually he closeted himself away in a separate room to take calls about the resistance when she was around. It was just something she'd gotten used to over the years. The fact that he wasn't bothering to any more brought a small smile to her lips. "Lorne here."

Oh. She'd forgotten about that. No wonder he'd come flying out of his apartment when she'd started shouting his real name. She lifted her spoon to her lips and adopted a look of polite disinterest. Despite being her brother, she didn't want him to feel uncomfortable about talking in front of her. Especially not now that he was beginning to trust her with information regarding the resistance.

"No. I told you not to take Tamaki." Naoto said into the phone, a scowl falling over his expression. "Jesus Christ, Ohgi . . . yes, that's exactly why I told you not to take him. I know that he's our friend but that doesn't stop him from being unreliable. . . . Atonement, huh?" Naoto snorted disdainfully. "Fine. But next time follow orders. I take it everything went off without a hitch? . . . Good. Thank you. This will help us with the Code-R operation. . . . Yes, I know we're not ready yet. Anyway, on another note, I need you to come here after dark and take Kallen home. She decided to come for a visit today. . . . Yup. Thanks a lot, Ohgi."

He hung up the phone and smiled at her before picking up his spoon again and tucking back into his meal.

"Code-R?" She asked curiously. She hadn't really meant to eavesdrop on his conversation, but it was kind of hard not to when he was sitting only three feet away and there was no other noise in the room to distract her.

Naoto paused and looked at her searchingly for a moment before nodding. "Yeah. I'll tell you what we know so far."

* * *

_Day 55_

Lelouch was running out of time.

He scowled as he watched Harken leaning over the readouts, monitoring the progress of the group currently in the simulators. That man was currently the bane of his existence.

He was acutely aware of the passage of the days. He'd even gotten used to the routine. Wake up at five. Exercise and firearms training in the morning. Unarmed combat and classroom instruction on Britannia's glorious military history after a very brief lunch. Knightmare simulation training until whenever Harken decided to let them stop.

Harken was with them almost every step of every day. It was like he lived in their shadow. He was always around. And yet, Lelouch had yet to approach the sergeant.

He'd only have one chance to barter for acceptance into the Knightmare Corps. And if he failed he could be almost assured that Harken would take disciplinary action against him. He wasn't sure if the man would go so far as to discharge him (since he was only here under the Emperor's orders, he doubted that would be the case), but he would certainly discredit him. Harken had made it clear that there was no love lost between them.

He just needed one hint. One clue. One tiny piece of leverage he could use over the man to get his own way. But the man was a blank slate whenever it came to personal issues. He'd managed to find out that Harken hailed from Texas, but that was as far into his personal history as he'd managed to delve and it hardly helped Lelouch blackmail him.

Not that he'd originally decided to blackmail the sergeant. His first plan of action had been to simply approach the man and enter into civil negotiation with him. A little Give and Take. However, that plan had been shot all to hell the day Harken had pulled him aside (after he'd mouthed off once again) and had told him in no uncertain terms that he thought Lelouch was a disgrace to the Britannian military and that 'just because his Daddy was the Emperor' didn't excuse him from being a worthless, arrogant piece of shit.

He'd changed tacts after that and, instead of looking for things Harken could possibly want (more power, money, or spit-polished army boots), he'd begun looking for weaknesses. Of which he'd found none thus far.

With Basic Training ending in little over a week, he had to get his ass in gear. Give him three or four hours with a decent computer with internet access and he was sure he could find some kind of skeleton (or slightly desiccated corpse) that Harken had hidden in his closet. Of course, being granted that privilege seemed unlikely. The luxury of computer use wasn't something Britannia's military thought their new recruits needed.

With proper time and resources, he was sure he could find the dirt on Harken, but with no resources and no time, he was quickly becoming desperate. He was almost desperate enough to resort to threatening the man's life. Not that he thought that particular course would be all that effective either. Harken was a soldier and all soldiers were prepared for the possibility that they could die at a moment's notice.

God knew, Lelouch had come to grips with his own mortality multiple times over the last eight weeks. Not that he'd been all that disillusioned by it since Clovis had found him in Area Eleven and had nicely disrupted the entire life he'd built for himself there. But the KMF simulators had a way of making you appreciate the relatively safe atmosphere of the base – a way of appreciating that the enemies in the simulators weren't actually real. He'd stopped glaring at the sun as it slowly peeked over the horizon in the mornings and had begun appreciating that he was still alive to see it.

In his life, he'd come within an hairsbreadth of death more than a dozen times (oh yes, he'd counted). In the KMF simulators just in the past five weeks, he'd 'died' and come close to death more than twice that many times. But that was significantly less times than the rest of the recruits.

Not that most of his comrades were all that spectacular in the Knightmares. Any idiot could pilot a Knightmare (or perhaps not any idiot, but any person of moderate intelligence). However, it took a pilot with a healthy dose of natural skill (or years of experience in Lelouch's case) to actually make the KMF's dance. Sure, just jamming on the controls would make the machine move, but it took some real finesse to make it move smoothly. Otherwise you ended up with whiplash and a concussion.

Long story short, he knew that he'd be able to pilot Knightmares professionally – even in a combat situation. But because the Knightmare Corps only took _the best_ and because the rest of his scores weren't quite up to scratch, he doubted he'd make it. It was hard to do well when the sergeant was trying his damnedest to see him fail.

"You know, I don't think it matters how much you glare at him, he's still not going to burst into flames."

Lelouch blinked then glanced over at Ken Lakemen who was standing next to him in formation, grinning at him. "Pardon?" He asked.

"Harken." Lakemen clarified, pointing subtly to where the sergeant was still monitoring the readouts.

"Oh. I'm sorry, I was lost in thought." Lelouch laughed softly, pulling his frantically wandering thoughts back to the present. "We did well today. It doesn't matter what Harken says, we still beat the scenario he gave us."

After that first harsh lesson in KMF combat, the lessons had become almost brainlessly simple. Things like the proper way to deploy slash harkens and target practice with the KMF rifles. They were only just now getting back into life-like scenarios that required them to combine everything they'd learned thus far. Apparently Harken had wanted to give them a premature taste of just what the Knightmares could really do.

"Yeah, I know." Ken shrugged. "You look like shit today, Lelouch. That nightmare must have really shaken you up."

Lelouch glanced away and let out an irritated sigh. Yesterday, their KMF simulation had taken place on an overly realistic map of downtown Toyko. Their firefight had spilled out into the busy streets of downtown and they'd ended up losing a lot of points for Britannian civilian casualties (Harken didn't care about the Numbers). His Knightmare in particular had been subject to ambush and he'd ended up demolishing a building in order to get away. It didn't help that that particular building had corresponded with the clinic he'd taken Nunnally to in real life.

_That_ was what had translated itself into his subconscious and led him to wake up screaming in his sleep, waking up the entire barracks with him. Finding his sister's body the the rubble of a building he had destroyed had left him sweating and unable to sleep for the remainder of the night.

"I'm fine." Lelouch grumbled.

"Was it Harken dressed up as a killer clown?"

Lelouch chuckled. "Something like that." He nodded, having no intention of telling him that he'd dreamed about killing his own sister.

"Hey," Lukas said, interrupting their whispered conversation, the manual for the new customized Gloucester KMF model tucked under his arm. Not that they'd get to practice on one in Basic Training, but Harken had brought the manual along in case any of them were interested in reading it. Apparently, Zimmerman was. "Seen that guy before?" He asked, nodding towards Harken where a uniformed soldier had interrupted the lesson.

"Nope." Ken answered.

Whoever the man was, whatever he was saying was not impressing Harken (just judging by the scowl that came over his face).

"Vi Britannia!" Harken barked.

"Ah, shit. What now?" Lelouch grumbled, leaving his place amongst his teammates. He stood at attention in front of Harken and the visitor. "Sir?" He inquired somewhat trepidatiously. Whatever had just happened could in no way, shape or form be his fault. But he doubted Harken would see it that way.

"Your highness," The visitor greeted, saluting despite Lelouch's inferior rank. "Major Masen has requested your presence."

It was then that Lelouch realized that he did recognize the man. It was the receptionist guy from the administration building he'd met on his first day on the base. He couldn't remember his name, he thought it started with an 'R' maybe, but he couldn't be sure.

Well, he knew now why Harken looked so pissed. If the sergeant thought Lelouch was conspiring with a higher ranking officer, it would certainly explain his furious expression.

"I see." Lelouch answered carefully, aware of Harken's gaze boring into him. The man whose name may possibly have started with the letter 'R' had addressed him as a prince, which could have meant any number of things. If it had been something like official orders, Masen could have simply ordered him to visit. As it was a 'request', that also could mean any number of things. "Did the Major say what this was about?"

"No, your highness."

"Do I have permission to leave, sir?" He asked Harken. If the sergeant denied Masen's request or basically countermanded the Major's orders, he'd probably get in a ton of shit. So it was unlikely that he would do so, but just to be fair he still gave his sergeant the illusion of choice.

"Go on." Harken said dismissively, but scowled to show his displeasure.

"Yes, sir."

Lelouch followed the man out of the simulation hangar, following a pace behind as he was led back through the base towards the administration building. Reynolds (he'd had to ask for his name) wasn't the most communicative person. But, after making such an awkward fool of himself the first time they'd met, Lelouch could understand why he'd prefer to keep his mouth shut this time round.

When they arrived, Reynolds showed him in to Masen's office, where the Major was already waiting. With two, covered silver dinner trays glaringly out of place on his desk.

"Sir." He saluted, despite being called on as a prince rather than a private. Now was not a time to burn bridges.

"Your highness." Masen said affably, rising to his feet and returning the salute. "Please, sit." He said, gesturing to an extravagant leather armchair sitting across from the desk. The uncomfortable, hard-backed chair he'd had to sit in last time was pushed out of the way against the wall.

Lelouch eyed the chair warily for a moment before acceding. Whatever the major was up to, he most likely didn't mean Lelouch any harm. Not that he'd really suspected the major of plotting against him, but this meeting was so glaringly conspicuous it made it suspicious.

"You summoned me, sir?" Lelouch asked, playing the part of the private once again. The prince would only emerge if whatever Masen wanted was of benefit to him.

"I thought you might enjoy a real meal after eating in the mess for the last few weeks." Masen explained, lifting the garish silver dining covers away to reveal a glorious sight.

"Well, you were right about that, sir." Lelouch said with a grin.

Steak, he decided, had to be one of man's greatest pleasures. Real steak, not the overcooked, bloodless pieces of rubber they served in the mess hall. Along with roasted potatoes, sauteed mushrooms, steamed vegetables and a fine dark wine. It was food of an entirely different class to what they served in the mess – which of necessity had nutrition but little in the way of flavor.

He was almost done his meal, with the wineglass halfway to his lips, when the Major finally got around to explaining his actions.

"I've been thinking about what you said. And I've decided to help you." The major said firmly.

"What I said?" Lelouch asked, eyebrow raised questioningly, before taking a sip of his wine.

"About your lack of position leading to future windfalls for you. So, your highness, what kind of windfall can I arrange for you?"

Lelouch's eyes widened slightly in surprise. Sure, he'd planted seeds that first day on the base, but he'd never really expected them to bear fruit. His first impression of the Major was that he generally disapproved of Lelouch's training – thinking it nothing more than the petty amusements of a prince. But if he was willing to connive with Lelouch . . .

He covered his surprise by taking another bite of meat as he thought of something to say. He chewed thoughtfully for a moment before setting his utensils aside and leveling the Major with a steady stare.

"I think a better question would be what you want me to do for you?" Lelouch said finally. He hadn't expected to enter into negotiations like this. In fact, he'd been expecting something more along the lines of an interrogation about his purpose there, than to be wined and dined and schemed with.

"Is it suspicious for me to wish to help a member of the Imperial family? You must know that serving the royal family is the highest honor any military man can achieve." Masen said slyly.

"It is suspicious." Lelouch affirmed, "And I doubt you wish to serve me, Major. Do speak plainly if you intend for this negotiation to go anywhere. I must know if what you want is within my power to give."

The major frowned and dropped his overly polite facade. "The Honolulu Base in Area Seven. General Kowalczyk will be retiring in the next year and I'd like to take his place."

"So what you're really asking for is a promotion and a transfer." Lelouch hummed and tapped a finger thoughtfully against the arm of the chair. There was no way he could pull off such a request. Not by himself, anyway. But he very much _wanted_ to. With Masen in his pocket, getting into the Knightmare Corps would be a cinch and he could stop trying to find dirt on Harken.

Perhaps Schneizel . . .

Yes. As Prime Minister of the Empire, Schneizel would have a say in the selection of the top commanders of the Britannian military. But then, so would Cornelia as Chief General of the military. Could Schneizel pull enough strings to sway her? He couldn't see why not. As far as he knew, Schneizel and Cornelia had always gotten along rather well, despite his brother's belief that she was nothing more than the Emperor's dog.

But if she knew it was to get him into the Knightmare Corps, she'd probably do whatever she could to help him anyway. No doubt she was ashamed of his lowly position. And a Knight, even a common Knight, was better than a simple infantry man. So if he could get both Cornelia and Schneizel to help him in this matter, the only person who could possibly get in the way of his plans would be the Emperor himself.

Would the Emperor make the connection between Masen's promotion and his acceptance into the Knightmare Corps? No, probably not. Not when the General in Area Seven wasn't due to retire until a year from now and he'd be accepted into the Knightmare Corps in little over a week. It would take a lot of concentrated digging to make that connection.

"Let me see if it's possible." Lelouch said finally, spearing the last roast potato on his plate with his fork and popping it into his mouth. "Will you let me borrow your phone?"

"Of course, your highness. But . . . would you mind telling me what it is you want me to do for you first?"

Lelouch waved his hand dismissively. "There's only one thing I want from you, Masen and it should be easy enough for you to arrange. I want you to get me into the Knightmare Corps."

"The KMF Corps? Not an officer's academy or an obscure promotion?" Masen asked in surprise.

"No, I'll earn my own stripes. I just need you to get me in the door." Lelouch answered firmly.

"I understand." Masen said as he turned his phone around on the desk to face Lelouch before vacating the premises.

A part of him found it amusing that he, a lowly private not even out of Basic Training, had just ordered the Major out of his own office. But the majority of his mind was focused on what exactly he was going to say to Schneizel.

He dialed Schneizel's number (thankful that he'd decided to memorize it and make himself less dependent on Edith) and waited patiently as it rang. He thought it was kind of funny that his first conversation with someone from the outside world was going to be with Schneizel. He'd previously thought that it would probably be Edith, followed soon after by a much needed phone call to someone normal (probably Milly or maybe Rivalz).

"Kanon Maldini speaking, assistant to Prime Minister el Britrannia. May I ask who's calling?"

"This is Lelouch."

"Oh?" Kanon said in surprise, "I didn't think you finished training until next week."

"Yes, that's correct. May I speak to Schneizel?" Lelouch inquired, hoping his brother wasn't busy in a meeting or something of the sort.

"Of course. He's just sitting down the dinner, but I'll interrupt him for you."

Moments later, he was connected to Schneizel. "Lelouch? How are you? Is something the matter?"

"I'm fine, Schneizel. And you?" Lelouch asked politely.

"Ah, same old. Same old. Bismark had been breathing down my neck but I finally sent him packing. Otherwise, things are going according to plan." Schneizel answered casually, as though they weren't discussing the Knight of One's perfectly reasonable suspicions of treason. "What is this about?"

"How hard would it be for you to put a man of your choice in charge of the Honolulu Base?" That was, after all the hardest part of Masen's request. By comparison, getting the major promoted would be easy.

"First, let me ask why I should care one way or the other who is in charge of the Honolulu Base? Area Seven is stable and requires very little effort to maintain the peace." Schneizel inquired.

"I'm bartering for entry to the Knightmare Corps with Major Masen." Lelouch explained. "He's expressed an interest in taking up the post there after the current general retires."

"The Knightmare Corps?" Schneizel asked, his interest piqued. "Are you sure you'd be able to handle that?"

"I'll let you in on a little known secret," Lelouch said smugly, "the Ganymede wasn't destroyed when the Ashfords fled for Japan."

Schneizel was silent for a moment before he chuckled. "I see. Say no more. I'll take care of everything. This works better for us anyway. Knights command way more respect than any infantry soldier ever could. I'll talk to Cornelia and begin paving Masen's way. He'll need to be made a general, of course, but that should be easy enough to accomplish."

"Thank you, Schneizel." Lelouch smirked.

To say that the major was overjoyed when he heard the news was a gross overstatement. In fact, for a moment there was so little reaction from the man that Lelouch began to suspect he had just walked into a trap of some sort. But then the realization hit him and a slow, creeping, feral smirk pulled itself across the major's mouth and Lelouch knew he had him.

Masen discussed the finer points of what he'd have to do to get Lelouch into the Knightmare Corps over dessert (a rich Tiramisu), while Lelouch stayed adamantly tight lipped about what would be required to get Masen to Area Seven. In this particular scenario, his brother was only a tool. He didn't need Masen thinking he could bypass Lelouch and go directly to Schneizel for help. Not that Masen probably had anything that Schneizel wanted, but it was better to keep his sources private.

When Lelouch left Masen's office almost two hours after entering it, he was in a decidedly better mood than he'd been in before entering it. Somehow, he'd almost gotten used to his lack of power while at Basic Training. Sure, they were turning him into a killing machine, but he lacked any real authority here.

If nothing else, the scheming with Masen had revitalized him. And it had taken a huge weight off his shoulders. He no longer had to worry about blackmailing Harken. Let the man bluster and harass him, it didn't matter anymore. In little over a week, he wouldn't have to deal with Harken anymore. In little more than a week, he'd be off for more training – the intensive Advanced Knightmare Training Program(AKTP) – and then he'd be a Knight.

Lelouch entered the barracks, figuring that his comrades were probably in the mess hall as there had only been two groups left for turns in the simulators when he'd left, and froze. His good mood evaporated in an instant as he walked in upon Lukas rifling through _his_ footlocker.

"What are you doing?" Lelouch demanded as he angrily stalked down the length of the barracks.

"Lelouch!" Zimmerman yelped in surprise, damn near falling on his ass. "I . . . sorry. I overheard Harken talking to one of the officers about doing another locker check tonight. I just wanted t make sure." It was only then that Lelouch noticed the precisely folded pile of clothes sitting on the end of his bed.

Lelouch sighed. "You could have just ordered me to clean up my locker." He griped, forcing the anger in his system to dissipate. Sure, Lukas had illegally broken into his footlocker, but he'd only done it to help Lelouch out. He knelt down next to Zimmerman and took up a pair of trousers that needed to be freshly folded.

Lukas shrugged uncomfortably. "I don't like ordering you around."

"You know," Lelouch said irritably, "you didn't seem to care that I was a prince that first day we met."

"That's not why." His friend said firmly, taking special care to keep the creases in Lelouch's dress uniform straight. "I don't care that you're a prince. Not really."

"Then why?" Lelouch asked.

Lukas paused and stared intently at his hands (fingers still curled under the collar of his shirt) for a moment before turning slightly to look at Lelouch. "Because some day I want to serve under you. So I don't want to overstep my bounds."

Lelouch snorted. "Because I'm a prince? And serving the Imperial family is the highest honor a soldier can achieve?" He asked bitterly.

"No. Because you're a good leader, Lelouch. Way better than me." He answered earnestly. "You should be the leader of our team and everyone knows it. Hell, you _are_ the leader of our team to everyone but Harken."

It was true. While Zimmerman held the title of Squad Leader, it was Lelouch who led them in most of their team exercises. The other members of their team generally tended to turn to Lelouch first and Lukas second. "Do you resent me for it?"

"_No._" Lukas said firmly, "Jesus, if I was angry about it, I wouldn't be nearly as nice to you. And I wouldn't want to serve under you either."

"I think we're getting ahead of ourselves." Lelouch smiled. "For all either of us know, I could wash out of Basic Training and end up a civilian for the rest of my days."

He wasn't about to tell Lukas that he'd just bartered with the major for acceptance in the Knightmare Corps. If anything could make the other recruit resent him, it would probably be that.

"Okay, first off, you'd never be _just a civilian_. Secondly, you're not doing nearly bad enough to actually wash out of the training program. Despite Harken's best efforts, you're succeeding. And thirdly, even if you were officially not a part of the military, you're allowed to call on soldiers to serve you, aren't you?" Lukas counted out the points on his fingers.

"Well, yes. That's true." Lelouch acceded.

"Then," Zimmerman said seriously, "I want you to know, Lelouch, that if you ever need me for anything, all you have to do is ask."

Not quite as verbally eloquent as the oaths of fealty Knights of Honor were required to swear, but somehow just as potent. Lukas' declaration left Lelouch wondering just what it was he'd done to deserve the other's loyalty. All the same, it touched him.

That Lukas, the very man that he had usurped his position of authority from, could want only to serve him, lent itself to all kinds of suppositions about the sentiments of the rest of his team members. It was all very intriguing and would no doubt entertain his thoughts for the next week and a half until the end of Basic Training.

"I will." Lelouch assured him. "For now, let's see about getting my footlocker back in order."

"Sure." Lukas agreed, before turning back to his task.

"Out of curiosity, how did you get into my footlocker in the first place? I'm certain I locked it." Lelouch inquired.

Lukas actually blushed as he shrugged awkwardly, "Well, I had a bit of a wild childhood," He said, nodding towards a pair of straightened out paper clips sitting on the floor next to him. "Learned how to pick a lock when I was thirteen. By the time my brother got back from his first tour of duty to straighten me out, I'd already been arrested twice. Misdemeanors - thing like trespassing. They never caught me at the more serious stuff."

Lelouch quirked an eyebrow in surprise. Lukas certainly didn't seem like the type. Judging from the last eight weeks of interaction, Lelouch wouldn't have pegged him for anything other than a law-abiding straight-shooter with his eyes set on a faultless military career for most of his life.

"Really?"

"Can't picture it?" Lukas asked, chuckling a little to himself as he reached for another article of clothing inside Lelouch's footlocker. When the small box housing Nunnally's crane fell out from within the folds into his lap (Lelouch had taken to hiding it within the clothing near the bottom of his locker) and released it's contents to the floor he froze, awkwardly terrified, hand half outstretched towards the box.

"Relax." Lelouch said calmly, scooping up the delicate paper crane into his palm before showcasing it to Lukas. "I'm not going to crucify you for seeing this."

Lukas was a likeable fellow. Friendly and idealistic. He thought that Lukas and Nunnally would probably get along rather well if they were ever fated to meet. Not that he thought that would ever happen, but since he thought that Nunnally would probably like him, he was privileged enough to view the crane.

"It was from someone very important to me." Lelouch explained before slipping the crane back into his box and setting it safely in the bottom corner of his footlocker.

"You created all that drama with Harken over a piece of paper?" Lukas asked incredulously.

"Yes. And I'd do it again in a heartbeat." Lelouch affirmed.

* * *

AN:

Thanks for reading.

For all those eager for me to hurry the hell up and get out of Basic Training, rejoice because there will only be one more chapter dealing with Lelouch's development in Basic Training. And I'm not going to go into detail for AKTP like I did with this. So the story will be moving forwards soon, in like a chapter or two.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. I particularly enjoyed Kallen's part. It makes me smile.

Don't forget to review!

Allora


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Kallen could still hardly believe what Naoto had told her. Before, when he'd said they were getting into dangerous shit, she'd thought they were doing something like targeting a weapons shipment or something of the sort. Not that they were planning on stealing a massive biological weapon from the private lab of Prince Clovis himself. It almost seemed too big for them, but . . .

Poison gas.

_Probably _poison gas, she amended. In truth they had no idea what it was they were trying to take off the prince's hands. But from the clues that Naoto's contact had been able to uncover and from the paranoid security measures the prince had put in place, it was assuredly dangerous and most likely poison gas.

Her stomach roiled uncomfortably at the thought. Just judging from the size of the canister (Naoto had received grainy photographs from his contact), the gas would be able to completely devastate an entire ghetto. It was far more dangerous than any shipment of Knightmares could ever be.

Was that what Clovis was planning? The annihilation of the Japanese in the ghettos? What other enemy would he use such a weapon on? Unless he sent it back to the Emperor to be used on the E.U. or China? But then why hide it so thoroughly? No, it was meant for them.

They knew that the prince was losing face due to the domestic terrorism taking place all over Japan. But to go so far to solve the problem . . .

It was imperative that they took Code-R away from the Britannian Viceroy. The discrimination and unfair treatment was one thing – even the general oppression of the Japanese was a small thing when compared to such a despicable weapon and the mass genocide it would cause. That the Britannians would develop such a dastardly means of killing them – robbing them of the opportunity to enter into honorable combat with them – was unforgivable.

The fight had ceased being about revenge or patriotic pride. This was now a matter of survival. If they didn't take Code-R away from the Britannians, they'd have the deaths of thousands on their hands. They needed to move. They needed to act quickly, before Clovis decided to test it out in one of the ghettos.

Which was why she was currently so aggravated. Naoto had bundled her up and sent her back to the Stadtfeld's with strict orders (from a commander to a subordinate, rather than as a brother to a sister) to stay put and not to draw attention to herself.

She couldn't help but think that Naoto was just trying to keep her out of the way. Meanwhile, the rest of the resistance members were out acquiring resources and gathering information - and generally being a whole lot more useful than she was.

She wanted to _do_ something. She wanted to prove herself. To earn recognition as more than just Naoto's little sister. She wished he'd given her a task – any task – to help the resistance out instead of just telling her to stay out of the way.

She suppressed a frustrated groan and instead channeled her frustration into a glare at her mother who was, once again, tidying up her bedroom. And knocking shit over.

Kallen could remember a time when her mother had been almost ethereally graceful. Before the invasion and her parent's subsequent divorce, her mother had moved like water. She'd just kind of flowed into a room. It was all about balance and posture. When she'd been a small child, her mother had tried to teach her how to walk properly. But she was too hotheaded and stubborn to fully take to the lessons and they'd been interrupted by the invasion before she could master it.

It was one of the reasons she hated her father so much. What he'd done – casting his beloved wife aside to satisfy his public image – was absolutely unforgivable. The way he had shattered her, the way he had reduced the once vivacious, graceful woman into a simpering mess was a sin that Kallen would never forgive.

And she hated her mother for giving in. For being so weak and pathetic that she couldn't even pick herself back up and put herself together after her world had fallen apart.

She bit back an annoyed huff as she heard something else fall off the desk her mother was cleaning. Turning to glare at her, she paused when she noticed her mother's hands were shaking.

"Are you alright?" Kallen asked, then cursed her natural concern. "What's wrong with you?" She asked gruffly.

"Nothing," Her mother answered softly as she set the lamp she'd knocked over back upright.  
"I mean, I will admit that I'm feeling a little under the weather today, but I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, Mistress. Thank you for your concern."

Now that she mentioned it, her mother did look rather pale and her eyes looked a little watery and bloodshot. Did she have a cold then? A fever? The flu? She hoped it wasn't contagious.

"I wasn't concerned." Kallen snapped. The gall of that woman to suggest such a thing . . . "I don't care about you. Not at all. Not one way or the other." She said, her hands balling into fists. "Now, _get out!"_

She didn't care. She _didn't._ Why would she want to care about someone so weak? Why would she care about someone so completely lacking in pride. That woman was nothing to her. She didn't need her. She would never need her. She wasn't a little girl anymore, tugging at her mother's skirt. She'd grown up – outgrown the need for maternal comfort – and it was hardly the consequence of her mother's gentle parenting.

It was Naoto who had turned her into who she was today. How many times had her mother called out to her brother '_Naoto, you have to take care of your sister'. _It had always been Naoto. Naoto had always been there, sturdy. A rock to stand on – a foundation – while she watched their mother sinker lower and lower in depression. As she'd slowly watched that woman destroy herself.

"Of course, Mistress. Do have a good day." Her mother said as she unsteadily left the room.

Kallen slammed the door behind her and turned the lock on the door. She wished . . . she wished she could get out of there. She just wanted to leave – to flee this place with it's confining walls and oppressive women. If it wasn't the pathetic shade of the woman she had once felt privileged to call mother, it was her father's new wife. She just wanted to _go_. Somewhere. Anywhere. Just away.

_"This is an order, Kallen. I want you to stay at the Stadtfeld's. Lay low. Don't do anything to draw attention to yourself. Just __**stay there**__. And I'm not saying this to you as your brother. You said you wanted to join the resistance? These are your first orders. Make sure you obey them."_

And so Naoto had managed to turn her already ill favored living conditions into a prison. She would stay, and he knew it. He'd manipulated her weakness just as masterfully as he did with the others. He loved her, or course he did, but that didn't change the fact that he'd used his knowledge of her deepest wants – her weaknesses – as a means to harness her in.

Part of her resented him. Another part of her just wished he'd given her something else to do. Another even smaller part of her wanted to take what she'd learned about Code-R and go off and destroy it herself. While they were all cooling there heels waiting for more information – for employee profiles and schedules and complex chemical equations supposing just what the canister contained – she could be actually _doing_ something. Saving lives.

She wouldn't though. That was all just an elaborate daydream she'd dreamed up. And it was only bound to get more detailed and extravagant as the days went by. After all, she had a lot of time to think about it.

Naoto had better give her better orders soon.

* * *

_Day 63_

Graduation day.

It seemed strange to think that nine weeks had already passed. Even stranger was the fact that nine weeks ago he would have given anything to fast forward to this day – to finally be _done_ with military training. Now he was looking forward to another six weeks of specialized training in Knightmare combat.

He wasn't dreading it.

Piloting Knightmares was something he actually enjoyed. There was logic in the way they moved and piloting them required thought instead of brawn. Being part of the Knightmare Corps would be the silver lining of being forced to join the Britannian military in the first place.

His dress uniform was uncomfortable – starched and stiff – though not as uncomfortable as some of the formal wear in his civilian wardrobe. He decided he could live with it for the next couple hours that he was required to wear it. Then he would change into something more comfortable and begin packing his shit up. The KMF Corps didn't believe in giving their recruits downtime between Basic and AKTP. Which worked out well for Lelouch, because he'd had no desire to return to the Aeries Villa and his arrogant wife any time soon.

"Today, you are made soldiers." General Sutton, the Pendragon Base Commander, said loudly into a microphone on one end of the parade grounds. "The very foundation and backbone of this great nation. You have been changed from men into the pride of this nation. Soldiers are the ones who make this nation what it is today - a force to be reckoned with.

"You are the ones who will carry the ideals of Britannia into enemy territory. You are the ones who will raise our flag over new lands. And you are the ones who will crush all those who stand against our glorious Emperor.

"As the Emperor says, all men are not created equal. The Britannian military is the greatest fighting force on the globe and you will be the ones who show our enemies just how inadequate they are in comparison. No man, and no nation, can stand against Britannia's might.

"It's not because we have superior numbers, or superior technology. It's because we have superior _men_. Britannia's military is the greatest fighting force in the world because we train the greatest soldiers in the world.

"Each and every one of you today have earned my respect. It takes men with a lot of guts and determination to make it through the training program we have here. I salute you, soldiers."

Lelouch felt a curious mixture of pride and disgust at the general's words. Quoting the Emperor's favorite phrase had done nothing to win him points in Lelouch's book. But at the same time he understood what the man was saying. There had been some who had washed out of the training regime. That Lelouch, disadvantaged from the start, had succeeded only proved that the Emperor may have been right in this matter.

But that didn't mean it was acceptable to trod all over those weaker than one's self. Yes, he was proud that he had succeeded, despite the odds and despite Harken. It was an accomplishment and he had every right to feel pride in his success, but he would never view himself as ultimately better than those who hadn't. Humanity was massively variable. That some succeeded at some things and others didn't was not a measure of worth.

From General Sutton, the words may not have meant anything other than that Britannian soldiers underwent harsh training to which not all could meet the physical demands. But when those same words were uttered by the Emperor, they became something entirely different.

A justification for the abuse of all those weaker than oneself.

To the Emperor, that key phrase had a second line that was often left unspoken. _All men were not created equal, and therefore they need not be treated equally._ It was this kind of thinking that had destroyed Nunnally's chance at a happy future. This thinking that had relegated her from a potential heir of the Empire to nothing more than a useless, wheel-chair ridden girl.

Once the general was finished spewing his graduation speech, they were paraded in front of the gathered crowds. Family and friends had gathered to see their boys be turned into the Empire's newest dogs of war. He'd specifically asked for his family not to attend. Even the gathering of one or two members of the Imperial family was enough to create a media circus and as he'd finally managed to get off their radar, he didn't want to risk their involvement. And turning his graduation ceremony into a media field day would do nothing to enamor him to the other soldiers.

Though he had been filled with apprehension that morning.

If it had been a repeat of his wedding . . . if the Emperor himself had decided to come to view his graduation to rub it in his face. . .

But that hadn't been the case. And even now as his eyes scanned through the assembled crowds, there was only one familiar face there. He'd asked Schneizel not to come. In fact, he'd gone so far as to ask Schneizel to book another appointment for the date. As far as he knew, his brother was at the staging point in Area Five where he was still trying to negotiate peace with the E.U.

It was Euphemia. Granted, she had her head covered with a floppy sun hat and a pair of ridiculously huge sunglasses obscuring her face, but he'd have been able to recognize her in a crowd any day. It was the tell-tale hair that gave it away. And the fact that she was probably his favorite sibling after Nunnally (and perhaps Schneizel, if only for getting him into the KMF Corps).

Not that many people knew her face anyway. Empress li Britannia had decided to let Euphy finish her schooling before she was forced into the public limelight. so aside from the Imperial family and a select few friends of their branch of the family, people didn't really know who she was (even if the family resemblance to Cornelia was startling).

When they were formed up again into formation, Harken announced their next postings. While it was vaguely interesting to Lelouch to see what would become of the other recruits, there were only four soldiers he was interested in hearing where were going. His teammates and the only members of their training group he felt any real affection for. Jesse Nelson and Oswald (Ozzie) Mitchell were destined for the Infantry Corps.

He'd thought Ken Lakemen would be headed there too, but had surprised him by applying for the Engineering Corps and making it in. It shouldn't have surprised him. Despite Ken's enthusiasm in the KMF simulators, he'd always seemed a bit more fascinated in just how much damage their machine's were taking than in how much damage they were dealing to the enemy.

As he waited for Harken to get through with the others, he felt a moment of trepidation for Lukas' sake. What if he didn't actually make the cut? What if he didn't make it into the Knightmare Corps? He wished, for a moment, that he'd had the forethought to arrange Zimmerman's entrance to the KMF Corps with Masen as well, but then pushed the thought aside.

Lukas wouldn't have thanked him for meddling. And he probably would have been pissed off to know that he hadn't made it in of his own merit and that Lelouch had doubted his ability. No, it was better to be left in suspense for a few more minutes than to risk the friendship and respect he had earned. For him, the Knightmare Corps were only a means to an end, but for Lukas they had been the goal all along.

"Private vi Britannia," Harken said with a scowl, though his voice was steady and far less rage-filled than he had been expecting. He wondered if Masen had let the sergeant in on their scheming or if Harken was just being on his best behavior due to the large number of non-military crowds around them. "Knightmare Corps."

Lelouch couldn't help the arrogant smirk that crept across his lips or the triumphant gleam in his eye when he saw Harken's jaw clench and his eyebrow twitch. Ha, the man was furious but unable to do anything about it. Lelouch had once again been made untouchable. If Harken wanted to fuck with him now, he would have to burn some serious bridges to do so and Lelouch couldn't imagine that he cared enough to do so.

"Thank you, sir." He said smugly.

Harken just glared and moved on down the line. "Private Zimmerman . . ." The sergeant seemed to pause dramatically, but it could simply have been Lelouch's own anticipation. "Knightmare Corps."

Lelouch breathed a sigh of relief as Lukas enthusiastically thanked Harken – who looked a great deal less pissed off about Zimmerman's acceptance than he had about Lelouch's.

"You're all dismissed." Harken said firmly, turning away.

The new soldiers slowly began to disperse – to find parents and loved ones in the waiting crowds of observers. Next to Lelouch, Zimmerman didn't move. He watched his friend from the corner of his eye, who was scowling at the ground in front of him.

"Do you resent me for it?" Lelouch finally asked. He couldn't explain why, but it mattered to him. Somehow, he wanted Lukas to understand his position, and why he'd had to meddle and scheme. It was obvious he wouldn't have made it in without help.

Lukas shook his head. "How'd you manage it?"

"Not as honestly as you did." Lelouch answered after some deliberation.

Lukas seemed to breath easier after that. Had he feared that Lelouch had meddled with his placement then? He was glad that the thought hadn't occurred to him until it had been too late to act on it.

"I'm glad for you, Lelouch." Lukas finally said, turning to face him. "You're an excellent pilot and I know it's what you really wanted. And I understand that Harken wouldn't have let you have it honestly. Besides, now I'll get to train with you a bit longer."

Lelouch smiled. "Yes. Hopefully it will be more enjoyable than Basic. Do you have family here?"

"Just my mother." Lukas shrugged, "Everyone else is touring, I think."

"Then, I'd like to introduce you to someone. That is, if you can keep your mother waiting a few minutes longer." Lelouch said calmly.

Lukas' eyes widened in surprise. "You mean, _you_ have family here?" He choked, eyes scanning the crowd and probably looking for someone in a magnificent cape with a crown on their head.

"Just my sister." He shrugged, heading off through the mingling people to where Euphemia was standing flanked by two bodyguards. Unsurprisingly, Lukas followed. It wasn't everyday that someone was asked to meet an Imperial princess and it was certainly not an opportunity one should pass up. Especially if said princess just so happened to be the cherished little sister of Britannia's Chief General.

"Euphy." He nodded in greeting, to which she promptly pulled him into a hug.

"Lelouch!" She squealed in excitement. "I know you said not to come, but I've hardly even got to see you since you've returned to us. I made sure I came disguised. I didn't even get to talk to you at your wedding, you know? You were so busy trying to mingle with all your guests. "

"Actually, I was trying to escape Abigail's clutches as _she_ tried to mingle with all the guests, but close enough. How have you been? How's school?"

"Yeah, I don't think much of her either. I went to visit and she almost chased me off the grounds until she realized I was your sister and not some crazed harlot trying to sneak in to steal your underwear. She's a little over jealous, that one. But then, I can't really blame her since there's still a crowd of reporters and teenaged girls camping at your gate. Anyway, everything's been well enough with me. School is school, as I'm sure you're aware. Sometimes it get's so boring that I think I _want_ to be revealed to the public. And then I remember all the awkward subservience and the strange way people tend to treat you and I change my mind." She waved airily.

Lelouch laughed and shook his head. "I'd like you to meet someone, Euphy. This," He said, gesturing to where Lukas was hovering a few feet away, "is my friend Lukas Zimmerman. If it weren't for him, I probably wouldn't have succeeded here. If you're lucky, he'll bypass the subservience and strange treatment. Lukas, this is my half-sister, Euphemia li Britannia."

Euphemia turned with a genuine smile to the man – though, to Lelouch's knowledge, all of Euphy's smiles were genuine. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lukas." She said, displaying a political prowess that would make her a formidable powerhouse one day. It was almost akin to the way Schneizel could charm any person he put his mind to. In only seven words, she'd established a familiarity with Lukas that he'd be sure to remember.

Vaguely, he wondered if she'd been taking lessons from Schneizel. Or if it was just something that the children of the Emperor that had been 'raised properly' knew how to do naturally. Either way, it was a little frightening and he would be sure to keep it in mind in the future. He himself, he knew, was more than a little charismatic, but he accomplished that by appealing to people's logic. Euphemia and Schneizel did it by simply making people like them.

"The pleasure is all mine, your highness." Lukas assured her, bowing slightly.

"Please, just call me Euphy."

And there it was again. Five more words and Lukas was irrevocably hooked around her pinky finger. He was glad his sister was so gentlehearted. If she'd taken more after Cornelia – or, God forbid, the Emperor – she would have made a formidable enemy indeed. Even as it was, she was naïve enough to be easily manipulated into doing another's bidding.

. . .

No. Had he become so ruthless that he would use his own sister – it was _Euphemia_ for God's sake – as a tool? He was disgusted he'd even considered it. It was comparable to using Nunnally. Unforgivable.

"So tell me, Lukas, was Lelouch a hellion here on the base? He used to be such a troublemaker when we were children. I'm not entirely convinced that he's grown out of it." Euphy said charmingly, drawing Zimmerman into conversation about the only thing they had in common – him.

Lelouch, for his part, tried to stay out of it and was forced to remind Lukas some time later that his mother was still waiting to be greeted. It was really very scary how quickly she'd won him over. Suddenly he wondered who would win in a toss up for Lukas' loyalty at that moment – a comrade and commander or a pretty princess with a charming smile.

"Your sister seems really nice, Lelouch. And here I thought you were an oddity amongst the royals from being fostered in Area Eleven." Lukas said conversationally as they made their way through the crowds towards his mother.

"She's too nice sometimes. And since when did I become 'nice'?" Lelouch asked.

Lukas laughed. "I'd say from about the first day we met. You didn't freak out when I decided to poke fun at you. You looked so pathetic that day, I was surprised you didn't faint. It's a good thing you got better or you would have given Harken a hernia."

"I think I managed to do that all the same." Lelouch grinned ferally and pointed to where Harken was still glaring at him.

They both shared a laugh at the sergeant's expense.

* * *

Naoto had grown tired (more than a little) of staring at the walls of his crummy apartment. Without Ohgi and the other upper echelon members of the resistance coming and going, he'd finally realized just how boring the place actually was. In the idle moments between phone calls and emailed intelligent packets, his thoughts had begun turning to such inane tasks as painting the walls and renovating the bathroom.

Being locked in a three bedroom apartment for going on two months now was severely damaging to morale. He was beginning to understand why Kallen was so frustrated by being told to stay with the Stadtfelds. Not that she couldn't leave the Stadtfeld manor whenever she felt like it, but he knew her well enough to know that she would probably spend the majority of her time there sulking in her room.

For his part, he was quite done with sulking. It had been well over a month since his run in with Gottwald. Surely the man would have given up by now. After all, who else but shut-ins and video game addicts didn't leave their apartments for such a long period of time? As he was neither (which hopefully Gottwald knew) he would have expected Naoto – or rather John Lorne – to have shown his face in public at least once since their last encounter.

Plus, his Britannian heritage forced the man to widen his search radius. There was simply no way he could search the entire city – both the Concession and the ghettos – on the off chance that he would stumble across Naoto. It was an impossible task.

So if he was careful – and he was always meticulously careful when it came to other people's safety – then there was no reason that he couldn't go out and check on the progress his soldiers had made. Yes. That was acceptable.

He disguised himself more or less inconspicuously in dark, worn jeans and a baggy hoody with the hood drawn up and a pair of huge, dark-lensed sunglasses obscuring half his face. Someone like Kallen or Ohgi would probably be able to recognize him – but only because they'd known him for years. To anyone else, he'd simply be a passing mysterious figure (it's not like everyone in the ghettos were comfortable with showing their face). He could have been anyone.

He brought his gun and cellphone, but left his wallet and anything else that could be used to identify him at home. If something unexpected happened to him, at least it wouldn't lead them back to the apartment where all of their plans and correspondences were sitting on his coffee table.

The apartment and all of their bills were under Ohgi's name, but his driver's license and identification had required his address and so there was a chance he could be traced back here.

He left his apartment with his head bowed and his hands in his pockets. Over the years since he'd run away from the Stadtfeld residence, he'd learned the harsh lesson of how to not draw attention to one's self. When he'd first run for the ghetto, he'd ended up getting the crap beat out of him more times than he could count over nothing more than his pride (and his foreign appearance). He'd refused to bow his head or hide his face. He blamed his arrogance on his Britannian side – the side that was not only Britannian but also a member of the nobility.

Lady Stadtfeld, and to a lesser extent, Earl Stadtfeld, had made sure that both he and Kallen knew their place in high society. They were nobles (social parasites, he thought bitterly) and therefore didn't have to bow their heads to anyone but the Imperial family.

But things didn't work that way in the ghettos. As a rule, most Japanese didn't care if he was a member of the nobility or not. All they saw was a Britannian wandering by himself in the wrong sort of neighborhood. And the Japanese weren't above taking out their frustration on some unsuspecting kid with his nose stuck up in the air.

The first time he'd had the crap beat out of him, it had been Tamaki. That wasn't to say that he'd gone down quietly or meekly (all those years of martial arts training his mother had made him take before the invasion had come in handy), but even back then Tamaki had been a loose canon. It had only been when Tamaki's older brother (a far more level-headed man) had arrived on the scene that they'd called off their fight.

He'd been getting a lay of the land then and hatching brilliant plans with Ohgi about starting up their own resistance cell at the time. When he'd mentioned his plans - after Tamaki's brother, Yoshiro, had taken him back to his place to get him an icepack for his broken nose - both brothers had been eager to join.

Yoshiro died within the first year of their operations. Tamaki had thrown himself wholeheartedly into their work ever since (even if that didn't make him any more reliable). The resistance had become the central focus of his life. Tamaki lived for the resistance, to make sure that Yoshiro's sacrifice wasn't in vain.

Yoshiro's death had hit Tamaki hard. Not that he was really one to speak. He'd also gone a bit off the deep end after losing Yoshiro. He was the first person that had died under his command. Together with Tamaki, they'd managed to retrieve Yoshiro's body. In all the years since then, he didn't think he'd fired as many bullets as he had when he'd been trying to get Yoshiro's body back.

It had been tough on both of them. Yoshiro and Naoto had become close during that first year of the resistance's operations. Yoshiro had been a great friend. Almost a surrogate brother.

He pushed such depressing thoughts away, focusing instead on the path he was going to take towards their headquarters. His apartment may have been their command and planning center, but most resistance members never got to see the inside of his apartment (or even know where it was). All other operations were based out of a mostly intact warehouse where Kazane stored the Glasgow and all of their other weapons and supplies.

He let himself in with his key and walked in on a moderately uninspired motivational speech from Ohgi. They were going to be procuring some gas masks this evening from a high tech Britannian lab on the other side of the Concession tonight. He thought it might be a good idea to be prepared for the worst should the shit hit the fan when they decided to take Code-R. Britanians had a mindset ingrained into them that they would rather see something precious destroyed than watch it be taken by another. So it was better to be safe and have the gas masks even if they didn't need to use them, than be sorry and wish they had them in those few precious seconds before they all died from poison gas inhalation. While Naoto himself wouldn't be participating in their raid tonight, he still figured he could see them off.

"Holy shit," Tamaki said loudly, as all of the inhabitants of the room's attention turned to him. "the dead walk again."

Naoto grinned. There was a reason he put up with Tamaki's occasional ineptitude aside from his lingering respect for the man's older brother. He was always good for a laugh. And his heart was generally in the right place.

"I wasn't aware I'd died, Tamaki." He retorted. "You didn't even invite me to the funeral."

"I knew you wouldn't be able to keep away, but you did surprise me in how long you lasted." Oghi said with a smile.

Tamaki grinned broadly and clapped him over the shoulder. "Shit, we've been missing you around here. The rookies don't even know who you are."

"We have new recruits?" Naoto inquired. It wasn't all that unusual. Sometimes Ohgi forgot to inform him right away of personnel additions. Not that they were actively recruiting at the moment - with almost fifty members they had more than enough people for basic operations. These days the only way to gain acceptance was if a member recommended someone and a thorough background investigation checked out.

"Sure do. This is Hideki Matsumoto." Tamaki said, gesturing towards one of the men standing near Ohgi. "Picked him up two weeks back. Guy's nuts, but everything checked out. He went off on me for eating those Britannian cookies that I like. Went on and on about how I was a disgrace as a Japanese person for giving my money to the people who stole our country and are oppressing us.

"And then he kicked my ass. And _you_ know that that's not an easy thing to do." Tamaki goaded, elbowing Naoto in the ribs.

"I believe I've had my fair share of victories." Naoto said smugly as he examined the rookie. The man carried himself well. He had no problem believing that Matsumoto had been able to get a beating down on Tamaki. Tamaki was mostly a brawler, he used his wild movements and generally high energy levels to relentlessly wail on his opponents in a fight.

Everything about Matsumoto suggested that he had been formally trained in martial arts. It was a quiet confidence – a grace – that he himself wasn't completely lacking. All over Japan, there were still practitioners of this country's ancient arts. Whatever the Britannians had to say about it, Japan's culture wasn't dead. It was just quieter these days.

Tamaki would have had no chance against the precision of a trained martial artist.

"_You're_ a resistance member?" Matsumoto asked with something between disbelief and disdain as Naoto removed his sunglasses inside the shady interior of the warehouse and pushed back his hood.

Naoto laughed. He'd never been questioned like this by one of his own faction members before. But there was a first time for everything, he supposed. Besides, it wasn't really Matsumoto's fault if he didn't know who he was. It was what happened when he decided to go into hiding for almost two months.

"I should think so . . . considering I founded this band of misfits. This is _my_ resistance cell." Naoto said proudly. "I suppose in a very real way, you could say that you've joined my army. I'm John Lorne."

Matsumoto choked on his surprise before regaining control of himself and gesturing towards Ohgi. "What about Ohgi?"

"He's my second in command." Naoto shrugged.

"So why would a Britannian like you start up a resistance cell in the first place?" Matsumoto demanded, blatantly rude – he was lucky Naoto was fairly lax on things like discipline and courtesy. But he had to be with Tamaki (and Kallen) around.

An awkward hush fell over the other occupants of the room as Naoto's eyes narrowed into a glare. "I wouldn't doubt my loyalty to this country, if I were you, Matsumoto. I was born in Japan. And I will die for Japan if that is what is required. Regardless of who fathered me, I will not stop until liberty is restored to the Japanese people."

Matsumoto frowned for a moment then broke his hostile gaze and practiced an awkward, sloppy salute. "I understand, sir."

Naoto chuckled. "No need for saluting around here – we're not that strict and you're not that good at it. Welcome aboard, Hideki Matsumoto. Though I have to tell you, I'm also quite fond of those Britannian cookies that you slugged Tamaki for eating. I've given you fair warning and I can promise you I wont go down as easily as he did."

* * *

An: Another chapter for you. I hope you enjoyed it. I got impatient and chose not to wait for Darth Nacho to get back to me about this chapter, so if Lelouch's scene doesn't really reflect a true graduation ceremony or theres any other glaring mistakes in that part, that's why.

I'm so glad you're all still interested in this. Don't forget to review.

Allora.

PS: Oh yeah, and we're over 500 reviews on this sucker now! :D Thanks so much.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

"I found John Lorne."

Finally, some good news.

Finally is seemed like this investigation was going somewhere. And yet he knew he couldn't rush it. If he moved in on Lorne now, Kouzuki would probably completely disappear. This was a critical stage in their investigation, they couldn't afford to ruin it.

"Good. Get close to him. Finding Kouzuki is of the utmost importance." Jeremiah said. He'd been called in by Clovis earlier that week and, needless to say, the prince had not been impressed with his progress.

"I understand, sir." Matsumoto said over the phone.

"What can you tell me about Lorne? We haven't been able to find any record of him."

"Your intelligence was mistaken when you thought Kouzuki was the leader of the resistance cell. It's Lorne. Kouzuki may be working for him, though I haven't heard anyone mention the name Kouzuki or Naoto since I got here." Matsumoto answered. "Also, Lorne mentioned that he was born in Japan before the invasion. You may be able to find record of him if you check old immigration records from before the war. If they're still intact, sir."

"Is that so? Well I guess that explains a couple things." Jeremiah mused. It was always the Britannians that had previously forsaken the Empire that caused the most trouble. They were sympathetic with the Numbers, but because of their ethnicity were still granted full citizenship. They were disgraceful.

"Hurry up and find Kouzuki. And find something we can use as leverage against Lorne. If we need to, I'll bring him in and make him talk. Though I'd rather not give Kouzuki the advanced warning. The Viceroy is getting impatient with our progress." Jeremiah glowered at the desk in front of him. "I don't think I need to tell you, but if I go down, I will certainly be taking you with me."

"I understand, sir. I'll make sure that wont happen." Matsumoto said crisply.

"See that you do." Jeremiah growled and hung up the phone.

Things were taking much longer than initially anticipated. When Clovis had first given him this assignment. He'd expected for it to take a few weeks at the most to catch Kouzuki and repair his reputation with the Purebloods and the Viceroy. He had not expected it to take several months.

Matsumoto had been next to useless for weeks as he'd scoured the ghettos for the few leads they had. When he'd finally made contact with that Tamaki character, Jeremiah had been optimistic of a quick resolution to their little problem. But there had been no mention of Kouzuki and until today there had been no mention of Lorne either. He'd begun wondering if he wasn't barking up the wrong tree after all.

But now he knew that wasn't the case. He had hard evidence linking Yamamoto, Lorne and Kouzuki together. Tamaki had been with Yamamoto so he was really their only viable lead. And that other man who had dragged Tamaki off before he'd been able to fire a second shot . . . Jeremiah still didn't know his name but it was likely Matsumoto had already come into contact with him as well.

He had all the pieces in position, all he needed was for them to move. One little slip up, and he would have them. And if they continued to drag their heels, he'd take Lorne and make him talk. And he'd take great pleasure from breaking that traitorous bastard.

His office's privacy was invaded a few moments later. Kewell strode in, unannounced and without knocking, eying the lavish furniture he'd chosen for the room. Jeremiah's assistant stood helplessly in the door frame, an apology on her lips and a red mark on her cheek. It looked like Kewell had slapped her.

Frowning, Jeremiah sent the woman out. Manhandling his employees was unacceptable, but he'd let the bastard get away with it this time. The woman meant nothing to him and he woudn't let his subordinate get a rise out of him over something so trifling.

"Sir. We haven't seen you much lately. I came to make sure you were still well." Kewell said formally, saluting in front of his desk.

Jeremiah quirked his eyebrow but otherwise kept his face impassive. "Oh? Am I required to report my activities to you, Kewell?" He asked icily.

"No, sir." Kewell answered begrudgingly. It probably rankled him that Villeta knew what he was up to, but Kewell didn't. But Jeremiah didn't trust Kewell, especially not after Villeta's warning. It was partially Kewell's fault that he'd even agreed to this ridiculous assignment.

"For the record, I'm on a special assignment from the Viceroy and have been given command of a special unit. Until further notice, I've left Villeta Nu in command of my regular unit. I'm sure you're aware of that." Jeremiah explained. Villeta was his second in command and the only one of the bloodthirsty bastards that made up the Pureblood faction that he actually trusted.

"Of course, sir. I was simply concerned for your health." Kewell said smoothly.

Jeremiah refrained – just barely – from rolling his eyes. Most likely, Kewell was looking for evidence of his betrayal to their purist ideology. He'd only need a sliver of proof to stage a coup and wrest control of the Pureblood Faction from Jeremiah's hands.

Unfortunately, he wouldn't find any such evidence.

If he'd been working for Prince Lelouch, Jeremiah would have immediately resigned from his post as leader of the Pureblood Faction and damn the consequences. If Prince Lelouch had agreed to accept his services, he could have finally been done with this loathsome facade.

To believe that only noble blood made one worthy of carrying arms was completley ridiculous. Jeremiah had never met a finer soldier than Marianne 'the Flash'. And he'd never had a more inspiring commander than Marianne vi Britannia - the common-born fifth wife of the Emperor – and he doubted he ever would. If the Emperor could see the merit in a woman like Lady Marianne, then who was someone like Kewell to say otherwise?

No, such thoughts were ludicrous in and of themselves. But still – for survival's sake – he'd continue to wear this mask. For a while longer. Until a viable path of escape presented itself.

* * *

The Advanced Knightmare Training Program had been, for Lelouch, less troublesome than Basic training. While they were required to maintain an exercise regime, the majority of their times was spent inside Knightmares or learning about how they worked well enough to manage field repairs.

In the course of six weeks, Lelouch had learned that he was hopelessly arrogant. He'd thought that, because he'd engaged in pleasant dinnertime conversation with Reuben about the Sutherlands, that he'd know everything there was to know about the Knightmares. No doubt if Harken had been a Knightmare trainer, rather than a Basic Training instructor, he'd have torn Lelouch a new one for his pigheadedness.

Oh, he'd know the basics about Knightmares, to be sure. He'd had a good general understanding and hundreds more hours of experience in the machines than the other recruits. But that didn't mean he _knew_ Knightmares. Not until he'd completed the Advanced Knightmare Training Program.

It wasn't just about learning how to accurately fire slash harkens (though that was a part of it too), or how to simultaneously pilot and communicate while formulating strategy. It was a comprehensive knowledge about Knightmares that made the Knights the most formidable, elite soldiers of Britannia's expansive military.

He was confident that his skills had been honed. Confident that he could get his Knightmare out of even shoulder-deep swamp so long as there was something solid to shoot his slash harkens into within a hundred meters. Confident that he could make his machine perform at optimal levels in any environment, in any situation. Confident he could shoot an enemy Knightmare almost half a mile away with his KMF rifle.

Most importantly, he had been taught how to lead. At any given time, a Knight could be asked to take command of another lesser unit. Knights were expected to be paragons in the field, able to lead and follow at will. Able to understand a situation in an instant and react accordingly, using what resources were available to him. The gift of leadership came naturally to Lelouch, but even he had learned a thing or two and experience was never to be frowned upon.

AKTP had been challenging, but Lelouch had enjoyed the experience. His commanding officer, Sergeant Borne, while strict, had managed to be encouraging at the same time. He certainly hadn't missed Harken and his constant insults. If he was lucky, he would never again hear a sentence beginning with the phrase 'do you think that just because your daddy is the Emperor . . ."

He had excelled in the training. He was no ace, but he was certainly more than merely competent. That, combined with his heritage had earned him the respect of almost every pilot in his training group – instructor aides included. But it was because of his heritage that he'd just spent the last twelve hours on a plane to the main military base in Area Eighteen. Cornelia had decided to take him under her wing and had ordered him onto the next plane being deployed into the area.

Once again without the opportunity to return to the Aeries Villa and Abigail. He could imagine she was probably getting frustrated with him. He hadn't contacted her at all about his acceptance into the AKTP or his subsequent deployment. He bet she'd have a thing or two to say to him when he got back . . . in however many months it took to subdue Area Eighteen.

He was destined for the front line base in the city of Amman where Cornelia was camped and, unfortunately, stymied by the enemy. The inhabitants of what Britannia now called Area Eighteen were doing their best to protect their ancient holy city of Jerusalem and despite the odds against them, they'd actually managed to put a halt to the Britannian war machine. But it was unfortunate for them that Cornelia was the one in charge of this invasion.

She was known as the 'Goddess of Victory' for a reason. But it wasn't the reason that was immediately apparent. Yes, Cornelia won. But it wasn't usually by any great tactical planning or strategic ploy. She won because she was determined to win, no matter the cost. Like a dog with a bone, she would continue to gnaw at her enemies until she finally broke them.

However, before he could get into the situation at Amman, first he had to fly in to Unayzah – Cornelia's newly dubbed capitol of the region if only for it's generally central location and the fact that it had been subdued quickly but easily fortified. Then he would have to board another plane headed to Amman.

He wasn't sure if his butt could take much more sitting around.

Since he'd joined the military – and since Harken had made him run more miles than most track stars – he'd found himself much more full of energy than he had once been. He could no longer spend hours idly inactive. He needed to move at least occasionally. Which was why this flight had been hell. He hadn't even had anything particularly demanding to think about to occupy his mind. He was following orders, as his and Schneizel's plan demanded for the moment.

Lelouch was surprised when he stepped off the plane into the military airport in Unayzah to find Lord Gilbert Guilford there. That Cornelia had sent her own personal Knight of Honor to meet him at the airport was a little intimidating (not to mention shocking). The man was known for his unwavering loyalty to his princess. He loathed to leave her shadow for any reason, so to be sent so far from her for his sake couldn't have been Guilford's idea.

"Your highness," Guilford said calmly, bowing his head in respect.

"Sir." Lelouch saluted. Like it or not, even as a Knight he had little actual authority in the military hierarchy and a man like Guilford out-ranked him by miles.

"This way, if you would."

He followed Guilford through the airport to a runway hosting a single fighter jet. Lelouch hadn't actually seen one since before Knightmares hit the assembly lines, but it was obvious this one wasn't almost a decade old. In fact it looked new. Obviously, Cornelia had a hand in some new weapon developments. The plane would be useless against Knightmares. After all, Knightmare body armor was built to withstand damage from even heavy artillery fire and tanks. But the jet had a mobility the Knightmares couldn't beat – the ability to get away simply by moving out of reach. Until Knightmares could fly, jets like this could at least be used for reconnaissance (or for ferrying important people around, apparently) with little to no risk of taking damage.

Lelouch found Guilford particularly anti-social for the hour and forty-five minutes they were in the air. He doubted it was from the amount of concentration required to pilot the craft they were on. To Guilford, there was only one member of the Imperial family – Cornelia. That he'd been sent away from her to play escort for Lelouch no doubt rankled him.

Guilford's loyalty to the princess bordered on the extreme. There were rumors that he camped outside her door at night and searched any lovers she decided to take to bed before she could get to them. Personally, Lelouch thought that was absurd – as if his sister would be careless enough to take someone she didn't completely trust to bed – and was of the opinion that Guilford _was_ Cornelia's lover. Not that he cared. And not that he would ever ask (he very much liked his head attached to the rest of his body).

Cornelia had chosen her Knight of Honor the day after she'd turned eighteen. They'd grown up together, attended schooling together and had enlisted in the army together. Even despite his lack of experience at the time, Guilford's skills had been acknowledged as amongst the best – like Knights of the Round levels. To be chosen as her Knight was a massive honor and of course he had immediately taken her up on it. He'd followed her into battle ever since, taking part and ensuring victory in every skirmish Cornelia had ever entered and foiling countless assassination plots.

The man took his job seriously, but that didn't mean he always liked the orders he was given. He maintained a resolute silence except for a few, evenly spoken instructions the entire way to Amman. Though Lelouch did notice that the man slowly came more and more lively the closer they got to Cornelia. By the time the plane was landed, Guilford was eager to be back with his princess and held a pace through the military base at Amman that even Lelouch with his long legs had a hard time keeping up with.

Obviously, the man was eager to see Cornelia again and make sure she was safe. Lelouch was anxious to see his sister too. Aside from that very brief welcome and a hug when he first arrived in Pendragon, he hadn't seen his sister since his mother's assassination.

Cornelia had idolized Marianne, applying to be part of the Empress' guard despite the impropriety of having an Imperial princess in service to a common-born Empress. When he was a child, Cornelia had often spoken of how she was learning everything she could from his mother. She'd bragged about how one day she'd have a reputation fit to rival Marianne's.

He supposed that wish had come true for Cornelia in the interceding years. Britannia's 'Goddess of Victory' was known throughout the Empire as the most ferocious and determined of all the Emperor's children. The Chief General was a formidable foe in and of herself with her custom Gloucester Knightmare and the skills to pilot it learned from Marianne 'the Flash' herself. But add to her threat level her personal Knight, Guilford, who could have been a Knight of the Round if his loyalties had been seated elsewhere, and the Glaston Knights, Cornelia's own personal militia, and she became a force to be reckoned with. Whether acting from a command center at the rear, or personally leading her men into battle, Cornelia excelled at war.

Cornelia's command center was a well-organized bustle of activity when they arrived. Maps were strewn across tables, photographic images of the terrain and an enemy fortification were displayed on countless monitors and operators were standing by to relay orders to the troops. In the center sat Cornelia, as confident as any queen, with her legs crossed and her chin resting on her hand. She looked irritated, and Lelouch had learned years ago that it was best to leave her presence when that look crossed her face.

He wondered, for a moment, if maybe he shouldn't come back later, but her gaze shot across the room to them as soon as Guilford opened the door and she sat up a little straighter. "Thank you, Guilford." She said with a smile before her eyes traveled to Lelouch and turned cold. "Everyone out." She ordered firmly and her support staff scrambled to comply. Guildford didn't move from the post he had taken up beside her chair.

Lelouch saluted. "Chief General."

"Lelouch." She said, running a critical eye over him. "I see you weren't too soft for the military." She said finally.

"Thank you."

"You got off lucky." Cornelia growled. "Just what the hell were you thinking coming back here? Father could have had you executed. I understand you wanting to keep away after the invasion, but you should have made sure you stayed away. Just what are you planning?"

Lelouch's eyes narrowed, scenting the danger this line of questioning was taking. "I'm not planning anything. It's not as though I willingly volunteered to return to Pendragon."

"No, but you wanted to be caught." Cornelia accused. "You stayed in the same city Clovis based his administration out of when you had a whole country to choose from. Then you put up an elaborate act about trying to get away and get caught coming out of a bank a few hours later? Don't make me laugh, Lelouch. Just what are you hoping to accomplish with all this?"

"I'm not hoping to accomplish anything." Lelouch snarled. Staying in Tokyo had been the only way to guarantee Nunnally's safety. If they'd chosen to live somewhere else, it would have been without the Ashford's help and at the time that hadn't been an option. Striking out on their own when he was only ten would have been impossible. Maybe if he'd been alone, but there was no way he could have taken proper care of Nunnally without the Ashford's help. The Ashford's had shielded them and lied on their behalf for years while supporting them.

Did other people entertain the same thoughts as Cornelia? Did people think that he'd allowed himself to get caught in order to put into action some nefarious plot? It didn't matter if it happened to be true, he hadn't _wanted_ to be caught by Clovis. He hadn't meant for it to happen. If he'd had a choice, he would have still being in Area Eleven, sleeping through classes and engaging in under aged gambling. "You were a lot less hostile the last time we met."

Cornelia snorted disdainfully. "Yes, at the time I was just so relieved that you were alive. I had to see it for myself, to make sure you weren't an imposter. But the more time I've had to think about, the more I think you're up to something. Why is it that Schneizel pushed so hard to get you into the Knightmare Corps? Did you ask him to or is he using you, Lelouch?"

"First me and now you're doubting Schneizel, Cornelia?" Lelouch asked. He needed to turn the tables quickly or he was going to be in serious trouble. While he doubted she'd be able to charge him with treason, she was his commanding officer and could easily send him into an impossible situation to get rid of him if she thought he had turned traitor. The question was _would _she? And her quickness to point the finger at Schneizel was disturbing as well. She'd had far too much time to think about his situation and just what had Schneizel said to her to get him into the KMF Corps?

"I _asked_ him to get me in. He owed it to me. I beat him in a chess game and so he owed me a favor." Lelouch bluffed, "When I said I wanted into the KMF Corps, he said he could do it. He said that it was shameful that his brother was going to be stuck in the Infantry Corps, so that's probably why he tried so hard. End of story. There's no big conspiracy going on. I promise."

Cornelia stared hard at him and he stared back, refusing to be cowed or to show his anxiety. This was dangerous territory. That Cornelia had guessed so close to the mark so easily was worrying. He would have to cut back his interaction with Schneizel to a minimum.

"It is shameful," Cornelia barked as she rose from her chair and her expression softened a little. "Not quite the reunion I hoped for." She said as she pulled him into a quick hug. "I'm sorry but my duty to the Empire must always come first." Well, at least now he explicitly knew. Cornelia would never be his ally. "I'm making you a corporal. It's not much, but there's only so much I can do with Father 's orders to let you try your hand at military life on your own. You'll be the Squad Leader of the Fourth Squad of the Eighth Western Platoon. They're competent enough men." Coming from Cornelia, that was probably the highest order of praise.

"Cornelia. . ." He said in surprise. One moment she was accusing him of treason and the next she was promoting him. He needed to figure out how she thought and he needed to do it quickly. As a child, he'd honed his ability to annoy and frustrate Cornelia almost to an artform, but such abilities would do nothing for him now. "Thank you, Chief General." He saluted stiffly and tried to hide his shock.

He was then debriefed on their current situation. The enemy – all those varied inhabitants of the region now dubbed Area Eighteen who opposed Britannian rule – had been pushed back and back into a last few strongholds along the Dead Sea. Cornelia's forces outnumbered them twenty to one, but the Eighteens had been living and fighting in the desert here for millenia. They'd learned a thing or two along the way. The Cursed Sands Fort (as the soldiers had taken to calling it for lack of being able to pronounce it's Arabic name) had been built on what Lelouch had to assume was a little promontory of solid ground in the midst of shifting sand dunes.

Landspinners were more than useless in such terrain. They were actually a hindrance. To get Knightmares to move, the pilot had to actually put the machine through the steps. And even then the Knightmares often ended up sinking in the sand and making a nice, stationary target for the enemy's guns.

Cornelia, however, refused to believe that the Knightmares could be beaten by such archaic weapons as tanks. It was her fault this engagement was taking so long. She was determined to beat them with Britannia's favorite weapon and so she continued throwing more and more Knights at the Eighteens.

As damaging as this campaign had to be to her pride, she probably could have ended it quickly if she'd been willing to adapt. But Cornelia had always liked to do things her way – and you learned not to oppose her very quickly when her mind was made up about how she was going to do something.

"I understand, Chief General." He saluted.

"Corporal," She said, returning his salute, "go see to your men."

He did as he was told, following a member of Cornelia's support staff through the base – a strictly ordered mass of canvas tents and prefabricated trailers.

"Each squad is given it's own hangar and mechanic." Cornelia's man explained. "There's also room for briefing and some lockers for storage of extra equipment. In a way, it will become your personal command center."

The hangar – and Lelouch used the term lightly – was one of the huge canvas structures he'd seen dotting the surrounding area. When he let himself inside, he came face to face with six Sutherlands in mostly mint condition - but otherwise the hangar was empty.

He familiarized himself with his new workplace, running a hand over the scratched and worn table pushed to one side and the mechanic's workbench (pushed as far away from the table as possible). There were lockers – a whole row of them facing away from the entrance to provide a little privacy. Lelouch had just begun taking an inventory of what his squad was keeping as extra equipment when he heard voices in the hangar.

"Alright, so where is he then?"

"Hey, can the attitude, _Gilderoy_."

"Don't call me that. And how are you not more pissed, Hector? You were just demoted from our squad leader to some Imperial kid's lackey."

"Okay, so maybe I'm a little pissed, but I'm not going to make a big deal about it. The orders came from the Chief General herself, so there's nothing I can do about it." Hector replied.

"Yeah, and nothing will change so long as you don't voice your opinion about it. Come on, this kid is about as green as he can get, prince or no. And we're expected to follow him into combat? Get real."

"He may be inexperienced, but he's still a prince and it's still orders, Roy."

"Well what is this then? Some publicity stunt to gain favor with the court? Kissing babies and shaking hands with soldiers taken to the next level? There's no reason for a prince to be enlisted in the KMF Corps. Maybe as an officer, but not amongst the enlisted men. I bet he's got his head stuffed so far up his ass he can't even see the light of day."

"I've heard he's pretty down to earth for royalty."

"Because he was 'raised as a commoner'? Come on, don't give me that shit. Did you even watch that announcement? How pretentious can you get? He went on national television to brag about how normal he was."

"You should give him a chance at least. Don't go setting yourself against him before you've even met him."

"I would have given him a chance if he'd been here when he was supposed to be here. No doubt he's off having tea with the Chief General and discussing the latest show at the opera or something else just as hoity-toity."

"It's interesting," Lelouch said finally, deciding to stop the man named Gilderoy from digging himself into any deeper of a hole, "to hear what people have to say about you when they think you're not listening." When he stepped around the corner it was to meet the incredulous stares of four men and one woman. "I'm Corporal Lelouch vi Britannia."

"God fucking dammit son of a bitch." One of them said loudly. "I deeply apologize, sir."

The man, Gilderoy, was older than Lelouch by five or six years and had a head of chestnut dreadlocks tied back under a white bandana. Hair style was meticulously regulated during training, but once a soldier made it into the KMF Corps, they really didn't care what your hair looked like so long as you could pilot decently.

"Don't. However, for the record, she didn't offer me tea and Cornelia's never been one for the opera." Lelouch said calmly, eying his men over as they stood stiff at attention. He frowned when his gaze passed over the second man from the right. There was something uncannily familiar about him, but Lelouch couldn't remember meeting him in his life.

"Something wrong, sir?" The man asked and Lelouch recognized his voice as the one who had been called Hector.

"No. You just remind me of someone." Lelouch said, finally placing the familiarity. His eyes were the exact same shade as . . .

"Well that's good. Lukas will be pleased to learn that you haven't completely forgotten about him already." The man grinned broadly. "Assistant Squad Leader, Corporal Hector Zimmerman, sir." He was a broad shouldered man who towered over Lelouch, wearing a wide grin and the exact same eyes as Lukas.

Lelouch laughed. He supposed it really was a small world. "I should hope I haven't forgotten your brother, he's a very good friend of mine and it's only been four days since I last saw him. So you're the unification theorist, are you?"

Zimmerman paused, caught off guard. It wasn't exactly surprising. Discussing a theory for future peace that hinged on the birth of a new regime wasn't something most people would discuss with an Imperial prince.

"He told you about that, did he?" Hector asked warily.

"You could say that." Lelouch nodded, "And you can stop watching me to see if I'm going to shoot you. The theory's sound."

"Yes, sir." Zimmerman said, relaxing a fraction.

"Now, please introduce yourselves." Lelouch said, turning to acknowledge the rest of his soldiers.

"You didn't read our personnel files?" Hector asked.

"No." Lelouch shook his head. "I decided I'd let you make your own first impressions. I'll read them later."

"Private Roy Yates, sir. Former Assistant Squad Leader." The loudmouthed realist with the dreadlocks introduced.

"Private Amanda Lyons, sir." A woman with short blond hair said, her figure completely hidden beneath the standard Knight uniform. It was only her high cheekbones, pointed chin and alto voice that gave her away as a member of the fairer sex.

"Private Charles Simpson, sir." Probably the oldest of the group, looked to be about in his mid-thirties with a jagged, discolored scar running down the left side of his neck. Probably from a burn.

"Private Nickolas Denvers, sir." He promptly saluted, despite it being unnecessary in regards to Lelouch's present rank. However, as a prince, it was expected that soldiers would salute in greeting as opposed to a bow. It was good to know which of them thought of him as a soldier and which of them thought of him as a prince. That kind of information would come in useful later, he bet.

Lelouch nodded. "I'm only going to say this once, so do please listen. I'm not particularly strict on the formalities, however I do expect to be obeyed. I understand your resentment of my position and the fact that I was only put in charge of your unit because the Chief General was ashamed of my position. However, I swear I will do my best to perform to your standards.

"Your unit has obviously impressed my sister, so I know I have good soldiers in you. If you have an opinion about something I'm doing, voice it. You have more experience than I do, you've been fighting in this dessert for most of the last year and I value that experience. I wont necessarily act on it, but I will listen if you have something to tell me. Understood?"

He was met by a shouted chorus of "Sir, yes, sir!" that reminded him far too much of Basic.

"Your orders, Corporal vi Britannia?" Zimmerman asked.

"Please," Lelouch said, holding up one hand, "I said I wasn't a stickler for formalities. I'm going to be fighting alongside you from now on, so just call me Lelouch." He said with a small smile. Oh, he could be charming when he needed to be. And right now, in a camp full of Cornelia's men while she was suspicious of him, he needed to be.

This was sure to be a challenge.

* * *

AN: Thanks for reading. Apologies to all those who wanted him to go to Japan, but the world's bigger than just Area Eleven and Britannia has bigger problems at the moment than the Eleven terrorists. He'll get there eventually, I promise. Don't forget to review.

Allora


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Milly had made up her mind. She just had to do it quickly – like pulling a band-aid off – and this horrible anxious nausea would cease.

She needed to find Rivalz.

She hadn't been alone with him since he'd confessed his feelings for her. It wasn't that she was avoiding him, per se, it was simply that she had made sure to have a constant escort of one or more of her friends around at all times to prevent any awkward situations from cropping up before she was ready to deal with them. But she was ready now. She'd made up her mind.

Which was why she was currently headed for the computer lab closest to the boy's dorm. Rivalz – one of the few students who had decided to remain on campus over the summer due to his parents being away in the E.U. on business – had taken to spending most of his evenings there since Lelouch had left, playing online chess games in hopes of proving his friend wrong about his skills. Milly didn't really know how it was going for him, but she knew he was usually in there alone. Which worked well for her because she didn't want too many witnesses for this.

She arrived at the computer lab to find the lights turned out and the room empty. She'd missed him then. A wave of disappointment shot through her. If she didn't do this now, would she lose her nerve? Now that she'd finally mustered up the courage to act, instead of awkwardly dancing around the issue as she'd been doing for the last few months, her efforts were to be thwarted by a change in his schedule?

Not happening.

_Where was he?_ She had it from a reliable source that Rivalz always stayed in the lab until almost ten o'clock before heading back to his dorm. It was only ten after nine. He should be here. Playing chess. Trying to fill the void in their lives that Lelouch had left.

Losing Lelouch hadn't been easy on any of them, but Milly secretly thought that Rivalz was having the hardest time coping with it. Even more than Shirley who had had to watch the boy she loved marry someone else. Rivalz and Lelouch had spent almost all their time together – whether they were in class or out of it. She'd often joked that they were joined at the hip. They were real partners in crime and Rivalz had been a little lost ever since Lelouch had been taken back to Britannia.

Sighing, she was about to leave when the door to the men's room opened behind her and Rivalz stepped out, looking a little tired and a lot surprised.

"Milly . . ." He breathed, staring at her in astonishment before glancing away awkwardly. "Ah, I was just about to lock up and head back to the dorms. You have the key, right? So you can lock up when you're done?"

He turned away before she could respond, hurrying away down the corridor. He was almost to the corner and out of sight before she snapped out of it and was able to respond. "Rivalz, wait!" She called out and he paused – mid-step – only meters away from the exit. If he made a mad dash for the exit, she wouldn't follow him. Obviously she'd hurt him and he'd have decided to get over it.

But he didn't flee.

He simply stayed there, staring a hole in the floor at his feet. Refusing to look at her.

Slowly, tentatively – what was wrong with her? Milly Ashford was _not_ tentative! - she made her way down the hallway and came to stand in front of him. Blocking the exit. He'd stopped, so he had to at least hear her out. He'd already forsaken his opportunity to escape.

"Rivalz . . ." She said quietly, suddenly at a loss for words. What had happened to that well thought out speech she had previously prepared? Milly Ashford did _not_ get speechless either. And why was this so hard?

"Listen, Milly, you really don't have to say anything." Rivalz interrupted, looking up to make steady eye contact with her. "I was stupid. I shouldn't have said anything. And I'm sorry to have -"

"God, why can't you just shut up?" Milly demanded, cutting him off. And then she did the only thing she thought would solve the problem of her tongue-tiedness. She remorselessly grabbed him by the front of his school uniform and kissed him. Not a hot and heavy make-out session, but enough to make him understand that her answer was yes. And that she'd just been trying to come up with the right words to explain how she was feeling about all this.

For a moment, Rivalz was frozen in surprise, then he dropped his school bag and enthusiastically kissed her back. But when they pulled apart, he was still staring at her like she'd grown a second head.

"What?" Milly asked defensively as she stepped back from him and crossed her arms over her chest. She suddenly felt very vulnerable and she didn't like it. But it was the cost of this relationship. That she'd have to take it seriously – because it was Rivalz and because he was important to her. "You wanted to be my boyfriend, didn't you?"

She glared at him, trying to regain the confidence she felt when she was leading the Student Council in one activity or another and tried to force an answer out of him. Was she too late then? Had she missed her chance? Left it too long? Was she just making a fool of herself here?

"Y-yes! Yes, of course I do, Milly." Rivalz exclaimed, reaching out to grab her hand, as though afraid she was suddenly going to turn tail and flee. The thought had crossed her mind. "I thought that you didn't. I mean, you didn't say anything for so long. I thought it was pretty clear that that was a 'no'."

"I was just . . ." She hesitated (no! Milly Ashford didn't hesitate.), "considering it. Trying to make up my mind. Let's just . . . see where this can go?"

She was sure she was blushing like some inexperienced freshman and she hated every second of it. When had she ever felt this stupid? This uncertain of herself? It wasn't in her nature. She had always been the loud, boisterous queen of Ashford Academy. She'd always possessed a confidence born from her nobility (even if they hadn't taken the titles away, it didn't change who she was or how she'd been raised).

"Yes." Rivalz said steadily, before leaning in to brush his lips against her cheek. She felt warmth spread across her cheeks and knew that however badly she'd been blushing before, it was infinitely worse now. Rivalz glanced away and retrieved his school bag from the floor and slung it over his shoulder before holding out his hand to her. "Would you like to go get a coffee or something? We could go to that cafe around the corner."

She nodded mutely as her face burned, afraid that if she said anything it would sound stupid. And when had that ever happened to her before? She was Milly Ashford damn it! She needed to stop stressing and regain control of herself.

It was only Rivalz. And yet somehow, despite the fact that they'd gone out for coffee together countless times in the past, this time it seemed more vitally important. Because, she supposed, it was technically their first _date_.

She closed her eyes for a second and forced the blush from her cheeks using that patented Ashford force of will before smiling at Rivalz and taking his hand. "Sure. I could go for a mocha." She said calmly, pleased that she sounded more like her normal self.

"One mocha for the lovely lady coming right up." He promised with a mock bow. "Let's hurry before they close."

* * *

Lelouch had officially decided that being confined within a Knightmare in the middle of August in the _Sahara _was miserable work. Knightmares were tools of war, not leisure vehicles and so weren't equipped with an air conditioning system. To make up for this shortcoming, their flight suits were stuffed with cooling packs, but they only really helped for the first hour of operations before the pilot just ended up feeling like his suit was stuffed with warm jell-o. It was a disconcerting sensation.

He ran his fingers through his sweat-laden hair as he opened up his cockpit, breathing in the first glorious breaths of unfiltered air in ten hours. Despite his oath to never let the military cut his hair again, it had been necessary. His old hair style had been impractical in this heat and so while he wasn't bald like in training, his hair was shorn a lot closer than it would otherwise have been. He couldn't understand how Roy could tolerate dreadlocks in this kind of an environment.

He'd had his hair cut his second day in Area Eighteen, after discovering that sand liked sticking in his sweaty hair. He hadn't been able to stand the grit. It stuck to everything, coating his hands and face with a thin layer of dust whenever he spent any real time outside or sweat even a little – which was impossible not to do in this oppressive heat.

Overall, he hated Area Eighteen.

Or rather the climate of Area Eighteen. No, he decided, quite possibly the entire Area as well. Or at least the few parts he'd seen – which mostly consisted of the base and the few kilometers surrounding it to the southeast.

Cornelia was coddling him.

Before being assigned as his squad's leader, the Fourth Squad of the Eight Western Platoon had garnered a ferocious reputation for themselves on the front lines. They were known for wicked efficiency and quick, clean kills. Paragons amongst paragons in the field and had been commended for their efforts by Cornelia multiple times.

Since being assigned as their squad leader, Lelouch hadn't actually _seen_ an enemy, much less engaged one in combat. Instead of joining the majority of Cornelia's forces on the front lines, their squad had been tasked as sentries watching the land south of the eastern approach to the base. Cornelia didn't want anyone sneaking up on them from behind while her concentration was focused in the west.

While Lelouch could acknowledge the validity of the task – it needed to be done – he still wished that _his_ squad hadn't been the ones assigned to doing it. For lack of a better word, it was boring. He spent his days staring at hazy brown landscapes looking for anything out of place. One day they'd come across a family of refugees fleeing northward with all of their possessions carried on their backs. Otherwise, he hadn't seen another living soul out on his patrols.

Needless to say, it wasn't the glorious beginning to his military career that he'd imagined.

"Coming to the mess, Lelouch?" Charles inquired as he released himself from the cockpit of the Sutherland next to his. He'd slowly begun ingratiating himself into the already established group and was well on his way to being accepted. They tried to include him in their personal conversations and actually made the attempt to get to know him. Lelouch did the same, finding the men under his command as normal (and not maliciously sadistic) as could be hoped for for Britannian soldiers.

"Not yet. I have to file an official report about all the nothing we witnessed today." Lelouch grumbled as he made his way to the table where he'd set up an impromptu kind of desk - complete with laptop, stapler and a cardboard box of paperclips. "I'll catch up with you guys later."

"Want me to hang back?" Hector offered. As the previous leader of this squad, Hector was well versed in all the various forms of paperwork that accompanied the position.

Lelouch waved him away. "It's not worth it. It wont take long."

Honestly, by the time the rest of his men had finished putting way their gear and were ready to go, he was already halfway done the report. The area they were responsible for patrolling stretched over the miles of barren dessert south of the main road into Amman. The only real discernible landmarks along their route was a burnt out town site that was probably abandoned in the first stages of the invasion and an old quarry.

Lelouch leaned back in his chair and scrubbed his hands over his face. Cornelia wasn't doing him any favors by keeping him away from danger. He wasn't sure if she was deliberately trying to thwart his attempts to gain support from her troops or if she just genuinely wanted to protect him. Either way, it was a major hang up in his plans.

While he understood that soldiers who could follow orders were what made the military so efficient, simply following orders wasn't going to get him where he needed to go. But if he, say, deliberately engaged the enemy on his own, without approval from some higher power, that wouldn't gain him anything either. At best he'd be labeled unstable, at worst – a renegade.

He wondered if scheduling a meeting with Cornelia to discuss his squad's imprudent placement would help anything. Using more polite words, of course. But somehow he doubted even that would help. Whether she was trying to hinder him or protect him, either way she wouldn't be inclined to put him on the front lines.

Or was she only testing him? Probing to see how much it would take for him to stand up against her? Or to see how low he'd bow under her rule? He'd prefer it if that weren't the case. It sounded far too much like his situation with the Emperor.

That thought brought a sour taste to his mouth. This subservience . . . he hadn't thought about it in a while. His mission – throwing down that tyrant – had never strayed from his thoughts. But he'd deliberately blocked out how the Emperor was viewing this whole charade. It galled him that he was forced to play along like this.

He just wanted to . . . he wanted this part of the operation to end. He wanted to be able to declare openly his loathing for the Emperor and the Empire's founding ideology. He wanted to stop being so _fake_. And yet that didn't seem like quite the right way to describe what he was feeling.

No, what he was really feeling was useless. Schneizel had so much power, and all of Schneizel's allies had power in turn. And while Schneizel was sitting back in Pendragon acquiring more allies and more power – the power they would need to move against the Emperor – he was stuck playing soldier in Area Eighteen and being generally useless. At the moment, there was nothing separating him from the countless other soldiers that had been called to serve in Area Eighteen. And there was no way an average soldier could take down the Emperor.

He was still musing over his situation when Hansel von Hoffman arrived at their hangar for work. Von Hoffman was a robust man in his mid-fifties with salt and pepper hair and darkly tanned skin. His squad's mechanic had gotten into the habit of only arriving at the hangar after the pilots had already gone on their way. Lelouch had only met him once before for the obligatory introductions on his first day on the base. Otherwise, the Knightmares in his hangar just seemed to clean and maintain themselves. They brought them in dirty and by morning they were clean and in top condition. It was almost magical.

"Ah, your highness," von Hoffman said awkwardly, "I didn't realize you were still working here. I'll come back."

"Don't be ridiculous." Lelouch said quickly, waving for him to enter. "Don't let me keep you from your job. I'm almost finished here."

"Of course, your highness." The man said, sidling into the building and towards the workbench across from Lelouch's 'desk'.

There was some awkward clanking around of tools, as though the mechanic was trying to sort through them as quietly as possible. Shaking his head, Lelouch leaned back towards the keyboard and resumed typing out his report.

He had just finished when a high-pitched whine that threatened to make his eardrums bleed began resonating from one of the Sutherlands. Grimacing, he shut down the computer and went to check it out – hands clamped firmly over his ears.

Von Hoffman sat unaffected, bent over the foot of Nickolas' Sutherland with a pair of industrial mufflers protecting his ears. The horrible noise stopped the moment Lelouch poked the mechanic in the shoulder. The ear mufflers came off, followed by a pair of ear plugs, before he began apologizing.

"I'm terribly sorry, your highness. I forgot how loud it was." Von Hoffman said immediately.

"It's fine." Lelouch said, his eyes drawn to the two foot long metal instrument in the man's hand. He'd never seen anything like it before, and he liked to think of himself as moderately well acquainted with the tools needed to maintain a Knightmare. At AKTP they'd been required to maintain their own Knightmares. Really, having their own mechanic was a luxury in comparison. Though, he supposed, wearing down the people who were supposed to be winning a war for Britannia with extra work that could be done by someone more capable wasn't exactly prudent. "What is that?" He asked, pointing at the device.

"Ah . . . this?" Von Hoffman said, glancing down at it a little guiltily. "This . . . doesn't have a name yet."

Lelouch quirked his eyebrow. "Oh? What does it do?"

"It, um, sends out a sonic wave that causes vibration in the quartz crystals of the sand. Which means that when you devicers brings your Knightmares in looking like some kind of Egyptian statues, I don't have to spend six hours trying to clean them up before I can fix them." Von Hoffman said awkwardly.

"Why do I get the impression that you're not supposed to have it?" Lelouch inquired. There was a definite nervousness in the man's countenance. "Where did you get it?"

Von Hoffman opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again, left gaping like a fish. "I . . ., your highness, it's . . . okay, I admit that this hasn't been approved by the Engineering Corps safety committee, but it's completely safe. I promise."

"Where did you get it?" Lelouch asked again.

"Um . . . I made it, sir. I've been waiting for the patents to go through so the committee can approve it. But . . . well that doesn't seem very likely to happen any time soon." Von Hoffman grumbled, glowering at his unnamed device.

Lelouch frowned, spying another of the devices laying on a nearby table. "Why not?" Lelouch asked, lifting the instrument up. It wasn't as heavy as he'd expected it to be, but it was unevenly weighted.

"You . . . uh, didn't read my personnel file, did you, your highness?"

His eyes narrowed suspiciously as he turned back to his team's mechanic. Just what was it that von Hoffman was alluding to? Did he have a record of blowing things up with his inventions? "No, I didn't. Not to offend you, but as you wont be going into a combat situation with me, I didn't bother. The others said you did good work. Is there something I should know?"

Von Hoffman stared at his feet for a moment before raising his head to look Lelouch in the eye. "Technically, I'm a Number, sir."

Lelouch's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "You are? But how?" As a general rule, he didn't think Numbers were accepted into the military – except in Area Eleven where Clovis had implemented the Honorary Britannian system.

"How did I get into the military? Area Six is stable so select individuals with sought after skills are allowed to enlist under a probationary statute. If we screw up once, we're executed, but they were willing to pay me enough to counter my initial misgivings." Von Hoffman shrugged. "They certainly paid better than anyone else back home."

"Area Six? South America?" Lelouch questioned bewilderedly. Von Hoffman looked Britannian.

The older man chuckled. "Well, my parents emigrated to Argentina from Germany when I was just a kid. So I suppose you could call me an immigrant from the E.U., but I doubt that would win me any more popularity, what with the current situation over there. So, I'm a Six, sir. Now you know." He finished a little uncertainly.

"I don't have a problem with the Numbers, Von Hoffman." Lelouch assured him, his gaze falling back on the device. "It's because you're a Number that your patents wont be approved, isn't it?"

"Yes, your highness." Von Hoffman answered bitterly.

"But you're sure it's safe?" Lelouch asked.

"Of course, sir. I have no intention of blowing myself up."

"Then why wont the safety committee approve of it's use? Whether or not it's patented or named, if the device is effective and safe, why not use it?" Lelouch mused.

"They've fed me a crock and bull story about how the resonance could set off the sakuradite cores in the Knightmare frames. But that's utterly ridiculous. The core's submerged in a non-conductive gel every time the machine goes into stasis. So even if this frequency did resonate with the sakuradite – which it doesn't – there would be no way for it to cause damage to the machine unless the submersion function was disabled." Von Hoffman explained with a scowl.

Lelouch pondered this for a moment, tapping his finger against his chin before shrugging. "Von Hoffman, I, Lelouch vi Britannia," He said with dramatic flair and a sarcastic smile, "condone the use of this unnamed device on my squad's KMF frames. If anyone tries to give you trouble about it, you send them to me. I have no problem with invention so long as it's safe. After all, innovation is the breath of life in a war. It's unfortunate my sister doesn't feel the same way."

Von Hoffman's eyes widened in surprise. "You're serious, sir? But what about . . . I'm still a Number."

"As if I care about that." Lelouch smirked. "All I care about is if you're capable. And you are. I don't care where you come from so long as you do your job right. One day, people will be judged for their own merit. It wont matter who's a Number and who's Britannian. Or who's of noble blood and who's common born. I will effect that change on a large scale some day, but for now, I'm going to start here, within this small domain I've been given. You are a part of my squad, Von Hoffman. Therefore, you follow my rules. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir. I understand you perfectly, your highness. Thank you very much." Von Hoffman said hurriedly, saluting formally.

"Excellent." Lelouch smiled. That had been easy. He knew he could be charismatic when he needed to be. It was all just about dealing with individuals and appealing to their hopes and fears. "I'll leave you to your work then. I'm not in a hurry to hear that noise again, so I'll be heading out. Good night, Von Hoffman."

* * *

Nunnally looked . . . strained. Like she wasn't sleeping and had too much on her mind. Which was probably true, Nina mused as she stared into her teacup across the table from the princess. This was hard on Nunnally, especially now. In the past, Lelouch had always taken Nunnally away on vacation somewhere during their summer holidays. Just the two of them with no school, no Student Council Meetings and no friends to cause a bunch of chaos for them.

This year, she thought it might be the first time Nunnally had spent the summer without him. Without the distraction all the school work Sayoko had brought for her, Nina could well understand why Nunnally was restless. Beside her, spread across one end of the dining room table were a couple long chains of origami cranes. Nunnally had said she'd finished the project a couple weeks ago. One thousand cranes.

She was still waiting for her wish to come true.

"Nina . . . Lelouch hasn't contacted you, has he?" Nunnally asked quietly as she fidgeted with her teacup. She asked the same question every time Nina came to see her.

"No." Nina answered. "Remember, Milly said he'd joined the military. So he could be anywhere right now."

Lelouch had managed to quite effectively drop off the radar. No one had seen him in months. Even the ever-nosey media hadn't caught more than one or two hints of him – which had later been revealed to have only been look-alike imposters.

"He could be dead." Nunnally said quietly, her knuckles turning white as her fingers clenched around the handle of her cup. "What if he's dead, Nina? What then? What if they just said that he joined the army and then they killed him? He wouldn't join the military. Not after . . . not after everything he's seen and experienced."

"Hush." Nina said softly, reaching across the table to take the princess' hand reassuringly. "I'm sure that's not the case." She said confidently, but a part of her began to panic. What if Lelouch _was_ dead? Nunnally would be devastated – they would all be devastated. Even now, with Lelouch halfway across the world, he was still an integral, unifying factor of their group.

"Then where is he? Why can't the news reporters find him?" Nunnally demanded a little hysterically, the sudden fear apparent in her voice. "I just want to know that he's okay. If he's not . . ."

"He is. He is okay." Nina tried to assure her. "Lelouch wouldn't let himself be killed easily. He's smart enough to get himself out of almost anything. You know that, just stop worrying."

"Yes . . . I know." Nunnally said a little insincerely. Obviously, Nina's attempts to put her mind at ease weren't working. But like always, Nunnally would put on a tough front so others wouldn't worry about her. It had always been like that and Nina wondered if the others were able to see through it but just refrained from commenting or if they were all really blind to Nunnally's willingness to play the martyr.

Nunnally didn't like it when people worried about her or caused undue fuss on her behalf. That was why it was so hard to tell if anyone else could see the way she suffered beneath the simple, smiling mask she usually had in place. Even if they saw it, commenting on it would only serve to frustrate the princess and make her feel guilty for making them worry.

It was an unforgiving cycle. Nunnally didn't want people to worry so she hid her worries behind a smile. Nina could see the insincerity of the grin, but to say something would only cause Nunnally to worry more and to put more effort into the facade.

But now . . . Nunnally was falling out of the cycle. She was voicing her fears and concerns and showing her frustration. The mask was slipping and Nina was the only one around to see it. There had to be something she could do to help Nunnally feel better.

She understood that it was unhealthy for Nunnally to remain cooped up in her suite with only that maid Sayoko and herself as company, but she was unsure how to rectify the problem. Lelouch would be furious if she revealed Nunnally's location to anyone else. But at the same time, the princess was slowly beginning to fall apart and if she didn't do something about it soon, it wouldn't be the Nunnally that Lelouch loved and cherished that he eventually returned to.

That is, if he ever planned on coming back.

What Nunnally needed was a catalyst. She needed change. Something new. Something to drag her thoughts away from her own misery.

Nina would be the first to admit that she didn't exactly fit the bill. People were . . . confusing to her. She'd much rather deal with chemical equations and the sequences of their decay. That kind of thing was easy – it was logical. But people, on the other hand, were not so clear cut. There were too many variables to make solving them easy.

She could see the variables. Oh yes, she could see quite clearly the way the girl in front of her was falling apart. She could see the desperation and loneliness in her expression, but Nina had no clue what it was she was supposed to do with it.

How was she supposed to repair the cracks? How was she supposed to keep Nunnally together – to keep her from completely falling apart?

This was not her strong suit.

"Nunnally . . ." Nina hesitated. Would being truthful help matters? Would simply asking point blank what it was she could do to help do anything to resolve matters? Or could she . . .

Sighing loudly she pulled out her cellphone and stared at it for a moment. He'd told her not to, but she doubted he'd fully considered his sister's mental health at the time. It may not be an emergency of life or death, but the princess was crumbling and she didn't know what else to do.

She scrolled through her caller history and found the number Lelouch had called her on all those months ago. Even if he was mad at her, he probably wouldn't pass up the opportunity to talk to Nunnally and assure her that he was still alive and well.

The phone gave half a ring before it was picked up and a cold, automated tone responded. "We're sorry. The number you've dialed is no longer in service. We apologize for the inconvenience. This is a recording."

She froze. The phone was disconnected? What did that mean?

She snapped the phone shut and set it on the table like it had burned her. Was Lelouch really in trouble then? And if he was, what was she going to do about Nunnally? Nina didn't have the ability to make her okay again and at the rate they were going Nunnally was going to descend into a hysterical mess soon.

She needed help. Milly maybe?

* * *

AN:

Hello all my lovely readers. Thanks so much for keeping up with this. I'm so happy to be able to entertain you.

There were a few issues brought up with the last chapter that I'd like to address. First and foremost is the nature of the Pureblood/Purist faction. For the sake of this story - while it may not be strictly canonical - the Purists feel that the Numbers should not be allowed int he military at all and that people of common blood should not be allowed to pilot Knightmares. While that last idea can be criticized for the way it narrows the field of applicable pilots, it's actually an ancient idea. In medieval times, only members of the nobility were allowed to carry arms. In fact, in one war (I can't remember which one off hand) French knights were outraged when the British gave their peasants longbows and set them against the knights. The idea that a peasant could be able to strike down a knight was viewed as an affront to their chivalric protocol and basically sacriledge. For the intents and purposes of this story, the Purists believe much the same and the honorary title of Knight that pilot receive count for little.

Secondly, please keep in mind that all of this is still happening before the canon timeline. I realize that in canon Cornelia is seen whipping along through the desert with no problems. We'll get to that later. But for not, there are mobility issues.

Thirdly, I in no way, shape or form meant to imply that Cornelia was a substandard commander. She is the general of all generals and her soldiers would follow her into hell without a moment of thought. She's practically deified by the Britannian army. That being said, she is not a tactician on the same level as Lelouch or Schneizel. It's this that allows Lelouch to view her approach to the war with some disdain. Also, about Cornelia simply sending men out to die - I vaguely remember her saying (I think, I could be wrong and thinking of something else) something along the lines of war being a struggle between pride and survival. In this case, it's a fight about pride. She wants to crush them using the Knightmares and she'd willing to pay a higher price to do so. She has no qualms about sending her soldiers out to die and in canon she even ordered the destruction of one of her own units in the Saitama ghetto incident when it didn't retreat with the rest of the units. So, she's a respectable leader and a idol to her men, but that doesn't mean she'll try to protect every last soldier under her command. She is fighting a war, after all.

Anyway, that's all I have to say now. This is the second time I've had to write this all out since my page decided to time out. Hopefully I addressed everything I wanted to. Thanks so much for reading and for all of your reviews. I really appreciate them - even the critiques.

Allora


	24. Chapter 24

To all my readers who said there wasn't enough Lelouch in my chapters, this one's for you . . . but don't get used to it. ^.~

Chapter 24

Another day of patrol. Another day of the warm jell-o flight suit. Another day of boredom incarnate. He was really getting sick of this.

He'd decided to let matters rest about his placement for the time being. He didn't want to seem presumptuous and as he'd still only been in the area for ten days he was sure there was still time for things to turn around. Cornelia probably just didn't want to throw him into the fire until he was at least somewhat acclimatized to his surroundings.

Or at least that's what he'd been telling himself.

"Report." He ordered boredly into the radio.

He was met with all negatives. There was nothing to report. There was nothing going on in their little corner of the Sahara. He caught sight of a scorpion scurrying in the sand in front of him and squished it with his Knightmare out of spite. But it did little to relieve his frustration.

He looked down at his console and sighed. On either side of the little dot representing his KMF, there were two more dots almost off the screen. Those were Amanda and Nickolas. They were far enough away that he could barely see them with the naked eye – only indistinguishable lumps against the horizon - but they were still close enough for his sensors to pick them up.

He'd decided to deploy them in a long, widely spread chain. While he admit that the formation had almost no defensive ability, it allowed them to cover more ground. Which was actually the point, he figured, because anyone who got through them would end up breaking themselves on the bases fortifications. And really, the likelihood of them running into someone hostile out here was slim. Which was a pity because his men had to be beginning to resent him for this torture by now. A little skirmish would break up the monotony a bit.

He felt the worst for Hector. It turned out that he was what the military liked to call an 'ace'. His scores in the simulators were within the top five percent and he had over thirty successful missions under his belt. He was a damn fine KMF pilot and this assignment was a gross misuse of his skill.

To make up for it, he'd put Hector in the slot closest to the road. If they were going to meet anything hostile, Lelouch figured it would most likely come from that direction. Even conventional vehicles didn't do so well in the sand.

"Uh, there's something moving out there, your highness." Nickolas said some time later, drawing Lelouch out of his bored musings.

Lelouch paused for a moment, "What is it?" He asked. The only thing out in Nick's direction for miles was empty desert and the Dead Sea. And there was no way an enemy could have gotten past the checkpoint by the sea without someone letting him know.

"I'm not sure . . ." Nickolas said hesitantly. "Shit! They're Knightmares! Four, no, five of them. They're those Glasgow's the Eighteens at the fort have been using. They're moving fast!"

"Shit." Lelouch grumbled. "Nick, Amanda, to me. Charles, Roy and Hector, make your way to the town site. And quickly. We'll lure them to you."

"They just passed me by. They're headed your way, your highness. They didn't even bother with me." Nickolas informed him frantically.

"What?" Lelouch demanded, but by then he could already see them and the cloud of sand they were kicking up behind them. They were closing fast. And headed straight for him. "Shit." He snarled again in a panic as he raised his KMF rifle and fired off a handful of shots before beginning his retreat towards the rendezvous point he'd sent the others to.

He sent news of their situation back to the base as he ran and wasn't surprised when a minute and fourteen seconds later Cornelia was ordering him to report. "Lelouch? What's going on? How many? How did they get past you?"

"God damn it! There's a second party. Four more coming from the south. They must have come over the sea." Nickolas reported. "I'm going to engage them, your highness. I apologize for letting the others through."

"Don't be an idiot." Lelouch said quickly. Leaving Nick to take on almost half of the enemy forces by himself was practically a death sentence.

_"He wont be the first to die for you, you know."_

Schneizel's off the cuff remark echoed in his mind, but he sincerely hoped it wasn't true. He didn't need to start his military career with the death of a comrade on his conscience. Especially not one who was going to throw himself into an impossible situation in order to protect Lelouch.

"Come here you bastards!" Nickolas' voice echoed through the radio amid the sound of gun fire and the familiar whine of slash harkens being deployed.

God damn it. Nick had obviously made up his mind. Arguing would just waste time. And time was the one thing they didn't have, if the speed of those Glasgows was any indication.

"Amanda?"

"I'm on my way, sir. This god damned sand . . ." She trailed off.

Lelouch had to agree, his own flight was almost comically slow compared to the way the enemies were moving. Desert adapted Knightmares, Lelouch thought grimly. And he was within slash harken range now, his enemies closing around him in a menacing half circle.

He turned and fired his slash harkens at the KMF in front of him, catching it in the cockpit before it was able to evade and probably killing the pilot. The Glasgows may have been built sturdier, but even they couldn't withstand a slash harken. They were also slower than the Sutherlands and that was his only saving grace right now. Even without the use of his landspinners, the reaction time of the Sutherland was greatly improved over the Glasgows. He was able to evade them, but not outrun them.

He ducked under a slash harken sent his way and managed to deflect it's partner with his KMF's arm, causing irreparable damage to the limb and jostling him roughly in the process. He ignored the lance of pain that shot through his skull in favor of trying to put more distance between his assailants and himself. And trying to close the distance between his allies and himself.

These bastards were targeting him specifically, he realized. And that certainly didn't bode well. If someone had betrayed him . . . if someone at the base had let it leak which unit he'd been placed in and where that unit was serving, it would certainly explain why a group of the most effective weapons the Eighteens had at their disposal had been deployed to this no man's land.

"Lelouch!" Cornelia yelled, no doubt annoyed that he'd yet to respond to her.

"God damn it, Cornelia. You're too far away to help so stop distracting me! Ma'am." He snarled into his radio.

"Shit!" Nickolas yelled and a second later his signal on Lelouch's console changed from a little red dot to the lost message.

"Nick!" Lelouch cried in alarm. "Nick! Report!"

"I'm okay. I had to eject. The bastards. I'm sorry. I only managed to take one of them down." Nickolas responded, out of breath.

"Are you armed?" Lelouch asked. Technically, all pilots were required to carry a side-arm while in the field, but even he had occasionally forgotten the auxiliary weapon while on patrol. It had seemed redundant to him at times. If his KMF couldn't take down an enemy, he doubted his pistol would, but all the same, he didn't want his subordinate out there unarmed.

"Yes, sir." Nick answered and Lelouch breathed a sigh of relief before his Sutherland was slammed into by an enemy slash harken that took his Knightmare's already damaged arm completely off. From that moment on it became a running battle of desperation. He still had his KMF rifle, but with the loss of his right arm his machine was unbalanced and more difficult to move with any semblance of grace.

The Eighteens were converging around him and it became more and more apparent as this battle progressed that they were aiming to disable him rather than kill. A prince would make a valuable hostage against any other enemy. However, the Emperor had enough children to fill the void that Lelouch would leave so he wouldn't be particularly missed. And whatever it was they wanted to demand in exchange for his life would most likely be denied if he was caught.

When that happened, he'd be as good as dead anyway.

He fired a couple rounds at the Knightmare on his left, his aim more than a little off due to the distraction of having to move his behemoth through the desert. He managed to cause damage to the leg joint and slow it down a bit, but not fully disable or destroy it.

He was about to turn and try to finish it off, when a pair of slash harkens slammed into the enemy's cockpit, followed by a barrage of rifle fire that ignited the sakuradite that drove the machine. The resulting explosion left black spots in his eyes and a ringing in his ears.

Amanda to the rescue.

"We're not going to make it to the town, sir." She called over the radio. "Not like this. We have to make a stand."

Lelouch knew she was right – it was obvious by now that they couldn't outrun them – but the prospects were grim. There were still three Glasgows pursuing him and at least three more probably headed their way after engaging with Nickolas. But the two of them – and he was already handicapped and running low on ammo – against six didn't look too promising.

"All of you to me. Their objective is to capture me, not to kill. I'd appreciate if you wouldn't let that happen. Let's show these bastards who they're messing with."

"On our way, sir." Hector answered immediately.

"Hey, Hector, don't rush off ahead like that. We don't know if there's a third party or not." Roy shouted on the radio.

Lelouch raised an eyebrow in surprise. Hector had already overtaken Roy? Incredible. He supposed the military's aces really were in a league of their own. Not that now was a great time to muse about his second in command's skills.

He turned back towards the enemies pursuing him and loaded the one directly in front of him full of bullets. One of them must have hit the Yggdrasil drive because it exploded a moment later, sending his Knightmare off balance and forcing him down to one knee.

"Sir?" Amanda asked concerned.

"I'm fine." Lelouch assured her, brushing the sweat out of his eyes. He grimaced when his hand came back slick with blood instead of sweat. "Great." He grumbled, wiping his fingers on his flight suit before sending his slash harkens into the Glasgow Amanda wasn't firing at. Unfortunately for him, that suit fired it's harkens at him at the same moment and he was forced to sever the cords when they became tangled together. The last thing he needed was to become trapped connected to one of these Knightmares if they were trying to capture him. He wasn't the best at short range combat but he wasn't given a choice when the suit continued it's advance after he fired his last bullet into it.

He didn't understand why it hadn't gone down. He'd been firing directly at it's cockpit, but it still rushed towards him. Growling, he threw his useless rifle at the advancing unit and released his last remaining weapon – the stun tonfa.

"Assholes!" Amanda shouted on the radio and a moment later her signal was lost on his console.

"Lyons?" Lelouch demanded as he rammed his Knightmare into his opponent after his arm was deflected. He grimaced at the collision as his head came into contact with the helmet he'd left hanging on the corner of the headrest of his seat due to the heat.

"The second group, sir. They came up behind me. They're moving in on you. Move!" She yelped helplessly from her ejected cockpit.

Following her advice, Lelouch pushed back from the Glasgow he was wrestling with and elbowed his way behind it before driving his stun tonfa into the machine's core. The cockpit ejected right into Lelouch's Sutherland, knocking him off his feet before it's propulsion system sent it clear of the explosion.

Lelouch felt the rush of heat even from his place within the cockpit and knew he was in a dire situation. There were still three of the enemy Knightmares left and they closed eagerly around his downed machine. He blinked the stars out of his eyes and could swear he could hear Sergeant Harken shouting at him through the ringing in his ears.

_"If you eject one more god damned time, you'll be running until your feet bleed, vi Britannia!"_

His fingers hovered over the eject mechanism. The slightest application of pressure and he would be jetted away to safety instead of held under the unforgiving gaze of the Glasgows that were standing over his prone machine.

Fuck Harken. He pulled the lever and closed his eyes, but nothing happened.

Ah, that was right. There was nowhere to eject _to_. If not for the safety cut offs, his machine would now be jet propelling him into the ground right now. He needed to get up first.

He forced his unit's legs to move , to try to get under him so he could regain a vertical posture, but the attempt was cut short when a hail of rifle fire from the Glasgows towering over him utterly decimated his machine's legs and sent his machine crashing back to the ground.

" . . . Lelouch . . . okay? . . . ost there. . . hang . . ." He thought he heard hazily but he couldn't be quite sure because on top of the ringing in his ears and the massive headache, there was the screeching sound of metal being pried apart.

One of the Glasgows towering over him had apparently decided to pull him from the cockpit since he'd refused to surrender. In a last ditch effort of defiance, he drove his stun tonfa into the arm of the Glasgow that was mauling him, disabling it's arm but causing it's allies to shoot his last remaining appendage into a pile of scrap metal.

He groped blindly for his sidearm as a wave of dizziness washed over him at the jostling movement caused by his Knightmare's cockpit being slowly ripped apart. He really just wanted to pass out, but he was afraid that if he did he'd wake up somewhere unfamiliar – most likely a Middle Eastern Federation prison.

. . .

Despite his best efforts to remain conscious, he must have succumbed because the next time he opened his eyes a man with a white turban on his head was standing on the lip of the hole that had been torn in his cockpit and was reaching towards him. In a panic, Lelouch forced himself to raise his gun and pull the trigger.

He ended up unloading his entire clip into the chest of the Eighteen and only wondered after the man crumpled and ended up falling in on him if he hadn't just killed a concerned civilian who had been attempting to help him. His instincts had just taken over and he had simply lashed out.

He pushed weakly against the corpse of the man on top of him as nausea overcame him. He wanted to vomit. His cockpit smelled like blood and sweat and burning metal. Familiar smells. Smells he would never forget after walking in the decimated wake of the invasion forces in Area Eleven.

A shadow passed over the hole of his cockpit and he saw the merciless form of a Glasgow looming over him before his ears began ringing again with the sound of gun fire and the whine of slash harkens. He felt the cockpit vibrate around him and closed his eyes again to keep the nausea at bay and so he wouldn't have to look at the dead face of the man resting against his chest. He tried to forget about the weight of the dead man on top of him and the way his blood was slowly oozing out and staining his flight suit a dark red-black.

. . .

Another shadow interrupted the scorching warmth of the desert sun on his face. He instinctively raised his gun and blearily aimed before pulling the trigger – only to hear the multiple clicks of the empty weapon.

"Lelouch! It's Hector." The invading shadow said quickly.

Hector . . . yes, he knew a Hector.

A moment later an oppressive weight was removed from his chest – that Eighteen? - and he felt hands expertly releasing him from the harness, but he was too exhausted to move and get himself out of the cockpit.

"Did you hurt your neck?" Hector asked and Lelouch shook his head slightly, causing new stars to burst in his eyes and another wave of nausea to raise the bile in his throat. "I'm going to lift you out."

Lelouch groaned as a feeling of weightlessness only made his nausea even worse, but it subsided quickly as he felt hot sand beneath him and even hotter metal behind him. But he couldn't work up the energy to find something more enjoyable to lean against.

"Open your eyes, Lelouch. You're in shock and probably have a concussion. Don't fall asleep." Hector ordered.

Lelouch begrudgingly complied and squinted against the harsh light that was beating down on him. He grimaced when he saw the state of his Sutherland. It was totaled, the only part even remotely undamaged was the head.

"Harken's going to kick my ass." He mumbled incoherently because he distinctly remembered that man getting in his face about the destruction of countless Knightmares in the simulations.

Next to him, Hector chuckled. "Fuck Harken. You're alive, which is more important than the state of your machine." He said earnestly as he began probing Lelouch's head wound. Lelouch hissed in pain and tried to pull away but his feeble attempt at escape was quickly halted by Hector, who seemed to have come out of the altercation completely unscathed. "Keep still. Let me bandage you up."

"Amanda and Nick?" He asked after a moment of silence that threatened to send him back into unconsciousness.

"They're both okay. Charles and Roy are out retrieving them now." Hector answered.

Lelouch nodded, trying to think of something else to talk about to keep him from falling asleep. He'd really rather not end up in a coma after his first battle. But nothing came. Everything – even his thoughts – seemed fuzzy and he could feel his eyes slowly drooping again.

"Hey. Keep awake." Hector said, pinching him hard on his arm, before resuming winding a bandage around the prince's head. "Talk to me. Tell me something. Tell me about . . . , hell, I don't know. Who's the most important person in your life?"

Nunnally. He opened his mouth to say so, but even in this state warning bells went off before he was able to betray her. But the thought of Nunnally brought another thought to his mind and he jerked himself up straight and looked to the sad remains of his Knightmare.

"What's wrong?" Hector asked.

"There's a box. In my cockpit. It's under the seat. Please." Lelouch said frantically before a wave of faintness washed over him. He slumped back against what he now realized was the foot of Hector's Sutherland and held his head in his hands to try to stop the way his world was spinning.

"Sure."

His second in command returned a few minutes later, the little box in hand. He passed it over to Lelouch, a slightly confused expression on his face. Lelouch ignored him and flipped the lid open, revealing the canary yellow paper crane.

"It's safe." Lelouch sighed in relief, curling the box with it's contents against his chest.

. . .

Again he slipped into unconsciousness and when he came to he heard other voices around him. "He'll be okay, I think. Just a concussion. We need to get him back to base, though. I'll take him in my machine. We're going to retreat quickly and in formation. Understood?"

"Yeah. What's he holding there?" Roy asked.

"Not sure." Hector replied. "It was important to him. He was keeping it in his cockpit."

"Huh. Alright, lets get the hell out of here before they decide to send more of those bastards out. Reinforcements are headed out, right?" Roy asked again.

"Yes. They were dispatched fifteen minutes ago though it will take them a while to get here. We're not required to hold our position."

Lelouch struggled to open his eyes again and found his entire team standing nearby, intact and for the most part unharmed. He sighed in relief and attempted to push himself to his feet.

"Hey, don't try to move." Roy admonished. "Whatever Hector has to say about your condition, he's not a doctor so he doesn't really know. Just don't make it worse."

"Get a leg." Lelouch ordered raspily. He couldn't quite remember why at the moment, but he did remember that it was vitally important.

"What?"

"A leg." Lelouch growled impatiently, pointing vaguely at one of the downed Glasgows.

"Oh. He must want to take a look at what they were using to move so fast on the sand." Nick surmised. "It was like the sand didn't even effect them."

"That would certainly be helpful." Amanda sighed. "We lost three machines and Lelouch was almost captured just because we couldn't move fast enough."

"I'll do a little Glasgow dissection. You guys get him loaded up and ready to go." Charles suggested before turning away to clamber into his KMF. Amanda followed and crawled in behind him.

"Can you stand, Lelouch?" Hector asked, offering him an hand up.

"I'm fine." Lelouch grumbled as he put on a tough front and allowed Hector to drag him to his feet. A debilitating wave of dizziness washed over him and he swayed on his feet for a second, having to close his eyes and take a few deep breaths to keep from throwing up all over the place. He was surprised when it was Roy who threw Lelouch's arm over his shoulder and helped lead him into the cockpit of Hector's machine. Despite the fact that his squad seemed to have decided to accept him, Roy had remained somewhat skeptical and aloof.

After much unsteady clambering and heaving and hauling, Lelouch found himself wedged in the space behind the seat in the cockpit of Hector's machine. It was uncomfortable but despite that, Lelouch still found his eyes drooping again. Head wounds, he surmised, were a pain in the ass. The last thing he remembered was staring at a bright yellow warning label posted on the back of the seat stating that this space was not to be used for carrying passengers.

. . .

The next time he awoke it was to bright lights, hushed voices, latex gloves and the nostril-burning scent of antiseptics. He groaned and lifted his hand to his head to find that he'd been given stitches. But otherwise, he felt much better. Or at least, more coherent. Some hours must have passed.

"Lelouch." Cornelia said softly from her place beside his bed. She breath a sigh of relief and caressed her hand over his forehead. "You're going to be just fine." She assured him.

"The others?" He asked.

"Everyone's fine." Cornelia smiled slightly. "You did well, Lelouch. Better than I expected. You took out three of the enemy Knightmares and damaged two on your own."

"I doubt I would have done so well if they hadn't been trying to capture me." He grumbled.

Cornelia's expression darkened and her lips pressed together in a thin line. "Yes, I know. I've already had your mechanic detained for questioning."

"Von Hoffman?" Lelouch asked in surprise. "He did it?"

"He says not, but we'll get a confession out of him soon enough." Cornelia promised. "I didn't realize he was a Number." She said bitterly by way of explanation.

Lelouch shook his head. "I want to be the one to question him." He said firmly as he pushed himself upright.

"You need to rest." Cornelia scolded.

"No." He said firmly. If it _had_ been Von Hoffman, he wanted to be the one to accuse him. And he had to admit that the Six was in the ideal position to betray him. But he somehow doubted that it had been his mechanic. He didn't seem like the type to give up his commanding officer out of spite for the invasion – he was a military mechanic after all, he knew what it was he was going to see here. And he couldn't think of anything the Middle Eastern Federation could give him as compensation for the betrayal except money. But the Eighteens that were left had lost access to most of their country and their supplies had to be almost pitifully low by now.

"Lelouch." She said warningly.

He turned his glare on her. "I am going to see Von Hoffman."

Cornelia pursed her lips before sighing. "Fine." She acceded with a returning glare. "We'll go together."

"My lady," A voice interrupted by the door and Lelouch realized for the first time that they weren't alone. Guilford stood by the door along with a doctor and, behind him in the hall, Hector. "Our front line forces, along with the Glaston Knights, are still waiting to be deployed. You wanted to lead them yourself."

Cornelia scowled. "Right." She said as she straightened up and turned to the doctor. "Will Lelouch be alright on his own?"

"I'd rather he stayed in bed, your highness." The doctor said, earning a dirty look from Lelouch, "He may still suffer from bouts of dizziness, nausea and severe head pain."

Lelouch pushed his legs over the side of the bed and stood up in response. Yes, his head felt like it was being jackhammered and he was dizzy, but he wasn't about to prove the doctor right. He needed to get to Von Hoffman before his questioners caused irreparable damage.

"You've always been stubborn." Cornelia sighed. "Corporal Zimmerman!" She barked, turning away from Lelouch. Hector snapped to attention and saluted.

"Yes, Ma'am?"

"I want you to escort Corporal vi Britannia to the interrogation room we're keeping your former mechanic in. You're responsible for his well being. Understood?"

"Yes, Ma'am." Hector answered immediately.

Cornelia and Guilford swept out of the room moments later and Hector came in. He held out his hand, offering a small, familiar box to Lelouch. "The Chief General and the doctor were going to throw it out, so I told them that it was mine and that you must have picked it up on the way back." He said with an awkward shrug. "Do you think he did it?"

Lelouch shrugged noncommittally as he tucked Nunnally's crane in his jacket pocket. "Maybe."

"Yeah . . maybe." Hector sighed. "You ready?"

"Yes." Lelouch nodded, following Hector out of the room.

The place they were keeping Von Hoffman wasn't that far away from the medical center. He met no resistance until he came to the door of the actual room Von Hoffman was being kept in.

"Sorry, Corporal." The man guarding the door said, eying Lelouch's uniform. "We're questioning a rebel in here."

"My name is Lelouch vi Britannia." Lelouch glared impatiently. "I order you to let us enter."

There wasn't much resistance after that and he pushed open the door a moment later to find himself in an 'interrogation room' which looked disturbingly more like a torture chamber. Handcuffed to a chair in the center of the room was Von Hoffman, bleeding profusely from his nose and sporting two black eyes and a swollen lip. On either side of him stood two men with their sleeves rolled up to their elbows – his 'questioners'.

Von Hoffman warily raised his head and his eyes widened in surprise when they landed on him. Lelouch narrowed his eyes in response.

"Your highness. . . your alive? They said . . ." Von Hoffman groaned bewilderedly.

"Out." Lelouch ordered impatiently to the two men who had been trying to beat a confession out of his mechanic. He waited until the door was firmly closed behind them before continuing. He took a menacing step forward, to which the older man flinched. "Did you betray me, Hansel Von Hoffman?"

Von Hoffman shook his head. "No, sir. I wouldn't ever. . . they said you'd died? What happened?"

It would be just like the Britannian military to confuse the facts to try to draw out a false confession. With enough time and enough pain, they could have made Von Hoffman admit to anything. Lelouch frowned. "The MEF staged an ambush and tried to capture me. They almost succeeded too. They not only knew which squad I was in and where we were being deployed, but they knew which machine I was in too."

Von Hoffman gaped at him in surprise.

Lelouch glared. "Do you understand your situation now, Von Hoffman? You had access to all of that information. And . . ." Lelouch hesitated. "you're a Number. You have a reason to feel sympathetic to their cause. Did you contact the MEF?"

"No!" Von Hoffman protested.

"Did the MEF contact you?" Lelouch demanded, taking another step forward.

"No!"

"Then, you've never had contact with the MEF or any of their agents?" Lelouch asked, towering over the handcuffed man.

"No! Of course not. I wouldn't do that to you, your highness. You're the first commander I've had that's actually treated me fairly. I wouldn't betray you. I didn't!" Von Hoffman exclaimed.

Lelouch examined the sweating, squirming man in front of him and the look of sheer panic and fear in his eyes for a moment before smirking slightly and stepping back. Von Hoffman didn't have the spine to sell him out – nor the desire. "I believe you."

Von Hoffman froze, "You do?" He asked uncertainly.

"Lelouch?" Hector asked from the post he'd taken up at the door.

"It wasn't him." Lelouch clarified. "He doesn't have a reason to betray me. Do you, Von Hoffman?"

"No, your highness." His mechanic said quickly.

"I suspected so. You're a scapegoat then, and a convincing one at that."

"Lelouch, you can't be certain." Hector protested.

"But I am certain." Lelouch said, eying Von Hoffman's condition. "How badly are you injured?"

Von Hoffman attempted to regain his former confidence with an unconcerned shrug, but winced. "Not too badly, sir. Nothing a few band-aids and some pain killers can't fix. Maybe an icepack or two . . ."

"Good, because I brought you back a present from our altercation with the Eighteens and I'd like you to take a look at it. Then I'd like you to build us some. And some for Cornelia and her Glaston Knights too – as a peace offering for robbing her of her fall man. She's actually going to have to work to find out who the traitor is." Lelouch said confidently. "You're going to turn the tide of this war, Von Hoffman."

* * *

In the Shinjuku ghetto of Area Eleven, Naoto Kouzuk sat at his makeshift work station in his apartment, eyes sweeping over the various maps, personnel reports, resource inventories and intelligence data spread before him. A few feet away, Ohgi leaned against the window sill staring out at the street below, a cigarette hanging lazily from his lips.

After months of seeking information, acquiring supplies and planning out scenarios, there was finally nothing else that needed to be done. The last, straggling, bits of information and resources had finally been gathered.

If things went according to his plan, none of them would even have to fire their weapons. If they stuck to the plan, if nothing unusual sprang up, they'd be able to get in and out without the Britannians even noticing the loss of their Code-R project, at first.

Not that it really mattered if they noticed or not. They didn't really have a choice anymore. It was August and all of the resistance groups usually stepped up their efforts, hoping to avenge their comrades who fell during the invasion seven years ago. August was a volatile month. If ever there was a time for Prince Clovis to get fed up and want to use a massive chemical weapon on the Japanese, it was now.

They were going to save countless lives by relieving the Britannians of this despicable weapon. They were doing the right thing. They were protecting the Japanese people, and to that end, Naoto would do anything he had to. They all would.

"We're ready." He said aloud and met Ohgi's suddenly determined gaze with his own. "We're ready to begin."

* * *

AN: :D This is what happens when I get like twenty reviews in the first twenty-four hours and happen to have a day off to commit solely to writing. You get quick updates again. It's not exactly the brilliant tactical victory you were hoping for, but it wasn't meant to be. There's only so much you can do when you're ambushed in a wide open sandy expanse. This was meant to show off that he can actually pilot his Knightmare decently.

This is mostly going to be a continuation of the AN from last chapter, because there were a few points I forgot to mention. The first being the conundrum of Viletta and her position in the Purist faction. *sigh* I apologize. I was operating under the misconception that she was a Baroness. I thought she freaked out on Ohgi after she got her memories back and told him she was a Baroness? I might be mistaken and I might have missed something. I will admit to you that I have only watched the Code Geass animes once and it was a massive, three day back to back to back kind of marathon thing I did and it was some months ago. So, as it's too late to change things now, can we all just pretend that she's a Baroness? Please? She's not really a major character in this story, so it's not like it's really important anyway. But for logistics sake, lets just pretend.

Secondly, about this story's pacing. I have been criticized a lot (significantly more than once) about how slow this story is taking to build up to the part where Lelouch tramples kingdoms and leads armies. There is a reason for this. . . and that reason is . . . because it's part of the story. This story is a massive undertaking for me and I'm devoting a lot of time to it because I want to do it _right_. And by doing it right, I mean taking the time to explore all of the little facets of the characters that canon decided to ignore and making event progress realistically. I will be the first to admit that I can't wait to get into the nitty-gritty of this story, I can't wait for him to get back to Japan and meet Kallen and Suzaku and C.C. However, there's one thing this story has been praised for and that's it's realism. So I'm not going to suddenly throw Suzaku into Area Eighteen for no reason, or have C.C. (who is still Clovis' captive at the moment) randomly walk in on Nunnally. Or Jeremiah for that matter, because Nunnally is in hiding and really, what's the point of going into hiding if people can find you?

Thirdly, about there not being enough Lelouch in this story. Lelouch is the main protagonist and there has only been one chapter (the one directly before his 14 page wedding that was done solely from his pov) that he didn't get a segment. However, this story is larger than just Lelouch and so are the issues going on in the world. I think that to deny Kallen, Naoto, Jeremiah and the Ashford gang their 'screen time' simply because they're not the 'main character' would only cheapen the story (it goes back to telling the story right). The world is bigger than Lelouch and this story is too big and too intricate to be told in a linear fashion in solely Lelouch's pov. People have different opinions, different ways of seeing the world, different ways of interacting with each other and I think that to snip these different viewpoints out of the story wouldn't do it any favors. So, what I'm trying to say, I guess, it that yes, this story is about Lelouch. But it's not _just _about Lelouch.

Okay, fourthly, I've been asked to open up a Q and A thing at the end of my chapters. Um? I'm more than happy to answer your questions if you leave me a signed review. I don't want to give away spoilers or anything, and I've always hated reading stories where you open it up and you think 'awesome this chapter is like 20 pages long!' and then you realize that it's only four pages long and the rest is an obscenely long AN where the author thanks every reviewer personally and publishes one-side inside jokes. But maybe that's just me. In any case, I wont be doing that. If you have questions for me that wont give away spoilers, I'll answer them. Just make sure you sign in before you review.

And on the subject of obscenely long AN's, this one's getting there. So I'm going to be cutting it off. I apologize if any of this seemed waspish. That wasn't my intention. I love your reviews and I love your criticisms, but I do feel like I should occasionally get to defend my position. Hopefully there wont be another AN of this length for quite a few chapters.

Thanks so much for reading. And please review.

Allora


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Kallen stared at the text message on her phone again for probably the hundredth time in the last hour.

_Pack for a week. Bring something to do. Will pick you up in an hour._

She poked the heavy duffel bag at her feet with the toe of her boot and checked the time. It was an hour and fifteen minutes since he'd sent that message, but Naoto wasn't usually the most punctual unless the matter was of vital importance.

What the hell was going on? Was he sending her into hiding? Had something gone wrong? Or was this her new mission? Some kind of undercover reconnaissance?

She grinned at the thought. Finally she'd get to do something of importance. She'd get to pull her own weight. To make a difference.

She heard a horn honk through her opened window – a conspicuous sound in this upscale community – and swept her bag up onto her shoulders before clambering down the trellis beneath her window. She could have simply gone out the door, but she didn't feel like running the risk of bumping into Lady Stadtfeld and trying to explain where she was going at this hour of night. Especially since she'd already had an explosive fight with the woman earlier that day and she was 'sulking' in her room as a result.

She descended the trellis into Lady Stadtfeld's treasured rose garden as she had so many times in the past and may have deliberately tromped on one of the bushes before running full tilt across the yard, through a hole she had carved in the hedge, and out onto the road where Ohgi's car was waiting for her.

She stuffed her pack in the back seat before taking her place in the empty passenger seat and smirking at her brother, who was wearing a ridiculous fedora-type hat pulled down low to cast a shadow over his face. "You look like an idiot." She laughed.

"Well, thanks. I love you too." Naoto replied sarcastically as he pulled away from the curb.

"Where are we going?" She asked. "What going on with Code-R?"

"We're getting ready to move." Naoto said, taking one hand off the steering wheel to rummage in his jacket pocket for a moment. What he pulled out made Kallen's heart skip a beat. There, dangling on an old shoe lace, was the key to the Glasgow Kazane had put back together. He gestured for her to take it, when she didn't immediately snatch it from his hand.

"The Glasgow?" She breathed, taking the key from him and examining it closely. Oh yes, she knew this key. How many times had she handled it in the past, without his knowing? How many times had she run her fingers over it's smooth surface and dreamed of liberating Japan?

"Yeah. You told me you were the best damned pilot we had, didn't you?" Naoto asked.

"Yeah, but then you told me you never wanted to hear of me going near a Knightmare again." She argued, but took the key and stuffed it in her pocket just in case he changed his mind.

Naoto snorted. "I can't believe you're arguing with me about this." He shook his head disbelievingly. "But don't worry, I'm not going to take that key away, Kallen." He promised, giving her a sly look. "You don't have a choice. You wanted to join the resistance so that means you have to follow my orders. And I'm ordering you to pilot that machine if the shit hits the fan."

"If?"

"You're going to be our safety net. You're only going to be called on if things go severely wrong. We don't really want them knowing that we have a Knightmare, but if things go badly, we wont have a choice but to reveal our full strength to the Britannians." Naoto explained.

Kallen frowned and glanced away disappointedly. So then, she probably wouldn't actually get to do anything. Just sit in hiding somewhere with the Glasgow while others did all the work. Naoto always meticulously planned things out before he ordered his people to move. The likelihood of something going wrong was slim.

"Hey." Naoto chided. "Listen, I'm trying to explain things to you as we go." He grumbled, before handing her a map that had been stuffed between the seats. "Ohgi and the team he's put together will be stationed at that red 'x' on the map to cover our escape. They're already set up there and are keeping an eye on the place for any last minute changes to their schedules or unexpected developments." Naoto explained, pointing in the map's general direction without taking his eyes off the road.

"I'm going to be leading the team that infiltrates the lab and actually steals the gas. There's going to be two more teams on the roofs of the buildings next to the lab, there. We're not exactly sharpshooters, but I'm sure they'll be able to take down a few guards if we don't get out quietly enough."

"And me?" She asked nonplussed.

"Do you remember Jin Nakata?" Naoto asked.

"Yeah." She answered warily. "The guy who left to join the Blood of the Samurai?"

"Yeah, that one." Naoto agreed. "He's going to be helping us out on this. He's got a ship and runs a little import-export business in his free time. Well, actually, it's how a lot of the resistance groups in the area have been getting their weapons from China. Anyway, we've already loaded the Glasgow onto the ship and they're just waiting for you before they take off.

"He's got to make a run to pick something up in Osaka, but he'll be back the day we're planning on moving. So he'll have an excuse to be in the water around here. And he'll be close enough for you to use your slash harkens to get onto the road to cut off any pursuit if we need you." He said, pointing to the pale blue expanse on the map next to where Ohgi's group was positioned.

"So I have to go with him to Osaka?" She asked, quirking an eyebrow. "What's the catch? Why's he even helping us?"

Naoto shifted uncomfortably and glared out the windshield. "He'll be making a transaction with some sketchy characters. He wanted a little extra protection. It shouldn't be anything you can't handle, Kallen. I wouldn't send you if I thought it wouldn't be safe for you."

"Quit babying me." She snapped. "All you needed to say was that I was supposed to play body guard for him in return for letting us use the boat. Do the other guys have Knightmares?"

"They shouldn't." Naoto answered.

"Then it's not a problem so long as we're back in time for me to support our operation." Kallen huffed before leaning back in her seat and crossing her arms over her chest. "I hate when you do that. You treat me like I'm made of glass or something."

"I just want to protect you, Kallen." Naoto said quietly. "I don't really like the situation Jin put me in, or the one he's going to be putting you in. But I don't really have a choice at the moment and moving a KMF around in secret isn't all that easy."

Kallen sighed before relaxing her posture and turning to look at him. He looked tired, but at least he'd learned his lesson about looking like a vagrant. "Hey, it's fine. I'll be just fine." She promised. "I'm sure I can take anything Nakata's shady characters can throw at me. It's not easy to take down a Glasgow."

"I know. But he kind of strong armed me into this. I needed a boat and I knew he had one. At least we know he wont rat us out to the Britannians." Naoto sighed. "By the way, I hope you don't get sea sick."

Kallen rolled her eyes. "I'm a KMF pilot, Naoto. I can take anything the sea has to throw at me."

"Sure. Just don't come crying to me if you end up spending the next week puking your guts out." Naoto teased.

"I promise you I wont." She huffed. "And anyway, I don't have a choice, remember? So even if I do end up sick there's no helping it."

"You don't have to, if you don't want to, Kallen. You _always_ have a choice." Naoto said, suddenly very serious. "No one can force you to do something you don't want to do. Please, tell me if I'm pushing you too far."

"I _want_ to help, Naoto." She answered passionately after a moment of quiet consideration. "I've always wanted to help. I want to help you protect Japan."

"To protect Japan, huh?" Naoto mused, quirking his eyebrow at her. Kallen felt her face grow hot in embarrassment. The jerk was trying to embarrass her after her impassioned outburst.

"What?" She glared.

Naoto smiled at her. "Nothing. I just liked hearing you say it like that. To protect Japan, not to avenge it."

"So maybe you've rubbed off on me." She grumbled as she looked away out the window. She did still want revenge for what Britannia had done to Japan, but right now, with Code-R looming over their heads, it was more about protecting Japan's people than avenging past transgressions. "Don't let it go to your head."

"You _are_ in a charming mood tonight." Naoto chided, turning the car into a seedy looking port.

"You try being locked up with Lady Statdfeld for a couple weeks and see how charming you are." She grumbled.

"At least you had the lady to break up the monotony." Naoto pointed out with a smirk as he slowed the car to a stop.

"You've really forgotten what it was like living with her, haven't you? Or have you deluded yourself into thinking it wasn't _that_ bad?" Kallen inquired.

"Maybe." Naoto admitted before reaching into the glove box and pulling out an old walkie-talkie. "We'll be using preset frequency eight, but I don't want you using it until the operation begins."

"Right." She nodded, taking the device from him.

"That's Jin's ship." Naoto pointed out the window to where the vessel was bathed in the light of the car's headlights. "Make sure you're in position by the morning of the twenty ninth. I don't care if you have to hijack the ship to get here in time. Make sure you're here, okay? Don't let them hold you up."

"I will be." She promised. "No matter what."

Naoto nodded. "Be careful." He said softly and she could see the worry in his eyes.

"Naoto . . ." She hesitated. "Maybe I should go with you? Should I be on your team?"

He shook his head slightly. "No. You'll be more useful in the Glasgow. Just remember, it's not only the faceless Japanese masses you'll be protecting. You'll be protecting all of us resistance members too."

"Are you that worried about it? I've never heard you talk like this before. Are you going to be in that much danger?" She asked, holding her breath and hoping he was going to reassure her.

"No. We wont be in any danger at all. Unless something goes wrong. If that happens, we'll be in worlds of shit." Naoto shrugged nonchalantly. "But that wont happen. It's just that we've never attempted anything this big before. But it's worth it and it needs to be done."

"Yeah." She agreed quietly.

"Go. They're waiting for you." Naoto urged, pointing to where a man was warily approaching the vehicle.

"Don't worry about a thing." She said confidently, trying to lighten the mood and reassure him at the same time as she stepped out of the car and retrieved her bag. "Never thought I'd have to say it, but I'll protect you."

She heard the short bark of his laughter before she slammed the door shut and approached the ship. However ridiculous her last statement sounded, she meant every word of it.

* * *

"So?" Lelouch asked, holding out a half-frozen water bottle to his mechanic. "What do you think of them?"

Von Hoffman took the water bottle gratefully and pressed it against his still swollen cheek. "Thanks. These devices are almost pathetically simple, your highness. They run on simple magnetism. High powered magnets positioned here in the skid buoy the KMF up so it doesn't actually touch the ground. They'll probably take some getting used to for you devicers, but once you've got the hang of it, I don't see why they cant be just as effective, if not more so, than landspinners on pavement." His mechanic explained. "I suppose I should have been working on something like these sand panels instead of that KMF cleaner."

"I'm sure that other device is useful." Lelouch said, "But with these we'll be able to crush the local resistance. KMF mobility is our biggest opponent in this war. Can you recreate them?"

Von Hoffman sent him a prideful grin. "I've already begun. This one here is one of my own designs. The Eighteens may have been this gadget's inventors, but they were working with substandard materials."

Which made sense, considering the majority of their country had been taken from them and all traffic between the enemy's hold out and the rest of Area Eighteen had been cut off. Cornelia had laid siege to their last bastions of strength and would starve them out if she had to. The Eighteens were at war and they were losing, even despite the secret support the E.U. was sending them to prolong the altercation. The longer Britannia was occupied with the MEF, the less likely they were to begin hostilities with the E.U.

"Their magnets were weaker, so it held the Knightmare closer to the ground and they probably had issues traveling over rocky or uneven terrain – really only good over sand. Ours, however, will be more powerful and allow greater mobility over all types of terrain. With time, they might even replace the landspinner." He boasted.

Lelouch gave a feral grin. "Excellent. How soon until you can outfit the entire squad? I'll be approved to return to active duty in a day or two and I'd like to show the Eighteens that they're not the only ones who can effectively fight in the desert." He'd been given notice that, in recognition of the skill they'd shown during their last engagement, his squad was going to be reassigned to the front lines directly under Cornelia's command.

"I'll have them ready for you, your highness. Even if I have to stay up all night." Von Hoffman promised.

"Good. I'll buy you a beer if you meet the deadline." Lelouch pledged and turned away. There were still things he needed to attend to before he could go to the mess for dinner. He may not have been approved for field work due to his injury, but he certainly hadn't been idle. Sifting through the personnel profiles of all of the soldiers on site was a long, brain-melting task, but he was determined to find the real person who had betrayed him.

"Sir . . ." Von Hoffman hesitatingly called after him.

Lelouch paused and turned back, quirking a questioning eyebrow.

"I . . . wanted to thank you again. For believing me. For believing that I didn't betray you." Von Hoffman said haltingly.

"You were wrongly accused. Your thanks are hardly necessary."

"But anyone else. . ." Von Hoffman said awkwardly.

"Let me make one thing abundantly clear to you, Von Hoffman. I am not anyone else. I do not follow the guiding thought patterns and ideology of 'anyone else' either. But I told you that already, didn't I?" Lelouch explained firmly.

"Yes, sir." Von Hoffman answered immediately, then stiffened as his gaze was drawn to the door of their hangar.

Lelouch turned back and found that Cornelia and Guilford had decided to pay a visit. He hid the grimace his face wanted to make and gave them a stiff salute instead. He hadn't actually spoken to Cornelia since they'd parted ways in the medical center, but she had to have heard by now about his forcing the release of Von Hoffman. And she probably wasn't happy about it. This whole debacle would have been so much tidier if Von Hoffman had been the traitor.

"Chief General li Britannia." He greeted. "Lord Guilford."

"I see the rumors were true." Cornelia said, foregoing a greeting to send a scathing look at Von Hoffman.

"Yes, Ma'am. I determined my mechanic was not at fault for the leak of information." Lelouch said firmly.

"And yet he's still a Number." Cornelia said, pursing her lips.

"He can hardly help that." Lelouch said irritably.

"It's unacceptable having a Number working on your machine, Lelouch. He could easily betray you, in fact I believe he already has."

Lelouch frowned. "I wonder why it is you're so determined to accuse my mechanic of foul play. You can't provide any evidence of wrongdoing and yet you're determined to stick to your convictions. It makes me wonder why you're not more devoted to finding the real culprit."

"Just what are you implying?" She demanded, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

Ah, he was treading a dangerously thin and treacherous line here. But the concern was real. Cornelia's determination to see Von Hoffman guilty – even if he was a Number – worried him.

"Just what I said. Why aren't you more concerned with finding the real traitor? A member of the Imperial family was almost kidnapped and you insist on playing the blame game and setting up an innocent man for treason. Have you even questioned anyone else? Are there any other suspects?" Lelouch demanded despite knowing the answers. Von Hoffman was the only person she was willing to blame. "Or am I supposed to interpret this reluctance to pursue the truth as that you don't care who it was so long as you get to make an example out of someone? Or, even worse, are you protecting the leak or the leak yourself?"

Behind him, Von Hoffman sucked in a shocked gasp as Guilford stepped in front of Cornelia. Protecting her as though his words were hurled daggers. "How dare you." Guilford growled.

Behind him, Cornelia's face had gone white with fury and her lips pressed into a thin line. "Even _I _am not above your suspicion, brother?" She demanded, her eyes boring angrily into him.

Sighing, Lelouch glanced away. He'd gone too far. He needed to be careful – he'd made mistakes like this in the past and had resolved not to make them again in the future. He couldn't let his temper get the better of him. And in any case, he didn't really suspect Cornelia of being the one behind the betrayal. If she wanted him dead, there were far easier ways for her to accomplish it. After all, people died every day in a war zone and it would only have been too easy for her to have sent him to his death instead of tucking him safely away in some little-used corner of the Sahara.

"I apologize." Lelouch said after a moment of tense silence. "My frustration with the situation got the better of me. Forgive me, sister." He explained, swallowing his pride to salvage the situation. He wasn't in a position to make an enemy of Cornelia yet. Though no doubt the day would come. "However, I believe Von Hoffman is innocent of the crime you've accused him of and that he has been nothing but a loyal servant to me. Isn't that right, Von Hoffman?"

"Uh, y-yes, my prince." Von Hoffman stuttered suddenly.

"Based on what evidence, Lelouch?" Cornelia demanded, withholding her forgiveness for the time being.

"Base solely on the fact that it's in his best interest to remain loyal to me." Lelouch said with a dangerous grin. "He's useful to me. I'd appreciate if you didn't fight me on this. But I'll help you to find the real culprit, and then, my dear sister, I certainly wont stop you from reaping just reparations for his or her wrongdoing. Why, I believe I'll even help you."

Cornelia frowned and scrutinized him for a long moment before finally stepping around Guilford to confront him. "Fine. I believe you. You're not the type of person to grant asylum to someone who's betrayed you. We'll have to look for someone else."

"Thank you." Lelouch said, bowing slightly. "Now," He said, gallantly offering his arm to her, "I'd like to show you something, if you're not in a hurry."

"Oh?" She asked, ignoring his offered hand but following him nonetheless to the workbench Von Hoffman was standing next to.

"This is what the Eighteeens we encountered were using to move so quickly." He explained, pointing to the sand panel Von Hoffman had been working on. "Well, this particular one is a modified, improved model, but the idea is the same. It negates the need for landspinners and allows the Knightmares to traverse any terrain. I've been having my mechanic make some for you and your Knights."

"Hmm, is that right?" Cornelia mused, running a gloved finger over the device. Lelouch could already see the gears turning in her mind and the sudden new look of determination and inspiration that entered her eyes.

"Yes. I'll send them to you within the next two or three days." Lelouch promised, hiding his regret. He had originally wanted to be the first squad equipped with the experimental devices, but his pride would have to take another hit for the time being to appease his sister. It wouldn't really matter in the long run, anyway. Before long, all of the Knightmares out here would be equipped with the sand panels.

"Excellent work, Lelouch." Cornelia said with a sudden adoring smile that was too much like Euphemia's. Apparently the sand panels were enough to earn her forgiveness. "I'll be expecting them."

She left soon afterward with Lelouch scowling at her turned back. He waited until she was out the door and out of ears reach before sighing regretfully and looking back at the sand panels.

"Cornelia is rabid when she's provoked," Lelouch explained to Von Hoffman who was still standing nervously rooted to the spot. "But like any dog, she can be calmed if you throw her a bone. I've added more work to your schedule, but make sure you have enough of these sand panels for Cornelia, Guilford and the Glaston Knights. They'll have to take the first wave you make. Our squad will have to be content with seconds."

"I . . . yes, your highness." Von Hoffman answered quickly, bowing his head.

* * *

"Um . . ." Nina said shyly. She couldn't believe how hard it had been to catch the Student Council President alone. She'd always known that Milly was popular, but she'd never really realized just how popular. Or rather, she'd never really noticed.

But then again, she'd never had a reason to have to consult Milly alone where others couldn't overhear her. But now she did, and even then she couldn't just open up and spill what the problem was. She wasn't supposed to speak about Nunnally and even if it didn't look like anyone was listening, Milly had become internationally famous thanks to all of the tabloids and she couldn't be sure that she wasn't being watched.

That thought almost made Nina change her mind. If someone was watching Milly, it meant that she'd be leading them right to Nunnally. But on the other hand, Nunnally's health was more important, wasn't it?

"What's up, Nina?" Milly asked as she walked purposefully towards the clubhouse, a folder of what was probably student club budget reports under her arm. "We haven't been seeing much of you lately."

"Ah . . . well, you see . . ." Nina mumbled, "Um, I was wondering if you'd like to see the lab I bought with my grant money?"

"Well, it's about time you decided to share your new haven with us." Milly teased. "You've been spending almost all of your time there. Honestly, Shirley and I were just talking the other day about breaking in there to surprise you."

"You were?" Nina asked hesitantly. "And . . . when you say 'us'?"

Further questioning was interrupted when Rivalz hailed them from nearby. He ran up and greeted them both warmly, before brushing a kiss against Milly's cheek. Nina's eyebrows shot up to her hairline – especially when Milly actually blushed. When had that happened? Granted, it had always been painfully obvious that Rivalz was infatuated with their President, but she'd never thought he'd have the guts to actually do something about it. And the last time she'd taken notice of the situation, their friendship seemed to have been strained. Maybe she _was_ spending too much time at the lab.

But Nunnally needed her. Honestly, she'd been spending most of her time there keeping Lelouch's sister company rather than actually working. And Nunnally needed Milly, too.

"Great news, Rivalz. Nina's finally decided to let us see her lab." Milly said happily.

She opened her mouth to protest, but what could she really say? 'Sorry, Rivalz, you're not invited'? Or 'actually, I only meant to invite Milly'? They were all Lelouch's friends. In fact, Rivalz was Lelouch's best friend. There was no way he'd betray Lelouch's trust. And Nunnally had always seemed to like him.

"Ah, yeah." She said softly, glancing away.

"Great. Just let me call Shirley. She should be done with the swim club by now." Milly said, fishing her cellphone out of her pocket and dialing Shirley's number before Nina could protest to the addition of yet another person to the list of people that would soon know Nunnally vi Britannia's location.

But Shirley wouldn't betray Lelouch or Nunnally either. Even if Lelouch had gone off and married someone else, leaving her love for him unrequited, Shirley and Nunnally were close friends. And really, they'd all already been trusted with the secret of Nunnally's survival. How much worse was the secret of her location?

Still, she felt hopelessly anxious about bringing them there. She'd felt bad enough about the prospect of revealing the secret just to Milly. Now, with the entire Student Council involved, she felt even worse.

She felt like she was betraying Lelouch.

He had trusted her above all the others to keep Nunnally secret and safe. He had given her the task because he had believed in her and trusted her. Because he had deemed her worthy.

No, maybe it wasn't betrayal she was feeling. Maybe it was inadequacy. Lelouch had put so much faith in her, but she simply wasn't up to the task. She couldn't keep Nunnally safe and happy and it shamed her. It shamed her that she had to ask for help. If Lelouch had known she was so useless, she'd never have been trusted with this task.

"_I'm trusting you with the most important thing in my life."_

The pride she'd felt when he'd said that to her was now significantly diminished. His trust in her had to be placed out of desperation. They'd never been particularly close before he'd been discovered. They were members of the Student Council and while she'd always considered him a friend – if only because she had so few – she'd never really thought he'd felt the same. Because he was _Lelouch_, that popular heart throb of the school that all the girls lusted after and all the boys wanted to befriend. Because he was oh-so-nonchalant about everything he did – so composed. He never really showed a real interest in anything but Nunnally.

It didn't mean he wasn't kind – in fact, he was probably the nicest person she knew – but he had always been detached and distant . . . except . . . except on those rare occasions when he couldn't sleep and would leave the Lamperouge suite in search of 'an intelligent conversation'. When that happened, he would seek her out – knowing she always worked late at the computer she'd set up at the clubhouse.

When that happened, he was actually passionate. He'd demand her opinion on theories that hadn't been covered in any of their classes – theories that ranged from the obscure to the generally accepted. He'd voice his opinions and he'd actually _listen_ when she voiced her's.

It was in these dark, secluded hours of the night that he ceased to be _Lelouch_ – school heart throb and hero – and was someone she could actually communicate and relate to. She wondered if that Lelouch – the late night philosopher – was the real Lelouch, or if it was just another mask he wore to hide his real identity. Did she even know the real Lelouch at all? No, that had to be him. The real him – it was so much more cynical and opinionated that he face he usually presented.

"Nina?" Milly asked, then laughed. She realized that they'd somehow wound their way to where Milly kept her car while she was musing and that they were waiting for her to get in. Shirley had joined up with them somewhere along the way. "So what was it this time? Reworking the theory of gravity?" Milly teased.

"Ah, no. Sorry." Nina blushed before hastily taking her place in the backseat of the vehicle next to Shirley. There was a time when Rivalz would also have joined them in the backseat. Lelouch had always insisted on riding shotgun when they'd gone on outings together as a group. He was Vice President, so Milly allowed it and Rivalz, Nina and Shirley would all squish into the backseat as Lelouch rode in leisure in the front.

It was just another little reminder that Lelouch was no longer with them – all this extra elbow room. Just another reminder that she was letting him down. That she was betraying his trust.

Milly drove, as always, erratically and with an extra dose of speed. Where usually she would cringe at the excessive use of speed, this time Nina only sat silently staring at her hands in her lap – dreading every second that passed and brought her closer to the moment she'd have to admit her inadequacy. Dreading the moment that she'd have to admit she'd been in contact with Lelouch – the council members were just as desperate for news of Lelouch as Nunnally was. Dreading the moment she'd have to admit to keeping secrets. Dreading the moment she'd tread on the other members' feelings – between Lelouch's foster sister, his best friend and the girl who was in love with him, who was she to be the one he trusted with his secret?

No doubt they all thought they knew him best – that they were closest to him – and she wondered if she was any different. How presumptuous was she? She scoffed at her own former musings. Musings about that philosophical Lelouch who would come to her at night to engage his over-active mind with her greater than average intelligence. Who was she to think she knew him? (A prince!) Who was she to think that she alone had been granted the opportunity to see past the chinks in his armor to see facets of his true self beneath the masks and facades and acts he put on to protect himself and Nunnally.

Was she so arrogant to believe that? When it had been Milly who have grown up with him knowing his secret the entire time. Or when it was Rivalz that spent all of his time with him – a dynamic duo of troublemakers and rule breakers? Or even Shirley, who had spent years devotedly observing him, trying to crack his code and solve the puzzle he presented. How could she believe that when the others had to know him so much better than she?

So why had he chosen her then?

She wasn't surprised that Milly knew the way to her lab. If she'd planned on breaking in with Shirley, she'd probably even devised a way to get past the security coded gate. However she'd planned on doing it, Nina didn't really want to see and so quickly hopped out of the car and punched in the code before climbing back in.

"Wow, Nina!" Shirley exclaimed as the car pulled into the receiving bay. "This place is huge! Is it all yours?"

"Um, well, yes." Nina answered. Because this space, this wide open expanse that they were staring at was her space. This was her research lab and while it was mostly empty now, later, when she moved on to the next phase of her research and began doing larger scale experiments, the place would be full of equipment. Or at least that was how she imagined it.

She didn't say much else as she let her friends wander around the main floor to inspect her lab for a few minutes. They seemed impressed. No, they _were_ impressed and with good reason. How many seventeen year olds could boast of having their own lab?

"I . . . wanted to show you guys something." She announced, loud enough to get their attention. She nervously pulled out her key as they joined her at the elevator and pushed it into the lock. This elevator would only open if a key was used. It was just another one of the safety precautions she'd put into place to protect Nunnally's secret. A secret she was now revealing to her friends, like some kind of braggarty show-off.

"There's a second floor?" Milly asked.

"Is it like the bat cave down there, or what? Or is this where the real research goes on? You're not performing Frankenstein-like experiments down here are you?" Rivalz teased as they rode the elevator down to the basement.

"Um, no." She answered shyly. Rivalz was nice and she knew he didn't mean any harm by his teasing, but he was loud and boisterous and had always made Nina a little . . . anxious and shy.

When the elevator door opened and they stepped out, no one said anything as they looked around the familiar-yet-unfamiliar surroundings. And she knew why. She herself would have found it more than a little odd if she'd been in their place. She wondered if they thought she'd become unhinged. Or if they thought she'd become so obsessed with Lelouch that she'd recreated this place to play host to some kind of bizarre fantasy.

"This . . . this is creepy." Rivalz finally said, staring at a painting on the wall – a copy of one hanging in the clubhouse and an unnecessary detail she'd replicated. "This is just like Lelouch's place at the clubhouse."

"Yeah." Nina agreed quietly before leading the way into the dining room, painfully conscious of the concerned glances her friends were giving her. It was okay, she told herself, it would all be explained in a moment. As soon as they saw Nunnally, they'd understand why she'd done this.

The dining room was empty, so she passed it by. She could feel herself grow more tense with every second that passed in awkward silence. Her hands curled into fists at her side and she began to sweat. Finally, when she couldn't take it a second longer, she broke down.

"It's because -"

But further explanation wasn't necessary, because she'd just opened the door to the sitting room and Nunnally was there with a book in her lap – one finger trailing lazily over the page to pick up the words.

"Nana!" Shirley exclaimed, stumbling to a halt for half a second in surprise before rushing forward to take her friend's hand. "You're okay! I've been so worried about you!"

"Shirley?" Nunnally asked. "Is it really you, Shirley?" Nunnally asked, her hand leaving Shirley's to actually touch the girl's face. Nina was surprised. She'd only ever seen Nunnally do that to Lelouch. "It is you."

"Of course it's me." Shirley exclaimed. "I can't believe you've been here the entire time. I thought that maybe Lulu had managed to smuggle you away somewhere close to where he was."

"Shirley, how did you find me? How did you get in here?" Nunnally asked.

"Oh, Nina invited us over."

"Nina?" Nunnally asked quietly, her expression inexplicably softening. "Thank you, Nina. Who else is here? You said 'us', Shirley. Come now, who else came? Don't be shy." Nunnally ordered, holding out her hands in the general direction of the door.

Milly and Rivalz wordlessly entered the room and each took one of her hands. "Rivalz." She said immediately, giving his hand a squeeze.

"Hey, Nunnally. How are you doing?" Rivalz said warmly.

But Nunnally didn't answer, because she'd moved both hands to Milly's and was squeezing tightly. "Milly." She breathed before she began to cry. "Milly."

Milly smiled sadly as she sank to her knees next to Nunnally's chair and pulled her foster sister into a hug. "There now, it'll be okay. Everything will be fine, Nana. I promise."

Nina crossed her arms over her chest and hugged herself, finally able to reassure herself that she'd done the right thing. Yes, even if she was inadequate, it was better for her to seek help than to let Nunnally suffer because of her pride. Even Lelouch would have to agree with that.

* * *

AN: Holy crap! Either you guys really liked that fight scene or my Author's Note really riled you up. In only a day, the last chapter got the most reviews of any other chapter in the story to date (57 at my last check). And so many of them were encouraging - thank you so much! So, I was going to wait a few days to release this chapter, but decided against it since I already have the first scene of the next chapter done too. Honestly, I'm not sure how long I'll be able to maintain this kind of updating pace but while my creative juices are on overdrive, I'll update as often as I can.

I hope you enjoyed this one. Personally, I found writing Nina's part the most enjoyable. There's something about her insecurities that I find endearing to write.

Thanks so much for all of your reviews and support. I appreciate it like you can't believe.

Allora


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

"I've been told you've been making yourself invaluable around here." Naoto said nonchalantly as he sifted through through the box of gas masks they'd stolen before, inspecting each one for any trace of damage or malfunction.

Beside him, Matsumoto paused at his task. "Have I?" He asked unconcernedly.

Naoto chuckled. "Well, you've been here every day, volunteering for every mission, doing the jobs the others would like to shirk. And you saved Tamaki's life on that raid a few weeks back."

"Well, if we want to free Japan we have to work hard. Britannia's too big of an enemy to let us slack off." Matsumoto shrugged.

Naoto frowned and examined the man next to him. Was he an idealist then? Did he believe that anything was possible so long as they gave it their all? Did he believe even Britannia could be pushed back by hard work and determination? Naoto had often been called an idealist, but even he understood that it would take a miracle to get the Britannians to completely withdraw from Japan. Quite simply, they didn't have the numbers or resources to engage Britannia in a full on war. But what they could do was voice their dissent and try to teach the Britannians a lesson about how they treated the Japanese.

Did Matsumoto really believe they could salvage the entirety of Japan from the Britannians?

"Why did you join the resistance, Matsumoto? I remember you saying once that your family escaped the war unravaged. Is it just about Britannia's affront to your pride?" Naoto asked.

Matsumoto stiffened momentarily before setting down the mask he'd been inspecting. "No, it's not just about pride." He said, turning to look at Naoto. "Just because the war has officially ended, doesn't mean my family is safe. That's why I joined up with your resistance. To keep my family safe."

Naoto smiled slightly, remembering Kallen's last, blasé promise to protect him and the cocky smile she'd sent his way as she'd said it. "Yes. I see. Family is important." He agreed. So then, Matsumoto wanted to expel Britannia to protect his family.

"You have family left?" Matsumoto asked curiously.

Naoto's smile faltered a little. "They're all alive." Naoto answered mechanically, his mood dampening a little at the thought of his father – a spineless, sycophantic parasite – and the broken woman who had given birth to him. He couldn't even look at her anymore without getting depressed. "We don't really . . . my sister is a wonderful person. Honestly, it's because of her that I'm fighting against Britannia. To protect her. There's absolutely _nothing_ I wouldn't do to protect her – morally ambiguous or not. So I understand your motives."

"For your sister, huh?" Matsumoto said quietly, his hands clenching into fists for a moment. "I feel the same way about mine. There's nothing I wouldn't do . . . to protect her."

Naoto smirked at finding a kindred spirit. "I want you on my team for the Code-R operation." He said calmly. Ohgi had told him about some of the missions Matsumoto had gone on with them – the guy was practically unstoppable. "You've shown your determination and efficiency, and now that I know what's motivating you I feel confident in trusting you with our task. We're going to have to go in quickly and quietly and I think you have what it takes to help me get the poison gas and get out without causing too many problems."

"Poison gas?" Matsumoto asked, his eyes widening in surprise. Details about their upcoming operation had been kept strictly within the upper echelons of their organization for now – though he planned on debriefing everyone thoroughly before they began to move in a few days time. There was no harm in letting Matsumoto in on it a little early if he was going to be on the infiltration team. It would give him time to prepare himself for their task.

"Clovis' pet project. We're going to take it off his hands before he decides to try it out in the ghettos." Naoto explained.

"And once you have possession of it, what are you going to do with it?" Matsumoto inquired warily.

"Relax." Naoto chuckled. "It's not like I'm going to set the thing off in the middle of the Settlement. Though it's been suggested that the Tokyo Base might be fair game since it's the military that would be using it on us. But that's getting ahead of ourselves. First we have to acquire it, then we'll decide what to do with it. Really, our biggest priority it just taking it off their hands before they can use it. If we can figure out a way to disarm and disable it, I'd rather do that than use it."

"Oi, Kouzuki!"

Naoto tensed and whipped around, hand straying to the gun tucked into the waistband of his pants. He knew that man – he'd been with Jin Nakata and introduced as his business partner when Naoto had gone to see about getting the Glasgow on his ship. Yhu Long; a Chinese man in his early thirties who no doubt dealt with the acquisitions half of their arms smuggling operation.

He had no reason for being in Naoto's headquarters or for even knowing where it was.

"Why are you here?" He asked firmly. "Did something happen to the ship? What about -?"

"Don't worry so much, Naoto." Yhu shrugged, before grinning sleazily. "The ship's en route and on schedule And don't worry about the girl. She's still aboard – along with your little toy."

"Then why are you here?" Naoto hissed, closing the distance between himself and unwanted guest. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I came to discuss a business contract with you. So let's talk." Yhu said with a corrupt smile and the overbearing confidence of a man who thinks he's holding all the cards.

"Business with me?" Naoto asked dangerously, but it was all becoming so clear now – just why that backstabber Jin had been only too eager to help them out with the lending of his ship. And he'd willingly sent his own sister into the middle of this mess and unwittingly made her a hostage. "You son of a bitch. If you hurt Kallen, I swear I will tear you limb from limb."

"I have no intention of hurting her. Nor do I have any intention in getting in the way of your operation." Yhu placated, holding his hands up in mock surrender.

"Then what do you want?" Naoto growled menacingly. He had to give the guy credit for having the balls to waltz in here like this. By now, the few resistance members that were in their headquarters at the time had been drawn to the commotion and none of them looked happy to see the intruder harassing their leader.

"You haven't been doing any business with our organization, Kouzuki." Yhu explained.

"I have other suppliers." He replied scathingly, and indeed he did. His Britannian appearance allowed him to deal in markets unavailable to most of the other resistance groups. But that was something Jin already knew. Naoto had been dealing with the same arms dealers since he began his resistance movement. Even after Jin had started up his little business, Naoto had refused to change suppliers – probably one of the reasons Jin had left in the first place.

"I know, Jin told me. But here's the thing, I have a bunch of stock that I need to move and you have a lot of guys who need weapons. So this is what I propose, we set up a deal and we'll make sure our ship's where it needs to be when it needs to be there. I'll even make sure your sister is in top form."

Naoto wondered if this was what people meant when they said someone was driving a hard bargain. Regardless, this bastard, Yhu, had him trapped between a rock and hard place and neither seemed likely to give. On the one hand, Kallen was being held as a hostage. On the other, his entire group's autonomy was being threatened. If he let them dictate where and who he got his weapons from, it would only open the door to them telling him where and how he could operate which would eventually lead to his cell getting swallowed up by the Blood of the Samurai.

This operation was off to one big shit of a start. He hoped it wasn't an omen as to how the rest of his plan would pan out.

"You said you have no intention of hurting Kallen. So if I refuse to your demands, what happens to her?" Naoto asked, his fingers still resting around the butt of his gun.

"Well, we don't want to hurt her, Naoto. But we're here to make a profit and we'll do whatever we have to to get it." Yhu answered with an arrogant smirk. "Jin's watching over her personally.

"A real entrepreneur, huh?" Naoto asked, hesitating only a second, before he made up his mind and raised his gun. "You didn't study risk management, did you, you dumb piece of shit? You _dare_ to come in here and try to force _my_ hand?"

"Are you an idiot? We have your sister!" Yhu exclaimed as real shock and fear crossed his face. "If I don't keep in contact with Jin he'll kill her. Jin said you'd do anything to save her."

"I bet Jin never told you we grew up together. He knows what I'll do to him if he touches her. And besides, I gave Kallen very clear and very specific orders to be in position on the twenty-ninth. I told her to do whatever was necessary to get here." Naoto explained ferally. God damned son of a bitch. He was going to kill Jin the next time he saw him. If he was reading this situation wrong . . . if Jin had changed that much in the last three years. . .

No, he couldn't count on knowing what Jin was thinking. He'd have to trust in Kallen and her skills. She knew better than to leave the key to the Glasgow laying around and she never went anywhere without a weapon, even to school. He doubted they'd be able to get the drop on her unless she shied away from causing them damage. She was more than decent in a fight. "_Whatever_ was necessary. Up to and including using force to take the ship from your men."

"You think one girl -"

But Naoto didn't give him a chance to finish his protests before he pulled the trigger. Either way, there was only one option. Kallen would never have forgiven him if he'd allowed their organization's position to be compromised for her sake. Playing lapdog to the Blood of the Samurai just wasn't an option. Kallen would understand – no, Kallen would have demanded the course he was taking now.

He just hoped he hadn't just condemned her to death.

"Clean this up." He ordered with a scowl to one of his subordinates, his fingers curling into a frustrated fist. "If we refuse to bow to Britannia, how can we let ourselves bow to scum like this?"

"I'm on it." The subordinate said quickly, moving to drag the body away before it had even ceased twitching.

He turned away and came face to face with Matsumoto, the man he'd just told he'd do anything to protect his sister. He felt like a filthy hypocrite. Oh he could talk all day long about how he'd do anything for her – he'd dismembered the body of a cop for her, for God's sake! - but when it came to his own little personal army, he faltered? How very shallow he was! His only comfort right now was that she would understand. If anyone ever explained this situation to her, she would certainly understand.

"He didn't call you by your name." Matsumoto pointed out after a moment and Naoto was just glad he had the tact not to accuse him of selling out his own sister.

"Is it surprising that someone in my position would operate under more than one name?" Naoto grumbled before offering his hand to shake. "My name is Naoto Kouzuki."

* * *

Lelouch sat in the mess hall, perusing yet another long list of personnel profiles on his laptop. Between soldiers, doctors and support staff, there were a lot more people on base than Lelouch had originally anticipated. And there were a lot more people with potential links to the Eighteens than he'd anticipated too.

It was aggravating that he'd thought by doing this he'd be able to narrow down the suspect list to a handful of people. In the end, he was just going to make more work for himself. Because now he'd want to question each of these people and he'd undoubtedly disbelieve what each of them had to say. He felt like he was going nowhere. What he needed was more evidence. He needed to know how the information had been leaked to the Eighteens or where from or even just _what_ information had been given.

But so far they'd found nothing and that only frustrated him more, sending him back to the personnel files. It was a vicious circle, but he wanted the person who'd betrayed him brought to justice. Not only because he'd almost been captured, but because it had put his people at needless risk too.

"Can I sit here?"

Lelouch barely even looked up from his work. It was Hector. The only people who would have asked were members of his squad. Otherwise, most of the people on base were too shy to approach if they realized who he was or ignored him if they didn't.

"Sure." He grunted, closing the file and deeming it 'unsuspicious' before opening the next one.

Hector sat down across from him, toting a plateful of the shepherd's pie they were serving. It was substandard, in Lelouch's opinion – he'd already had his obligatory plateful earlier – but it was sustenance.

"What are you doing?" Hector asked.

"Looking for the traitor." Lelouch answered without looking away from his screen.

"Sir . . ." His subordinate hesitated. "What makes you so certain it wasn't Von Hoffman?"

Lelouch glanced up from his work to frown at him. "In all the time he worked as your squad's mechanic, did you ever suspect him of being a traitor? Of selling information to the Eighteens?"

"Well, no. But we never really spoke to him much either." Hector admitted.

Lelouch shook his head slightly. "No. Von Hoffman didn't betray me. I've given him a reason to be loyal to me. Besides, if it had been him, he could have easily disabled some vital weapon systems of my machine to make it easier for them to take me. I'm not going to pin the blame on him just because he's a Number. I'd much rather find the truth."

"You know, it never really mattered to me whether or not he was a Number before this happened." Hector grumbled after a few unenthusiastic mouthfuls of the shepherd's pie.

"So don't let it matter now." Lelouch suggested, turning back to his work. But before he could become completely absorbed again, he noticed the way Hector was eating his food – a methodical march from the left side of his plate to the right. Lukas had done the same thing and the thought brought a wry smirk to his lips that didn't go unnoticed.

"Something wrong?" Hector asked.

"No." Lelouch chuckled. "You just reminded me of Lukas for a moment. He'd do the same thing with his plate."

Hector snorted. "You really did befriend the little bastard, didn't you?"

"I did." Lelouch agreed. "I don't usually make friends easily, but your brother made an impact on me that was hard to ignore."

"Lukas did?" He asked a little skeptically, pausing with his fork halfway to his mouth. "What did he do? Sock you one?"

"Not at first. That came later, during unarmed combat training." Lelouch said. "But without him to break the ice for me, I would probably remained ostracized from my training mates for the majority of Basic."

"Yeah, well he never did have any couth." Hector laughed. "I talked to him yesterday on the phone and all he could tell me about were the hot E.U. women he'd seen."

"He's doing well?" Lelouch inquired, hungry for news of his friend.

Hector shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. But the E.U. border isn't like here. It isn't a hostile war zone yet, so mostly all they do is scheduled patrols then spend their nights out on the town."

"Must be nice." Lelouch said, gesturing around the canvas mess hall. "Meanwhile, we're stuck camping in the desert."

"I'm sure he'd come out here at the drop of a hat if he was asked to." Hector said. "He asked about you. He nearly lost it when I said you'd been ambushed and almost captured."

Lelouch snorted in response, trying to imagine the expression that would have crossed Lukas' face at the new.

"He told me . . ." Hector hesitated. "He told me that he'd made a pledge or service to you."

Lelouch raised his eyes sharply to look at Hector. Why would he bring that up? Did he not approve? And even if so, it wasn't any of his business. Whatever oaths or pledges Lukas made had nothing to do with Hector.

"He urged me to do the same. He said . . . that you were someone worth following."

Lelouch's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "That particular oath isn't the kind of thing you should swear just because someone else says you should. Even if that someone is your brother."

Hector didn't say anything for a long moment, instead using his fork to turn his mashed potatoes into starchy mountains. "I trust his judgment."

"Lukas' judgment?" Lelouch asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "Really? Even in something as important as this?" Swearing oneself to a member of the royal family was no laughing matter. It was an oath of fealty that held precedence over any other command as well as the surrender of one's authority over their own life or death. "Lukas told me he had a bit of misspent youth."

"More like misguided." Hector snorted. "No, I suppose you're right. It was misspent and misguided, but I trust him anyway. He's changed a lot since then."

"Oh?" Lelouch asked. "This is actually a story I'd like to hear."

His subordinate glanced up before chuckling cruelly and adopting a look that anyone about to cause undue embarrassment to a younger sibling knew. "You want to hear about how much of a little bastard Luke used to be?"

"Yes. He mentioned in passing that he had a wild childhood until you snapped him out of it. He has a lot of respect for you, you know? He talked about you a lot. But I want to hear the whole story and you seem like the best source." Lelouch answered.

"Alright." Hector nodded, leaning back in his chair. "Well, the first thing you have to understand is that Lukas and I are six years apart. So, for the majority of the time I've have the pleasure of being his sibling, he was just my annoying kid brother who wanted to follow me and my friends around and hang out. I never really paid attention to him, except to get in the occasional brawl with him when he got too uppity. I supposed he wasn't really that bad of a kid. He just got . . . mixed up in the wrong crowd, sort of.

"We grew up in a small town so there weren't a lot of kids his age to play with. But there were a lot of Three families in the area. Technically speaking, anyone can move to the homeland, but just because they move there doesn't revoke their Number designation. Anyway, there were a whole horde of these Three brats in the same neighborhood as us and since there was no one else to play with, they became Luke's friends.

"Which was fine when he was little. But then they got older and they went to school and began learning about the differences between Britannians and Numbers and about the history. Obviously, it wasn't long until the other kids began to bully the Threes." Hector shook his head. "Fucking brat. Well, Lukas, being the hard-headed idiot that he was, decided he wasn't going to stand for it. After all, these kids were bullying his friends. They'd run around in diapers together, rode their first bikes and skinned their first knees together. He wasn't going to let the other kids trample on his friendship with them.

"Which led to schoolyard brawls, bullying of his own and back talking his teachers. Which, of course, led to him getting suspended. A lot. Along with all of his friends. Not sure how it's done in the cities, but in a small town like ours, you pretty much have to kill someone to get expelled from the school.

"So he'd break some kid's face and get rewarded with a week off with his friends. By the time he was in that annoying pre-teen 'I know everything there is to know about how the world works' stage, he'd taken his act off the school grounds. Brawling on main street, trespassing at the cemetery or the the swimming pool or God knows where else after hours, graffitiing the school or peoples houses or a very large, crude, inappropriate painting on the side of the grocery store.

"He was a hellion. Little bastard." Hector chuckled. "The first time he was picked up by the cops, he and his friends broke into the local water treatment plant and were in the process of trying to figure out how to turn the whole town's water into iced tea when they were interrupted by a friendly neighborhood constable. Mom almost had a breakdown when she got the call from the station."

"And the second time?" Lelouch asked, suppressing his smirk. This was an entirely different picture of his friend than he'd imagined. He would definitely have to bring it up next time he saw Lukas. "He said he was arrested twice before you beat some sense into him."

Hector's expression darkened at the question. "One of his buddies got beaten up pretty bad – like eating out of a tube bad, from what I heard about it. For whatever reason, Luke decided he wanted revenge. Cops picked him up when they saw him headed across town lugging a jerrycan. They knew by then that when they saw him out and about at night he was up to no good. Can't count how many times they brought him back to the house with a warning.

"I don't know if he was planning on burning down the guy who did it's house, or what, but the cops took him in anyways and charged him with mischief because he hadn't actually done whatever it was he was planning on doing."

"Where were you? You made it sound like you weren't there?" Lelouch asked.

"Hell, I got out of that shit hole as soon as I was able to. The day after I turned eighteen I moved out and joined the army. Four months later, I was suppressing local resistance in Area Thirteen." Hector answered with a shrug. "You know, my first night back in the country after completing my tour of duty, I show up at my parents' house and find out Lukas is in jail. Mom decided to let him stew in there. She thought it would teach him a lesson.

"I thought I could teach him a better lesson on my own. So I posted his bail, got him the hell out of there then beat the shit out of him. _Then_ I talked some sense into him, though I don't really blame him if he only remembers that I beat the sense into him. In any case, he was never arrested or in trouble with the cops again after that. Either he stopped being such a delinquent or he got smart about it. But I think it was the former, because he went back to school, got good grades and graduated near the top of his class – even if it was a year late."

"Huh. Either you really beat him senseless or you must have had something good to say to him." Lelouch mused.

Hector laughed. "Well . . . what did you call it, sir? Unification Theory? I just told him that nothing was going to change for his friends so long as the Empire was at war. Because only after all of our external enemies had been defeated could we start working on domestic peace and better rights for the Numbers. So if he really wanted to help his friends, torching some asshole's house wasn't the way to go about it. Though if what he was really driving at was getting arrested, sent to a real prison and made into some guy's bitch, he was definitely on the right road. I think Luke's the only one I've ever actually discussed the theory with."

"How'd you come up with it? The theory?" Lelouch asked.

Hector glanced away, his mood dampening again. "I guess it's what happens when you throw a bunch of eighteen year old kids into the middle of a war, give them a gun and tell them to put down the local military. Of course, they don't tell those same eighteen year old kids that all that's left of the local military is the Citizen's Army.

"We went in in full combat armor – I was in the Infantry Corps before I was recruited to be a KMF pilot – anyway, we went in expecting some resistance. But we didn't expect to come up against a bunch of high school kids in shorts and sandals toting machine guns. I had to justify it somehow, I guess."

"And that was the birth of your Unification Theory?" Lelouch asked. "A justification for a massacre?"

Hector shrugged awkwardly under Lelouch's penetrating gaze. "I guess. War changes things. Before I joined the army, I couldn't care less whether or not the Empire was at war somewhere or not or how many people died. But now . . . some of the shit I've seen over the years, or the things I've done. . . I guess you're lucky, Lelouch. You're in the same place I was when I joined the military, but so far you've been spared seeing anything too fucked up."

"I wouldn't call myself lucky. I was already in Japan when Britannia decided to invade." Lelouch said.

"Right, I forgot about that. But watching the war from the command center is different than being in the thick of it." Hector pointed out.

Lelouch shook his head. "No. I suppose you could say I was a bit like Lukas when I was a kid. I too befriended a Number. Well, he wasn't a Number then, but that's just semantics. I was at his house when the war began. In all the chaos and confusion, I was just another ten year old kid caught up in the commotion.

"We ended up escaping the strike on his house and struck out together on foot to another one of his family's properties through areas that had already been decimated. The invasion of Area Eleven is generally acknowledged as the most bloody war Britannia has ever fought for a reason." Lelouch said bitterly. Even now, years later, he was still occasionally plagued by nightmares about what he'd seen during his flight to safety.

Hector grimaced. "That must have been rough on you. You were just a kid then." He acknowledged. "What happened to your friend?"

Lelouch's hands clenched into fists in his lap beneath the table hard enough to leave angry little crescent moons on his palms. "I don't know. We were separated." Lelouch admit, then snorted depreciatingly. "Kind of pathetic, huh? The very first friend I ever made, and I don't even know if he's dead or alive."

He'd looked. Oh, yes, he'd searched tirelessly those first months and years after arriving at the Ashford's for any trace of Suzaku Kururugi, but to no avail. The Kururugi's had gone into hiding, taking Suzaku with them. Doubtless it had been for their own protection. Still, Lelouch had always wondered if Suzaku was dead or had simply forgotten him. In seven years, Suzaku had never tried to contact him.

Not that he'd exactly been broadcasting his location, but Suzaku had always been stubborn. No doubt he would have tried to find a way, even despite the odds. That was just who Suzaku was – what he was like.

"I think he's dead." Lelouch murmured quietly before falling into another brooding silence, boring a hole into his monitor with his gaze.

"Lelouch," Hector said finally, drawing Lelouch out of his introspective moping. "I'd like to pledge myself to your service, sir. If you'll accept me."

He hesitated for a moment. This was different from the mutually acknowledged oath Lukas had sworn. Because there had been no way Lelouch could turn Lukas' offer down – to deny his friend – after all the injustices he'd put him through. Like usurping his command. But this . . . Hector didn't know him half so well as his brother did.

"Why?" Lelouch asked. Regardless of whatever his long term goals for joining the military were, he was going to need to trust the people who were closest to him to some degree. Part of that trust would stem from knowing just why they were serving Lelouch in the first place.

"I've had a lot of different commanders over the years, but none of them operate like you. I think you're someone worth following. And this time those are my thoughts, not my brother's." Hector answered.

"I don't have to warn you about the price of being foresworn, do I?" Lelouch asked. Betrayal was not an option after making such an oath.

"No, sir." Hector answered immediately.

Lelouch tapped his finger against the table, considering. "You're sure?" He asked for the last time. There was no turning back after this.

"Yes."

"Then I gratefully accept your pledge, Hector Zimmerman." Lelouch said, holding out his hand to shake. "But we can forgo all the pomp and ceremony. I prefer settling it with a handshake. Thank you."

"Thank you, your highness." Hector said, shaking hands.

Well, this would certainly make things more reassuring for Lelouch. Having someone on his squad who was sworn for him – sworn to follow any order without hesitance – would be useful. It was a stroke of good luck that he hadn't foreseen, but who was he to look a gift horse in the mouth?

He'd have to thank Lukas next time they spoke.

* * *

"So," Jin said casually, leaning back in his chair with his feet resting on the table in front of him. "He finally let you join up, huh? A full fledged member of Naoto's little army."

"Yeah, that's right." Kallen said, bristling under the doubtful look he was sending her way. How dare the traitorous bastard doubt her?

"Hmph." Jin snorted derisively, reaching for a flask of some kind of alcohol that smelled putrid even from where Kallen was sitting. "So you're a regular little killer, are you?"

She glared at him, "Just what do you mean by that?" She demanded.

"Or is this your first mission?" The man prodded, an infuriatingly knowing gleam in his eyes.

"So what if it's my first mission? That has nothing to do with how well I can pilot the Glasgow." She growled.

"No, you're right." Jin agreed. "But it has everything to do with whether or not you're going to freeze up if I need you to act."

"I'm not going to freeze up." She snapped. "The sooner we finish this little errand of yours, the sooner we can get back to my operation."

"Have you ever killed someone before, Kallen Kouzuki?" Jin asked suddenly, leaning forward in his seat to stare at her seriously. "Have you ever been there, staring at a corpse, knowing that you were the one who made the eyes go all glassy?"

She stiffened as the blood drained from her face and her hands balled into fists. "Shut up!" She snarled.

Jin blinked in surprise at her reaction for a second before tilting his head back and laughing as though it were the funniest thing in the world. "You have!" He finally howled, out of breath from his bout of hysteria. "You certainly don't look like it, but murderers come in all shapes and sizes, I guess. Or murderesses, I guess I should say."

"I'm not a murderer." She hissed. This man was throwing stones at the glass house she'd constructed to preserve her sanity and she could tell he was getting great pleasure from it. She wondered if he was trying to break her. "The bastard deserved it. I was just protecting a woman and her kid."

The man across from her snorted and shook his head. "You Kouzukis and your obsession with protecting people. But as long as you bend that obsession towards protecting me and my guys, I don't care how idealistic you are. Would you like some?" He asked, offering the flask to her.

She quickly declined with a sharp shake of her head. "Just who am I supposed to be protecting you from, anyway? All Naoto said was they were shady characters."

Jin shrugged. "Some uppity resistance group. They're new on the scene, but rumor has it that they shot their last arms dealer and looted all his stuff. Not the brightest plan considering the long term repercussions, but if they're willing to pay, I'll sell to them."

"A resistance group?" Kallen asked in surprise. "Looks like there wont be much for me to do after all. Attacking you would just be stupid. You're a member of a resistance group too."

"Oh, you idealists." Jin sighed dramatically as he shook his head. "You really think that just because they're fighting against the same enemy, that they're your allies?"

"Well why wouldn't they be?" Kallen demanded.

"Because they're greedy?" Jin hazarded a sarcastic guess, one eyebrow raised in a 'duh!' expression.

"They wouldn't randomly attack you just because they want your stuff. If they're fighting for Japan, then fighting against other people who have the same enemy defeats the purpose." She glaringly explained.

"Right. You keep believing that. I, on the other hand, am a realist. I fully expect them to try to take me down and steal my shit. History repeats itself. And by the way, people aren't automatically designated into the 'good' or 'bad' category based on their ethnicity, you know? Not all Japanese people are good, nor are all of them victims. Same goes the other way. There are plenty of decent Britannians. I mean, look at you and Naoto."

"We're Japanese." She growled.

"You're a half and half." Jin countered mercilessly. "You of all people ought to be able to see what I'm trying to say. You may like to call yourself Japanese, but the fact still remains that you're half Britannian. Even if you refuse to acknowledge it, you can't escape it. In fact, you're more than just 'half Britannian', aren't you? Isn't your dad some kind of Duke or something?"

"He's an Earl." She ground out. "Not that it matters. He pretty much abandoned us after the invasion of Japan. And in any case, my father's title has nothing to do with my genetics."

"True." Jin conceded her the point. "But it makes all the difference to the Britannians, doesn't it? You and Naoto are in a strange position, simultaneously part of the Britannian ruling class, and the ostracized conquered. What do you do? Play Britannian princess by day and Japanese terrorist by night?"

She grimaced but morphed it into a seething glare. It hurt just how close to the truth he'd been able to get. "How do you even know about our dad?" She asked defensively.

"You don't remember? I used to run around with Naoto and Ohgi when we were kids. I guess you were still pretty young back then. I even met your dad once or twice." Jin shrugged.

"You did?" Kallen asked in surprise. Even before the invasion, her father had been a busy man and absent more often than not.

But Jin didn't answer. Instead, he glanced at his watch and smirked before leaning back in his chair, crossing his arms behind his head. "Excellent. It seems Naoto hasn't changed a bit. There's only two things you absolutely don't fuck with when you have to deal with him; you and his resistance cell. Yhu did both."

"What are you talking about?" She asked suspiciously, hand inching towards the switchblade in her pocket.

"My partner was supposed to call me by eleven o'clock at the very latest. He tried to bully your brother into doing business with us by telling him that I'd taken you hostage." Jin laughed. "Naoto must have reacted just how I expected him to."

Kallen was on her feet the next second, naked knife in hand as she prepared to attack or defend herself as the situation demanded. So, Naoto's misgivings about the situation hadn't been misplaced. She should have expected something like this. But he wouldn't have sent her if he'd suspected something this bad, would he have? She'd been taken hostage? Were there guards at the door then? Would she be able to clear a path to the Glasgow with just her knife?

"Relax, girl. I know better than to lay so much as a finger on you." Jin said, apparently unconcerned but with his eyes glued to her knife nonetheless. "I have no intention of hurting you and every intention of getting you back to Tokyo in time for your little mission."

"You don't seem concerned about your partner." She pointed out warily.

"Of course not, since I'm the one who set him up. Even if he had, by some miracle, managed to get Naoto to fold, I would have made a ton of money from dealing with him. It was win-win for me." Jin grinned ruthlessly.

"You sold out your own partner?" Kallen demanded incredulously. "You mean, you wanted Naoto to kill him?"

"Consider it part of the price of using my ship." He explained, gesturing for her to sit back down. "Yhu's been embezzling funds from me for quite some time. I was in the process of figuring out what to do about it when Naoto approached me with his request. I wasn't about to let the opportunity slip by. So I set him up. I bet Yhu figured it out right before Naoto pulled the trigger."

"Naoto isn't an assassin!" She exclaimed in outrage. "He's not someone you can just order to kill for you on a whim." She huffed, slumping back down into her seat but keeping her knife ready at hand.

"Which is precisely why I didn't tell him that part of the plan." Jin shrugged. "But Naoto knows me. I'm betting he figured it out. He'll probably whop me one next time we see each other, not that I plan on showing my face around him for a while until he's calmed down. I'll get you to your landing zone, but I don't plan on leaving the ship."

"You're despicable." She growled.

" Because I made Naoto kill someone? It's not like it's something he's never done before." Jin shrugged.

Kallen glanced away from him to scowl out the window of the dining hall (the galley, she supposed it was called) into the dark waves skimming past them. To her, Naoto had always been stubborn and hardheaded, but he was always categorically good and kind. She didn't like to think about him mercilessly killing someone unless it was during a raid for the resistance or something of the like. Sometimes it was hard for her to reconcile the image of her goofy big brother with the cold, serious terrorist cell leader she was beginning to see more and more of lately.

"You're soft, Kouzuki-chan." Jin said quietly. "And you can't afford to be. Not on this path you're walking down. If you don't toughen up, it'll destroy you."

She glared at him in response. Who the hell did he think he was, trying to give her advice? And as if she'd follow the advice of some thrice-damned traitor. She opened her mouth to say so, but he pushed his chair back and stood up before she could get the words out.

"Well," He said with a yawn, stretching massively, "I'm headed to bed. It was a busy day and tomorrow promises to be just as hectic. We'll be meeting with those upstarts tomorrow. Make sure your machine is prepped and ready for action, please.

"Oh," He paused, halfway to the door. "And I'd just like to reiterate that you're not a prisoner here. Go wherever you want. Goodnight."

She glared at the door he'd disappear through for a moment before fishing her phone out of her pocket. She thought about calling Naoto to figure out what had happened back at their headquarters, but found she had no service out at sea. Sighing, she stuffed the device back into her pocket and stood up, following Jin's lead.

Except, instead of heading towards the cabin she'd been assigned, she made her way down to the cargo hold where the Glasgow was being kept. She'd be sleeping in the cockpit – just in case they changed their mind about starting shit with her and decided to come for her in the middle of the night. It was going to be uncomfortable as hell, but she doubted there was much aboard the ship that could crack open a Glasgow.

Naoto was so getting an earful when she got back.

* * *

AN: So another chapter. This is actually the second version of this one because I wrote it all out then decided I didn't like it. The first version included Jin being the bad guy Naoto shot and the ship's crew trying to take Kallen hostage. Which, of course, led to her hopping in her Glasgow and eliminating all of the ship's crew. But that was really dark and way more dramatic than it needed to be and would have caused a lot of psychological problems for Kallen along the road. So I rewrote it (I really need to stop writing when I'm drinking. The story just takes on a life of it's own and runs away on itself).

For Lelouch's part, thanks to the unsigned reviewer Waffles and ice cream who reminded me that I hadn't really introduced you guys to the Zimmerman's all that much yet. The story of Lukas' past was going to come out eventually, but now just seemed like a good time for it. Considering what's coming up. I would just like to say now, firmly and finally, that Lelouch did NOT just make Hector (or Lukas) his personal Knight of Honor. The oath of service he swore is similar to the pledge Jeremiah tried to make to Lelouch in chapter four (three? somewhere around there). It simply means that they acknowledge Lelouch as their lord and will follow any command given by him. Basically it's just a pledge of loyalty.

Sorry if Kallen seems a bit naive, but she really comes off that way to me sometimes. Like Lelouch, she too will get darker and more cynical as the story moves forward.

Also, I decided to go back and rewatch Code Geass and it's kind of discouraged but encouraged me at the same time. On the one hand, I notice how glaringly different my characters are from canon - the way they've evolved is really blatant. Somewhere along the way, to me, this story ceased being a fan fiction and became my own. Which is a good thing, I think but also has it's hold ups. I've tried to have a reason for the differences in character for each of my people, from the fact that Geass hasn't twisted Lelouch yet, to Kallen's will to fight still being a bit wishy-washy because she hasn't lost Naoto. Hopefully it's not too disappointing.

Anyway, thanks so much for reading. You guys really are the best reviewers out there. Thanks for enjoying my story.

Allora.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

". . . I found Kouzuki."

Jeremiah almost dropped the glass of fine red wine he'd been indulging in. For once, he was at home when Matsumoto called him.

"You did?" He asked eagerly, before reigning himself in and affecting an aura of control. "Where is he?" It was about damned time!

Matsumoto hesitated on the other end of the line and Jeremiah's eyes narrowed suspiciously. It had been a mistake using a Number for an operation like this. Of course, the bastard would grow sympathetic to their cause. But was he willing to sacrifice his family for it? Jeremiah was about to remind him about the hostages he'd taken when Matsumoto spoke again.

"Is Prince Clovis going to use the poison gas on the ghettos, sir?" He asked.

Jeremiah's eyes widened in surprise. Poison gas? _That_ was his prince's secret project? It was brilliant! He could eliminate the entire Eleven resistance in a single blow. Of course, the impact on production would be staggering, but for the price of peace it might be worth it. A final, mighty blow to put down their resistance once and for all.

Ah, but Matsumoto's family lived in the ghettos, didn't they? He could see now, the conflict the Number had to be experiencing. On the one hand, his family would die. On the other, his family would die along with everyone else in the ghetto.

"I doubt it. That kind of weapon would be better utilized against a larger enemy of the Empire. The Chinese Federation, perhaps." Jeremiah lied smoothly. "Where's Kouzuki?"

Really, Jeremiah didn't care _who_ Clovis used the gas on. All he cared about was finding Kouzuki. He'd been given a mission and he fully intended to see it through.

"I understand." Matsumoto agreed. "John Lorne _is_ Naoto Kouzuki. We had him this entire time. He's been operating under an alias."

Son of a bitch.

He had to firmly set his wine glass down to prevent himself from throwing it at the wall in his frustration. He'd _had_ him! That day in the coroner's office . . . If he hadn't balked at the fact that the man was a Brittanian, he'd have been able to put an end to this embarrassment months ago. He should have gone with his instincts. He'd _known_ the bastard had been hiding something. He should have taken the man in and tortured it out of him. He could have been done with this ages ago.

He'd been so frustrated when he couldn't find any trace of John Lorne in the national archives – no birth certificates, immigration records, school transcripts. Nothing. Now he knew why. John Lorne had never really existed in the first place.

He felt like a God damned fool. All this time, he'd been being played by some rebel faction leader. He was going to make sure the bastard paid for mocking him.

"They're planning on stealing the poison gas on the twenty-ninth. That morning, at nine, Kouzuki's going to debrief his entire cell on the specifics of the operation. All of his faction's members should be there." Matsumoto explained. "If you want to take them all out at once, that would probably be your best chance."

Jeremiah's lips curled into a wry smirk. "Good work, Private. We'll move on the twenty-ninth. I expect you to detain Kouzuki for me to question. I don't want him caught in the crossfire before I can talk to him. Prince Clovis wants answers out of him."

"Yes, sir. You can count on me."

Finally, things were going to come to a close. Just two more days and this would all be over. Naoto Kouzuki had already occupied much more of his time than was acceptable. It was time to end this.

* * *

Lelouch's first glimpse of the 'Cursed Sands Fort' was a magnified image from his factspheres from over a kilometer away. He had to admit, he was impressed. The structure was massive and perched on top of a hill surrounded by sand dunes. It held an absolute terrain advantage over the area and could probably see halfway back to Amman from it's vantage point.

There had been some kind of fortification in this location for going on a thousand years, and over time it had just gotten larger, more elaborate and more effective. Between the stone walls that were several meters thick, the small number of entrances and exits, and the plethora of alcoves and platforms where troops could be stationed to pick enemies off in relative safety, the fort was easy to defend and difficult to take. Cornelia's number advantage meant very little up against something like this. Especially when the Eighteens would be able to see any attack coming.

Littering the dunes all around the fort were abandoned, damaged Knightmares laying like broken corpses. It was a visually haunting image and would no doubt have been more eerie if he'd been viewing it by night. But, as the harsh Sahara sun was beating down on his newly replaced Sutherland and it was only quarter past noon, it lost some of it's horror.

"Well, we meet again, you miserable whore of a fortification." Roy grumbled into his radio, causing the others to chuckle softly. No doubt they all felt the same.

They were at the established safe line. Apparently, the high powered canons placed around the fort's walls could destroy a Knightmare even up to this far away. Which was impressive and somewhat daunting.

Cornelia's brilliant plan for this particular operation was to set herself up as bait and lead her Glaston Knights right up to the walls to create a commotion and cause as much damage as possible, hoping to draw the enemy out. With the addition of the sand panels, such a move was finally viable. The cannon's may have been powerful, but they took a second or two to aim. If the Knightmares could move quickly enough – something that heretofore had been impossible – it was possible to avoid being hit.

But only if they kept in constant motion.

Personally, Lelouch found Cornelia's strategy akin to poking an ant hill with a stick just to watch the upheaval. Even if she did get right up to the walls, there was nothing in her arsenal that could actually take them down. Intelligence reports suggested that the walls were somewhere between ten and thirteen meters thick at the base. Even a KMF rifle at point blank range wouldn't cause much more than a scratch = and the Eighteens would know it if they actually took a moment to consider it.

Basically, she was counting on them panicking or being carelessly overeager to take her down, but Lelouch only gave the operation a fifty percent chance of success. While her reputation was fearsome and some of the soldiers might be sent into a frenzy because of it, unless she scaled the walls and got inside the fort (which would be stupid and cut her off from the majority of her backup), the Eighteens wisest course of action would be to turtle up inside the fort and keep firing in hopes of actually hitting her.

Cornelia and her Knights were hampered by the fact that they were going to have to keep in motion, so a concentrated attack on the same spot to slowly wear it away (oh so very slowly but probably the only chance they had) would be difficult. Not that causing damage to the fort was the real objective here.

Some people might have accused Cornelia of glory seeking, but Lelouch understood that if anyone had a chance of drawing the enemies out of their stronghold, it was Cornelia. They wouldn't risk the impregnability of their fortress for any common soldier. But in this scenario, they'd have a chance to take out the Chief General and Second Princess of Britannia. She was counting on them being greedy.

Lelouch's squad, along with ten others had been sent to encircle the fort and keep the (potentially) frenzied Eighteens from fleeing. So he was being sidelined even after being moved to the front lines because he doubted the enemy would even engage Cornelia in what she'd have liked to call honorable battle.

"Too brash, Cornelia." He murmured to himself as he watched her custom Gloucester speed off through the no man's land between the safe line and the fort, zigzagging erratically to keep them from predicting her next position. The sand exploded all around her, sending great cascades of it up into the air, but they all failed to deliver even a glancing blow.

Those sand panels really were amazing. He couldn't wait until Von Hoffman had finished with his squad's ones. The mechanic had been up and in the hangar day and night since he'd been released from the interrogation room. He was practically living on caffeine by now and Lelouch wasn't sure how much longer he would last before crashing. Still, even when Lelouch had suggested that the man should take a break, he'd declined and stated that because the first wave of sand panels had been lost to them because Lelouch had defended him, getting the second wave done as soon as possible was the least he could do.

So Lelouch left him to his own devices, though he had every intention of making the mechanic check over his work again after taking a long nap before he put the rushed sand panels into the field. The last thing he needed was for his squad's sand panels to malfunction in the field. He assumed that Cornelia had had some engineer that she explicitly trusted look over Von Hoffman's work before using them just to assure herself that the Number wasn't trying to assassinate her.

"You guys think this will actually work?" Charles asked on the private channel reserved for their squad.

"Of course." Roy answered immediately. "You don't think a bunch of Eighteens will be able to take down the Goddess of Victory, do you?"

"Of course not." Lelouch said. "I have no doubt that if the Eighteens decide to fight her, Cornelia and the Glaston Knights will emerge victorious. But the Eighteens have to know that too. And in any case, it seems unlikely that they'll send out their entire fighting force to sortie with Cornelia. So even if they do decide to engage her, and even if she wins, the victory will be meaningless. The fort will still be standing and there will still be people defending it. Slowly chipping away at them like this isn't going to end this war."

"That's kind of a bleak outlook, Lelouch." Hector sighed.

Lelouch frowned. "I'm sorry. Forget I said that." He murmured. He supposed speaking in such a way wasn't going to do anything to boost morale.

"No. You're right." Roy said firmly. "It's not something we want to hear, but it's the truth. We need a decisive victory at this damned fort before we can steamroll the rest of the Area into submission. This kind of skirmishing isn't solving anything. Especially when they still have supplies coming in from the E.U. to replace their losses."

Lelouch didn't say anything, but silently agreed with everything Roy said. People were dying here in pointless battles that didn't determine anything but how high the death toll was going to get. Even if the Eighteens sent out their Knightmares to engage Cornelia, she may beat them but she wouldn't exactly gain anything with her victory.

He watched her make it to the walls of the fort and beneath the minimum angle of the powerful turret cannons on the wall, forcing the Eighteens to resort to less deadly weapons. Cornelia released a barrage and her slash harkens into the reinforced steel Eastern gate, causing minimal damage.

"Fight me, you cowards!" Cornelia bellowed over an open channel. "Or is hiding behind walls all you Eighteens are good for?"

Lelouch doubted that such a painfully obvious attempt at provocation would work. But he was surprised when the North gate of the fortress opened and a dozen . . . machines . . . raced out to engage Cornelia. Apparently the enemy _could_ be provoked if you insulted their courage. He filed that away for future reference.

"What the hell are those?" Lelouch asked as he brought up a closer image of the machines on his monitor.

"The ugly bastard children of a tank and a Knightmare?" Amanda hazarded the guess.

"Those must be the Bamides we were warned about. The MEF Knightmare models they're manufacturing from within their area of control." Hector suggested. "Never actually seen one before though."

The Bamides were massive, hulking machines. Lelouch refused to put them in the same class as his Sutherland by calling them Knightmares. They were monstrosities that towered over the Gloucesters that were rushing to engage them. But their lack of arms meant they had nothing to engage the short-ranged specialized Gloucesters with aside from machine gun fire which, thanks to Von Hoffman's superior sand panel design, missed more often than not.

Lelouch shook his head, watching at the Bamides rapidly scattered, trying to put distance between themselves and Cornelia's forces – who has masterfully put themselves between the machines and the fort, cutting off their retreat – so they could bring the oversized central cannons to bear on her Knights. Of course, Cornelia was having none of it and kept up the pressure, even out into territory where she had to dodge cannon fire from the walls.

"She's got them on the run!" Roy howled with a loud laugh. "What do you think the chances are of her chasing them this way, Lelouch? I really want to take a crack at these behemoths."

"Steady, Roy." Lelouch admonished, turning his machine slightly to make sure his subordinate didn't rush off into the fray. Without sand panels, moving any closer to the fort than this was suicide. He'd rather not lose another machine so soon after having half his squad wiped out. "She'll bring them to us."

"Yeah yeah, I'm just saying that -"

Whatever else Roy had to say was drowned out by the ground suddenly exploding at his feet, sending his Sutherland off balance and flat on it's back.

Impossible!

He'd been fired at by the high powered cannons on the wall?

The only people who knew about his placement on the field were those present – his squad, Cornelia, the Glaston Knights and the other ten squads cordoning off the area. And there was no way there was a leak in these forces. The other squads were directly under the command of General Alec who had been sworn to Cornelia for years. It was next to impossible to get into his units, let alone to make it up high enough to be in on this kind of operation.

There was _no way_ one of those people would have given his position away to the enemy. . . Or had his infuriated guess been right? Had Cornelia set him up? Had she put him here to make sure this time that he was taken care of?

"Lelouch! Lelouch! Say something." His squad mates panicked voices clamored in his radio, drawing him out of his grim thoughts.

"I'm fine." Lelouch grumbled, pushing his Knightmare back up to it's feet. He was only mildly surprised to find that his squad had taken up a formation around him that would make it impossible for the cannon to try to hit him again.

He withdrew his unit well out of the cannon's range and set his people into a defensive formation. That the MEF had decided to take a potshot at him wasn't all that surprising or worrying in and of itself. He was a high profile target and he'd grown to accept that. Next to Cornelia, he was probably the second most sought after head in Area Eighteen. But what was worrying was how they'd known – again – just which machine he was in.

This was just like last time. They'd completely ignored every other target out there and zeroed in on his location. Which was just. . . just impossible. They shouldn't have been able to do that. Was he putting too much faith in General Alec's men? Or too much faith in Cornelia? Or, even worse, too much faith in his own squad?

"Lelouch!" Cornelia snarled over his radio even as she plunged her stun lance into the chest of one of the Bamides. "Why did you break formation?"

"The Eighteens have been made aware of my location." Lelouch answered, biting his lip hard to keep himself from voicing his suspicions about her.

"What?" Cornelia demanded incredulously. "All of you, protect Prince Lelouch with your lives!" She ordered all of the squads in the area.

"That's not necessary." Lelouch interrupted. "I've withdrawn my squad another fifty meters so they can't take another shot at me. Don't break your formation." Lelouch didn't want the other squads near him until he could be sure that they weren't in on this betrayal. It was bad enough his own squad had now fallen under suspicion but the rest of the army too?

Was he paranoid?

No.

How could they have possibly known? Did the Eighteens have his IFF code? But that didn't make sense either, because he was operating under a different code than he had been last time thanks to them destroying his last machine. And in any case, if they'd known his IFF from the start, why hadn't they fired on him earlier?

It was almost like they hadn't known until just a moment ago that he was involved in the operation. So how?

. . . No.

Scowling, Lelouch raised his KMF rifle and aimed at the nearest Bamide – one that was currently occupied with trying to fend off Cornelia's fierce attack. It was near the outside range of the gun's effectiveness, but that wasn't really the point right now. "I'm going to fire on the machine Cornelia's engaged with." He announced firmly into his radio.

"Why are you telling us that?" The leader of one of the other squads asked as Lelouch pulled the trigger.

The Bamide turned to evade the attack – something that wouldn't have shown up on any sensors.

"All units be advised that our communications are being intercepted by the enemy." Lelouch announced over the channel shared by all the squads.

It was supposed to be impossible. The encryption codes were changed every day to prevent just this thing from happening. And there were only a handful of people who had access to the codes in their raw form. And only a handful of those who would be in a position to leak them to the enemy. Even if they changed their frequency now, it wouldn't make much of a difference because there was nothing stopping the Eighteens from following them onto the new channel. It would take a while for a new encryption to be made ready, and it wasn't something that could be done in the middle of a battle because it required a reboot of the KMF system.

And in any case, without knowing just who the traitor was and without having them removed from their position, it would still be a moot point because the Eighteens would no doubt be apprised of the changes as well.

"Damn. Are you sure, Lelouch?" Cornelia demanded.

"Yes."

He could only imagine the furious scowl that had to twist across her face at the news. She took her frustration out on the Bamide in front of her, deploying her slash harkens at the same time as she drove her lance into the machine. It exploded when it's Yggdrasil drive caught fire, bathing Cornelia's machine in a background of fire.

"Withdraw." She ordered, after confirming that the rest of the enemies had also been taken down. The Glaston Knights were a formidable enemy, especially when they were fighting together in tandem. Only Guilford's machine had sustained any damage and, knowing him, it was only because he'd used himself as a shield for Cornelia. "Further engaging the enemy serves no purpose if they know every move we intend to make."

Lelouch agreed with her orders, though he knew how much it must have cost her in pride. Cornelia hated showing weakness to anyone and having to turn tail and flee from these Eighteens would shame her. But being shamed was better than being dead and staying in this area any longer would serve no purpose. Not that it had served much purpose to begin with.

Sighing, Lelouch gave the order for his squad to fall in behind the Glaston Knights and head back to the base. Today's operation turned out to be nothing more than a waste of time, though at least now he knew how his location had been leaked to the Eighteens.

When they'd been ambushed on patrol, Nick had addressed him as 'your highness' over the radio and told him that they'd been headed in his direction. And this time, both Hector and Roy had addressed him by his name before they'd decided to try their luck and take him out.

The Eighteens would have been wiser to show some restraint and keep their source of information secret until an operation of some importance came up. He ran his finger gently over the stitches above his temple and silently vowed that he wouldn't be caught unawares like this again. He was going to find the one responsible and he was going to make sure they were punished. The Eighteens had given their informant away on this operation and Lelouch fully intended to take advantage of the light that had been shed on the situation.

He was not someone to be trifled with.

* * *

Kallen wasn't exactly thrilled with having to play bodyguard for Jin Nakata, but it was better than staying at the Stadtfeld estate doing nothing. But only barely. Jin's company was only slightly more preferable than Lady Stadtfeld's, if only because he didn't reprimand her for cursing.

Which she'd been doing a lot that day since Jin had woken her up from the horrific position she'd been curled up in inside the cockpit of the Glasgow bearing a litany of sarcastic remarks and teasing laughter. At least he'd also had the good sense to bring her breakfast. Toast and orange juice – 'Britannia's staple breakfast' he'd explained with a wry smirk – before ordering her to suit up and get the Glasgow up on the top deck. Apparently some time during the night, he'd decided that they were now friends and that such teasing was acceptable.

Their meeting was going to be taking place at sea, since Jin didn't trust his clients as far as he could throw them. Everything had been planned in Jin's favor – from the location of the meeting aboard Jin's ship, to the mandate that his clients weren't allowed to carry weapons, to the thirty-some-odd crew members who were loaded up with more arms and ammo than you could shake a stick at. Honestly, they looked like a bunch of Japanese Rambo's.

And then, of course, there was her and the Glasgow.

So even if these 'upstarts', as Jin called them, did decide to try their luck with the Rambo's, the Knightmare was almost certain to put them in their place. The Glasgow was crouched down beneath a heavy canvas tarp on the main deck, hidden unless there was a need for it. And she was hidden with it.

Neither Kallen or Jin – nor Naoto, for that matter – wanted it generally known that they had a Knightmare on their hands. There was only one resistance group that was both large enough and skilled enough to have their own KMF forces – and the JLF didn't share. None of them wanted the Britannians to get wind of another group that was able to fight on equal footing with their conquerors. Yet.

She'd only be required to act if the visitors didn't want to cooperate with Jin's rules.

Sighing, she cracked her neck to try to alleviate some of the tension that had built up there from sleeping in the Glasgow. It felt like her vertebrae had been realigned sideways over night. She could hear, via the broadcasting radio Jin was wearing, another boat approaching theirs and the sound of waves slapping against the hull. Not exactly the most exciting stuff.

"Well, we're here." A voice announced some minutes later, accompanied with a group of heavy footfalls on the deck of the ship. "Though I don't understand why we couldn't do this on land. I'm Tatsuhiro Saito, leader of the Kenshiki faction."

"Simply because I don't trust you." Jin answered glibly. "No, stay where you are. I don't need to shake your hand. I'm Jin Nakata, but you know that already."

"Hmph, you're paranoid." Saito replied. Kallen secretly agreed. They were all on the same side, so these kind of precautions were way beyond overboard.

"And with good reason." Jin replied. "I asked you to come unarmed."

"We did." The faction leader replied.

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Jin demanded. "I'm an _arms dealer_. I can tell when someone's carrying. You can deposit your weapons onto that table I set up over there just for this purpose. All of them. And then you'll allow my men to search you. After that, I'll do business with you. But not before."

There was a long silence while, Kallen assumed, the resistance group disarmed themselves for Jin. It was kind of annoying not being able to see what was going on and Jin wasn't exactly narrating for her.

"No?" Jin asked mockingly a moment later. "From the way you're glaring at me, I assume you're thinking about the best way to take me down. Did you really think I'd deal you miscreants carelessly after hearing about what you did to Takashi? Give me some credit. I've been doing this for a while now and I've seen pretty much every trick in the book. Kouzuki-chan, would you like to show these fools just how futile any attempt to take me down would be? I certainly didn't agree to this meeting unprepared." He explained smugly.

Kallen pushed the Glasgow to it's feet, pulling the canvas tarp away to reveal the machine's entire threatening facade before she leveled her rifle at the fifteen men who had boarded the ship. The looks on their faces were enough compensation for having to hide under a tarp for the last hour. They ranged from total wonder and excitement to terrified horror.

"Now, will you be doing business with me, or did you just come here to try to rob me?" Jin asked calmly from his position just in front of the Glasgow.

The response – the resounding clatter of weapons being tossed onto the table – was almost immediate. However proud the Japanese were, they'd all learned to fear just what a Glasgow was capable of doing. Trying to take one down with nothing more than pistols and knives (which were the only things she'd seen deposited onto the table) was more than foolhardy. It was suicidal.

The very second after Jin's people had searched them, the spokesman of their group turned his eyes eagerly on the Glasgow. "How much for the Knightmare?"

"It's not for sale." Kallen growled through her crackly external speakers before Jin could get any bright ideas about making a quick profit at her expense.

"Alright, so how much for the Knightmare and the pilot?" Tatsuhiro Saito tried again.

"I'm afraid she's not for sale either." Jin said before Kallen was able to put her passing thoughts of squishing the man into action. "She's not a mercenary and I don't go for the whole human trafficking thing."

"If you're not selling it, then why'd you bring it?" Saito growled in frustration.

"To keep you peaceable." Jin answered simply before directing their attention to the assortment of crates containing his actual wares. "You can come out now, if you want, Kouzuki-chan. I'm sure you'd like some fresh air, especially after all the time you've spent in the Glasgow recently." He finished teasingly.

Scowling at Jin through her monitor, she pulled the key from the ignition and hung it around her neck, hiding it under her shirt – just in case they decided they wanted the Glasgow after all – before opening up the cockpit.

"A girl?" One of the Kenshiki members asked in surprise.

"A _Britannian_ girl." Saito sneered hatefully before picking up an assault rifle from the crate nearest to him and pointing it at her.

"Come now, you don't think I'd go through all the trouble of making you disarm just to give you loaded weapons, do you?" Jin asked calmly as Kallen glared.

"Asshole. I'm Japanese." She snarled.

"Well, you don't look Japanese." Saito replied.

Kallen's glare intensified. Just who the hell was this asshole to question her? Who cared what she looked like so long as she could fight? Naoto looked Britannian too, but no one ever questioned him.

Sighing as though the whole topic bored him, Jin glanced meaningfully at his watch before interrupting what would no doubt have turned into a heated argument. "If you must know, Kouzuki-chan's father it Britannian but her mother is Japanese. However, questioning the ethnicity of my subordinates isn't why you're here, is it? And I'd appreciate if you stopped pointing that weapon at her – even if it isn't loaded it isn't very polite."

"Since when did I become your subordinate, asshole?" Kallen snarked before shooting another dirty look at Tatsuhiro Saito and climbing back up into the Glasgow. She could wait until they were gone to come out. And this way she'd get the additional satisfaction of having them know that there was an angry Japanese-Britannian half blood looming over them in a Knightmare.

It took almost two hours for the Kenshiki faction to get their shit and go. Kallen seethed the entire time. Jin didn't help matters any when he climbed up the Glasgow's frame after they'd left and tapped on the shield of her factsphere.

"You know, you need to work on your people skills." Jin admonished, fearlessly perched on the frame of the Knightmare.

Glaring, Kallen put her hands to the controls, bending the Knightmare's fingers around Jin's body. He had to be the most frustrating man she'd ever met. He even beat out Tamaki for that spot. The machine's massive fingers never actually touched him, but the threat was clear.

"Ah, ah, ah," Jin chided. "If you crush me, who's supposed to tell the crew that we're heading back to Tokyo instead of striking out for China like we'd originally planned?"

"You're an asshole, Nakata." Kallen growled, releasing him before opening up the cockpit and glaring at him.

"I'm just prudent." Jin shrugged, before looking out to sea at the retreating shape of the Kenshiki faction's boat. "Those guys are going to be trouble. I wonder if I shouldn't have sold to them?" He mused, before shrugging. "But beggars can't be choosers and at least they paid good money. How about lunch, Kouzuki-chan? I'll see if I can't get the cook to whip up something you're used to. How does grilled cheese sandwiches sound?" He teased.

"I hate you."

* * *

AN: Well, here's another one. Not sure if I like it, but after having to rewrite it twice thanks to computer failure, I don't think it's going to be getting any better.

I was surprised so many of you liked Jin in the last chapter. But I guess he is kind of an interesting character in a selfish, bastardly kind of way.

Also, I'd just like to inform you all that . . . :D This sucker has officially crested the 200 page mark. Hooray! It's monstrous. Thanks so much for all of your reviews and support. I really appreciate it.

Hope you enjoyed it.

Allora


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

On August twenty-ninth, Stacy Bernard, a senior communications officer that had served under Cornelia faithfully for five years, was charged with high treason for attempting to put an Imperial prince into the hands of the enemy and for aiding in the attempted murder of that same prince. General Dalton, who had been monitoring their operation at the time, had had the good sense to apprehend the woman before she could escape, after their startling revelation.

Her reason?

According to her, her sister was currently taking refuge in the city of Jerusalem. She knew it was only a matter of time before the Britannian forces overtook the fort and pressed on to the city. She'd hoped to put Lelouch into the hands of the MEF in order to barter for the safety of the civilians residing in the city. (According to her bank account, it had something to do the the half a million Britannian pounds that had been deposited there. Apparently the MEF wasn't hurting for cash as badly as he'd thought.) Lelouch had refrained from pointing out that if the Eighteens had simply surrendered, the likelihood of civilian casualties was low. He'd also refrained from pointing out that the likelihood of the MEF actually bartering for the safety of civilians should he have been captured was also low. What was more likely was the demand of Britannia withdrawing from the country, or at least relinquishing one of the forts they'd already taken. She'd claimed to have no knowledge of the MEF's decision to try to take him out altogether rather than take him into custody, but it was the next logical step after Lelouch and his team had slaughtered the men who had staged the ambush.

Lelouch had felt somewhat sympathetic for the woman at first – he himself would do anything, even selling out someone else, to save Nunnally from impending doom – but not enough to excuse the fact that she'd accepted money from them and that if he'd been even a meter or two closer to the fort when they'd decided to fire on him, they'd have been sending him back to the homeland in a coffin. He couldn't die yet. There were things he had to do before that could happen, not the least of which was taking revenge for his mother's death. That was something he had sworn to do.

Cornelia had allowed him to preside over the hearing with her and listen to the woman defend herself before she was put to death. He'd forced himself to turn a deaf ear on her pleas for mercy. She was a part of the military and she had known the punishment for what she was doing if she was caught. It wasn't as though the punishment came as a surprise to her. And it was ludicrous to grant mercy to people who knew the consequences to the risks they decided to take. Doing so only encouraged them to take the same risks again.

Lelouch had been saved from having to actually watch the woman be killed when a messenger from the intelligence department arrived with news that a convoy of rebels had broken through two checkpoints to the east and was rapidly headed towards the fort. Reinforcements, apparently.

It also seemed to be acquiring more and more strength as it went. They believed that remnants of the enemy military had been hiding in some of the natural forming caves that littered the area and were joining forces with the convoy in order to punch a hole in their line and reestablish contact with the rest of their organization.

Lelouch had been given the order to suit up and to get his men prepped to leave in fifteen minutes. Stacy Bernard was executed without the audience of scornful comrades that should have been present after he'd already left the building in search of his squad mates.

An hour and a half later, he was standing guard over an empty patch of Sahara sand. His squad had been relegated to 'clean up duty', exhibiting Cornelia's reluctance to have him in a live combat situation once again. This was just . . . ridiculous. He'd already proven himself, and aside from Cornelia and the Glaston Knights, his squad was the only other group equipped with the sand panels. Holding him back was foolish.

His sister had gone ahead with the majority of their front line forces to intercept the insurgents. His squad and four others were stationed to pick off anything that got through Cornelia's attack. Latest intelligence reports suggested that in addition to the number of tanks that the Eighteens had slapped back together after previous engagements, there were also a number of desert adapted Glasgows and a plethora of army and civilian vehicles. Basically, anything that could keep up with the pace they were setting was accepted into their little charge.

"Er, Lelouch?" Roy said into his radio as they waited for a confirmation of contact from Cornelia's party.

"What is it?" Lelouch ask, scrolling boredly through his readouts.

"It was kind of my fault you got shot at the other day, wasn't it?" He asked.

"I don't blame you." Lelouch assured him, pausing in his activity and focusing his attention on the conversation. "There was no way we could have known that our communications were being listened in on."

"I know that, sir." Roy said quickly. "But shouldn't we adopt measures so that can't happen again?"

Lelouch frowned. He did have a point. Even though the traitor had been caught and killed, and a new encryption based on an entirely different code had been put into place, it had already been proven that communications were a weakness that could be exploited.

"You mean like code names?" Lelouch mused and wondered if discussing this over the very radios they'd recently lost faith in was prudent. But it was unlikely they had been compromised again so soon. And if they had, being prudent about it now was a moot point anyway. Roy had already identified him again.

"Yes, sir."

The idea had potential. Whatever they would be, it would have to be something that would be difficult to guess outright. And they would have to be simple at the same time to prevent confusion.

_"__War's just like chess."_

Lelouch chuckled softly. He doubted this was what his brother had meant, but it would do.

"Alright. You're R-1. Hector, you're N-1. Charles, B-1. Nick, B-2. Amanda, you're Q-1. I'll be K-1."

"Are you using chess designations?" Nick asked, bewildered. He no doubt wondered why his was the only second digit. But none of his squad mates were simple pawns.

"Yes."

"So when you say Q-1, you mean I'm the Queen?" Amanda asked with disdain. "This is because I'm a woman, isn't it?" Lelouch had discovered that, if there was one thing his only female subordinate hated, it was being singled out because of her gender.

"In part." Lelouch admitted. "But mostly because I thought any of the others would have taken offense at the designation."

"Pfft, yeah right." Roy scoffed. "The most powerful piece on the board? I'll be Q-1."

"If we were going by that, it would be Hector as Q-1." Lelouch sighed. "He is our resident Ace, after all."

"I can take Zimmerman." Roy boasted. "Any time, any day."

"You've tried before and you can't." Hector replied blandly to his best friend. "And I'm fine with N-1, thanks."

"Then it's settled." Lelouch announced. "Amanda's our Queen."

"Yeah, you don't have the legs to be a queen, R-1." Charles added teasingly causing the rest of the squad to burst into laughter.

"You just wait until we get back to base, old man. I'll knock you down a peg or two." Roy retorted.

"Don't let me see it." Lelouch warned. He didn't want to have to reprimand his squad mates for something that would be nothing more than a friendly tussle.

"Yes, my King." Roy responded, and Lelouch could almost hear him rolling his eyes. "That's a bit of a gutsy designation yourself, isn't it? You're like, what? Twentieth in line to the throne?"

"Seventeenth, actually." Lelouch sniffed. "Not that it matters. I have no desire to take the Emperor's throne." _Only his life._

"Huh. So who do you think -"

"Chief General Cornelia's forces have made contact with the insurgents. Their numbers were greater than expected." A communications officer announced, interrupting any further conversation between his men. "A number of vehicles escaped the fray. They're headed your way, Corporal vi Britannia. Your orders are to take them all out. Don't let them get to the fort."

"Understood." Lelouch answered before smirking. They'd finally get a chance to see how the sand panels help up in a combat situation themselves. Von Hoffman had finished his squad's accessories yesterday morning and he'd had the man check them over last night after his mechanic had had a fourteen hour nap. "You all heard our orders?"

"Yes, sir." They all replied.

"We will not allow any enemy reinforcements to join the camp at the fort." Lelouch ordered before pushing his Knightmare into motion towards the giant cloud of sand headed their way.

The sand panels were amazing, allowing them to glide over the ground smoothly. With landspinners, there was always vibration from the wheels. But this . . . this was like flying. And it was faster than the landspinners too.

Racing towards the fort was an array of military transports and civilian trucks, each filled to overflowing with people. When the communications officer had said 'vehicles' he'd assumed tanks or maybe some of those Bamides. Not rusted out pickup trucks without any offensive capabilities. His stomach churned in disgust. Clean up work. Just tying up all the loose ends Cornelia had missed.

"Time to work." Roy said, racing forward on his sand panels to deploy his slash harkens into the nearest vehicle, followed by the others.

This battle was disgustingly one-sided. It was a massacre. But they'd been given orders to put down the insurgents. Grimacing, he brought up his rifle to bear on one of the trucks and pulled the trigger before moving onto the next target. But he paused when the magnified image of the truck came up on his monitor.

"But those are . . ." He murmured in dawning horror. "Hold your fire!" He ordered suddenly.

They were refugees. Not enemy combatants at all. Sure, there was the odd soldier intermixed amongst them for protection, but the majority of the passengers were civilians. Women clutching futilely at their headscarves and children huddled up in their mother's arms. Simple civilians who had latched onto the chance to be reunited with loved ones on the other side of Cornelia's line of defense.

God. How many had they already killed? Of the fifteen vehicles that had approached them, only four were left, speeding wildly across the sand.

"We were given orders to eliminate them." Roy argued, closing in on one of the military transports which was also full of civilians.

"And I gave you the order to stand down!" Lelouch shouted. "Both as your squad leader and as a prince of the Empire, I order you to cease fire and stand down, Private Gilderoy Yates. I will not condone the slaughter of refugees."

Roy's face appeared on his monitor a moment later, scowling frustratedly. "Chief General li Britannia ordered us -"

"I will take full responsibility for my actions, Private. And I will answer to Cornelia for this. Are you going to disobey a direct order from me?" Lelouch demanded harshly, aware that Hector had pulled back and put himself between his friend and his commanding officer in order to protect the man he'd sworn himself to should Roy's temper get the better of him. Lelouch understood he was putting his subordinate in a tough position – forcing him to choose between loyalty to the General he'd been serving for more than a year, and loyalty to the prince and squad leader he'd been serving with for not quite a month – but he wasn't in the mood for feeling remorseful about it just then.

". . . No, sir." Roy ground out.

"Good. Then let them pass." Lelouch ordered.

He hated this place. He hated everything about this war and this Area. But mostly he hated it because it brought back too many memories of the invasion of Area Eleven. He couldn't forget that there had been a time when _he_ had been nothing more than a faceless, bedraggled refugee fleeing from Britannia's Knightmares. He saw himself in them.

He cast his eyes back over the mile of strewn vehicle debris and forced back the bile that threatened to rise in his throat. How many of those people had been like him? Or like Nunnally? God forbid if something like this should have happened to him in Area Eleven. He felt sick just thinking about it.

How many people had he and his men killed today? How many innocent civilians had had their lives snuffed out on his order?

Lelouch realized, with rapidly growing clarity, that he had become the thing he had hated most about Britannia. Somewhere, the line had been blurred and then crossed. It wasn't just siding with the Numbers to hate Britannia. He couldn't claim to hate the Britannian military anymore, because there were good people in the military, like the Zimmermans and the rest of his squad. _He _was a part of the Britannian military. He was a Britannian soldier and he wasn't self-loathing enough to hate himself. At the same time, his eyes had been opened about the Numbers. Yes, they were trying to protect their homes and their country and their way of life. But they were not all innocent victims. Not all of them, and the stories he'd heard about the soldier's who had been captured by the MEF sent chills down his spine.

Neither side was categorically right. They were all just people. People caught in an endless cycle of struggle and strife. Rats running in a wheel. Evolution, the Emperor would have called it. Progress. Progress towards what, Lelouch wondered. Because if they remained at constant war and if they followed the Emperor's Darwinistic ideals, the human population as a whole would eventually be whittled down to nothing but a few handfuls of survivors trapped in ceaseless conflict.

And how was any different from now, aside from the number of people involved? If it was Progress – that high and mighty ideal of the Emperor's – shouldn't humanity flourish as a result?

Ah, he was a coward. Here he was, trying to rationalize how the Emperor would have justified this situation – placing the blame on that man he hated so much – to escape his own guilt. Trying to lose himself in philosophical debate, to place the blame elsewhere when the truth was simply this; he had murdered a truckload of civilians with ease.

Oh, it had been so easy. Disgustingly easy. The push of a button and they were simply dead. Something as important as life shouldn't have been so easy to snuff out. But this wasn't the first time he had killed, he reminded himself. Why hadn't he felt this kind of horror that first time? The time he'd sent his slash harkens careening into the chest of an enemy Glasgow? Or when he'd ordered the execution of Edith's assassin? Or even that very morning when he'd sat stoically by as a woman had been sentenced to death for crimes against him?

Was it just because he hadn't had to see it himself? Just because he hadn't had to look at the body? Just because _now_ he could see pieces of refugees splayed across the sand and knew that it was his word of command that had caused such carnage?

Cornelia was waiting for him when they returned to base some hours later. Guilford was ever present at her shoulder and both were scowling furiously. He steeled himself for her outburst as he released himself from his harness and climbed out of the cockpit. He doubted Cornelia would see things from his point of view. She'd given him orders and he'd disobeyed them. To her, it was as simple and clear cut as that.

He approached her silently, aware of the high strung tension coming from his squad mates, as he waited for her to say something. Anything. Cornelia had never been capable of keeping her furious outbursts to herself and he just knew she was dying to berate him. He was prepared for anything she had to say.

He wasn't prepared for the way her hand flew up and slapped him, open-palmed, across the face in front of all of his men. "If you _ever_ countermand my orders again, I will see you court-martialed and sent back to our father faster than you can blink. Do you understand me, _Corporal_?"

"I understand." Lelouch ground out, refusing to raise his hand to massage his sore cheek.

"Follow me." She ordered before turning her glare on the rest of his squad. "I'll deal with the rest of you later."

Lelouch followed a step behind her as she furiously strode through the camp towards the medical center. Inwardly, he was seething. He wanted to point out to her that they were in the Area to fight soldiers, not civilians, but he doubted his argument would be well received. She was here to win and she was prepared for civilian casualties.

Oh, he could make the argument from her point of view and he could understand it. But he couldn't really believe in it. Civilians should _not _be dragged into military conflicts. Ever. Doing so was little more than terrorism.

"Look." She ordered, throwing wide open the door to the morgue where a number of tables were filled. Even as they stood there, they had to move aside to let a member of the staff push another occupied table into the room.

Lelouch averted his gaze from the graying, blood-covered corpses on the tables. It wasn't like he'd never seen a body before. In Area Eleven, he'd seen more than his fair share of them and earlier that day, he'd witnessed the carnage his men had made of the refugees.

But there was something so much more potent about seeing one in this setting. Of witnessing Death in such a sterile environment. It made it seem, somehow, so much more final. Because this was a medical facility and there was nothing any of the doctors could do for these men.

"I said look at them!" Cornelia snarled. "These men died in the line of duty, carrying out their orders even unto their deaths! We were supposed to stop the _entire_ convoy. Because of you and your actions, even despite their efforts," She said, gesturing to the men on the tables, "they failed in their mission. You made their deaths meaningless."

"Death is always meaningless." Lelouch snarled in response. "The act of dying doesn't serve any higher purpose."

Did he really believe that? Or was it just that his mother's death had been so completely pointless? If death was meaningless, so too was the act of killing. And if that were the case, what the hell was he doing in Area Eighteen? And what the hell were they doing to the MEF? Why was he even here, piloting Knightmares? And what of his revenge?

He was suddenly so confused. He didn't know how or what to feel or believe in. When had his motivations become so complicated. Did he not have was it took to be a soldier after all?

No. Death was not always meaningless. When the Emperor was dead – when he killed the Emperor – it would have meaning. So many meanings. Revenge. Justice. Ambition. Retribution. The creation of a new regime for Nunnally. Finally, there would be peace.

Cornelia's gaze narrowed. "I will not stand for you interfering in my operations. If you cannot follow orders, go back to the homeland. I have no use for soldiers who cannot obey."

Lelouch glared in response.

* * *

"Alright, listen up! We're going to be striking this research facility here." Naoto explained, pointing to a building on the map posted on the wall. "This is what we've been working towards for the past six months. The Britannians, more specifically Prince Clovis, have been developing what we believe to be a chemical weapon large enough to wipe out an entire ghetto."

There was some muttering of surprise and horror. "I've decided we're going to take it off their hands." Naoto grinned. "The teams are going to be like this. Takahashi, Ito, Maruyama, Matsumoto, Fugiii and Nakamura will be with me. We're going to go in, get the gas and load it onto the truck Maeda, Yamasaki and Miyake will have waiting for us. Ohgi's already in place with his team to cover their escape. My team will have to subtly make it out of the building again through an underground access they've been using to resupply discreetly."

Naoto took a deep breath and was filled with the usual pre-operation excitement. By the end of today, he wouldn't have to worry about how many innocent Japanese people could be killed if he didn't move fast enough. After today, he'd finally be able to sleep again at night - without abusing sleep aides - and without suffering horrific nightmares about what could happen if Clovis decided to use his device before he could take it from him.

Code-R. The bane of the Japanese. And almost no one knew about it. Thousands of lives were hanging in the balance and still the most predominant concerns of most Japanese was if they had enough to eat and a safe place to crash. It could all go so horribly wrong so quickly if they didn't do this right.

"Security is beyond ridiculous here. If you need to get your head around it, it's taken us these last six months to acquire the information we'll need to get in, not to get the supplies we'll need. So be _careful._ My plan hinges on all of you doing exactly what you're told to, when you're told to with no room for mistakes. If we fuck up. We fuck up big time. Got it?"

Whatever confirmation he'd been hoping to get from his people was cut off when the entire western wall of their headquarters was torn down by a pair of slash harkens. Through the hole in the wall, the form of one of Britannia's new Sutherland's was on display.

For a moment no one moved, caught up in the horrifying stare from the Sutherland.

"A Knightmare!" One of his subordinates shouted in horror, spurring the rest out of the terrified daze they'd fallen into. They were hemmed in here, all bundled together to make a beautiful target for the enemy forces.

"Get out! Scatter!" Naoto shouted, as he pulled out his gun and made sure it was loaded.

How the hell had they found them? He'd been meticulously careful about being seen. He couldn't have led them here, could he have?

Just his luck that everyone but Kallen and Ohgi's group were assembled in the warehouse. This was going to be a massacre. They didn't have anything in their arsenal that was capable of taking down a Knightmare other than the Glasgow that was with Kallen.

"Run!" Naoto ordered again. It looked like there was only one Knightmare, so at least some of his people had a chance of getting away if they could get out of the building.

"You are all found guilty of conspiracy against the Holy Britannian Empire and of engaging in acts of terrorism." An amplified voice boomed through the Sutherland's external speakers. Naoto thought the speaker sounded entirely too pleased with himself.

Some people fired uselessly at the Sutherland, but most of them listened to his orders and headed for the exits – only to be mowed down by Britannian infantry soldiers who were waiting for them there. In the confusion, his people were pushed back into the center of the building, where the Knightmare promptly fired on them with it's KMF rifle.

"No!" Naoto shouted uselessly, still rooted to the spot against the far wall and trying furiously to think up some plan to save them. Or those that were left, anyway. A single sweep from the Sutherland and he'd already lost almost half of his forces.

But nothing came to him.

"Get down!" Matsumoto shouted nearby before crashing into him and throwing him to the ground as fire from the infantry troops by the door fired in his direction.

Naoto snapped out of it and brought himself back to the situation at hand. "Thanks." He said quickly before rolling behind a desk that was hopelessly disorganized and firing two shots into the soldier who had just tried to kill him. He managed to take down his man – the throats of their body armor were only lightly armored to maintain unhampered head mobility – but it was of little consolation when he saw the number of corpses littering the warehouse.

These were his friends. His comrades. People he had laughed with and drank with and bled with. People who had placed their trust in him to lead them well. People he had failed in that responsibility to. People he had let down and let die.

People he would avenge. Or die trying.

He reached blindly into the drawer of the desk and pulled out a box of bullets. He was going to need it.

"Have you completely lost it?" Matsumoto demanded over the sound of gunfire and pained or furious shouts. "We need to get out of here."

"They killed my friends." Naoto said tonelessly as he aimed at the head of another infantry man and pulled the trigger. "I will pay them back for it. And protect those who are still alive."

"Get your head out of your ass!" Matsumoto snarled. "If you die, this resistance cell is over. We need to get you out of here."

He glared over his shoulder at his subordinate. "You go. I'll cover your escape."

"I'm not just going to leave you here like this." Matsumoto argued. "You can't even make a stand here. We need to get somewhere we can fortify better than a ratty old desk. Let's get to the office upstairs. We can take pot shots at them through the window."

"Fine. Are you ready to move?" Naoto demanded. The man did have a point. This location was not the most effective for trying to take on the Britannians. And there was more ammo upstairs too.

"Yeah, I'm ready. You go first and I'll cover you."

They both made their way up the stairs, alternating between hiding behind cover and rushing forward until they made it to the office – a dingy little room that was used mostly for storage but which also hosted a window overlooking the main floor of the warehouse.

"We need to barricade the door." Naoto said, tossing his gun down on the desk before beginning to shove the heavy piece of furniture towards the door.

"Kouzuki." Matsumoto said seriously.

Naoto turned around just in time to catch his subordinates heavily booted foot in the face, sending him sprawling away from the desk and his weapon. "What the hell, Matsumoto?" He exclaimed, nursing his bloody face. "What the hell do you think -" He cut off his diatribe when Matsumoto picked up Naoto's recently abandoned weapon and pointed it at him. And then it suddenly made sense. "It was you." He said numbly. "You're the one responsible for all of their deaths."

So what was he then? Other than a traitor. A mercenary? A bounty hunter? One thing was obvious – Naoto had been singled out for some further purpose. And from the way Matsumoto was pointing that gun at him, it didn't seem like a good one.

Could he take Matsumoto? If the traitor was here only to kill him, he would have already pulled the trigger instead of getting him alone like this. Matsumoto obviously wanted him alive. Could he count on his ex-subordinate to hesitate when it came to killing him? If so, then it was all the advantage he needed.

There was only one way to find out.

Slowly pushing himself to his feet, Naoto held up his hands in surrender. "So now what?"

Matsumoto's eyes narrowed but he stayed silent.

"You obviously brought me up here for a -" He cut off mid-sentence and charged at his opponent. Matsumoto didn't even hesitate before pulling the trigger and implanting a bullet in his knee.

He let out a strangled yell of pain as his mind whited out briefly and he collapsed to the floor in front of the traitor, searing pain exploding all throughout his leg. He rolled onto his back, trying to find some posture that minimized the pain, only to find Matsumoto still pointing the gun at him – this time trained on his other leg.

"You son of a bitch!" Naoto hissed through grit teeth. He couldn't believe he'd actually liked the guy. That he'd trusted him. That he'd told him about Code-R.

Was that what this was about? Someone trying to stop them from stealing the poison gas? The timing was too perfect. It had to be about Code-R. But Clovis would never entrust something like that to an Eleven, would he?

"Don't make me shoot you again." Matsumoto said in a dead monotone, completely cut off from his emotions. This was a completely different man from the one he'd known before. This was . . . a soldier.

"You're an Honorary Britannian, aren't you?" Naoto growled. "You sold your pride for the chance to shoot down your own countrymen? You're despicable. A traitor to Japan!"

"Terrorism wont solve anything. It only creates more unrest and causes more needless death." Matsumoto replied, still monotone. It sounded like he'd said that before, a recital – a mantra – to convince someone, even if it was only himself.

"They're already killing us!" Naoto snarled. "_Needlessly_. And I know you know that. You said it yourself! That just because your family survived the war didn't mean they were safe. And you're helping them!"

"You're wrong!" Matsumoto said, finally responding with some emotion. "I'm doing this to protect my family. And I will do anything – no matter how morally ambiguous – to keep them from harm."

Naoto grimaced. Turning his own ideas against him? Hadn't he said the exact same thing only a couple days ago? That he would do anything he had to to protect Kallen. He'd never have thought those words would have been used against him to justify Matsumoto's actions.

"_I _ would have kept them from harm, you idiot." Naoto huffed. "And I wouldn't have required you to play traitor to do it."

Matsumoto winced faintly before slipping back behind the emotionless mask of a soldier and maintaining a stony silence. Naoto turned his attention elsewhere – like trying to stop the bleeding of his knee and listening to the continuing sounds of the firefight raging below. It was too late now. Matsumoto wasn't going to change his mind, and even if he did there was little they could do about it now. Not when Matsumoto's allies were already there, systematically exterminating his resistance group.

Eventually the hail of gunfire trickled to a few, ominous single shots before the gun fire ceased altogether and Naoto knew that all of his men were dead. All of his friends . . . And it was his fault. He was the one who had dragged them all into this mess. He was the one who had led them to their ruin. Most of them he'd recruited himself. People he'd actively sought out to offer a cause to fight for.

Had he been too reckless? He should have been more suspicious of Matsumoto. He should have double checked Matsumoto's background. The man was an Honorary Britannian. There had to be some record of that somewhere. He should have been more meticulous.

Had he simply been selfish? He'd been dealing with other matters at the time. Code-R was looming over their heads and Tamaki and Kenji's blunder had put his and Kallen's lives in imminent peril. He'd been too caught up in his own drama to see the snake within their midst. Granted, Matsumoto had played his part well, but Naoto still should have _seen_ it. Matsumoto shouldn't have been able to blindside him like this.

He was furious with himself. Even if he lived through whatever it was Matsumoto's people wanted with him, there would be no way he could atone for the deaths of so many of his people. Why had he ever let Matsumoto separate him from his group? It would have been better if he'd died along with them. But if he died, who was going to protect Kallen? Who was going to make sure she didn't get into trouble? Their mother was next to useless in that regard and their father just didn't care.

A knock at the door drew Naoto's attention, but Matsumoto didn't so much as flinch and the gun remained levelly aimed at Naoto. This was the moment of truth. He was either about to be taken captive and taken to another location, or he was about to die very painfully. There was no other reason for him to have been separated from everyone else.

"Target is secure." Matsumoto announced, though Naoto thought that was a bit of an overstatement. 'Secured' in his opinion at least involved handcuffs. Though he supposed the gun Matsumoto had more precisely targeted at the center of his chest was supposed to act as a sufficient deterrent to further hostile actions.

He'd let them keep believing that until he knew what they wanted with him. The more they underestimated him, the better. For his part, he adopted a look of intense pain – which wasn't that hard to do considering the fact that his kneecap was currently exploded – and waited in anticipation.

The door opened, revealing the smirking form of Jeremiah Gottwald adorned in a Knight's flight suit. Naoto glared. "Jeremiah Gottwald." He hissed, somehow unsurprised. The man had simply been too suspicious the last time they'd met. "You're the one who killed Kenji Yamamoto, aren't you?" It was the only explanation for his being in the coroner's office that made sense. And the only explanation for him being here now. The man must have been hunting Naoto ever since that day.

"Naoto Kouzuki." Gottwald sneered. "Or did you prefer John Lorne?"

"Sir." Matsumoto saluted stiffly – such a contrast from the sloppy gesture he'd offered Naoto the first day they'd met.

"Ah, Private. Thanks to all your hard work, I can finally get back to my regular duties." Gottwald said with a deadly smile before raising his gun and planting two bullets in the Honorary Britannian's head.

"What are you doing?" Naoto exclaimed in horror. "He was on your side!"

"Just tying up a loose end." Gottwald said coldly before turning his back on his dead subordinate and pointing his gun at Naoto. "He was an Eleven. I can't trust knowledge of Clovis' pet project to such filth. Private Hideki Matsumoto was unfortunately gunned down by the terrorists in all the confusion."

It was then that Naoto knew with absolute certainty that he was a dead man. He presented so much more of a liability to Clovis' Code-R project than Matsumoto ever had. At least . . . at least Kallen wasn't here. Ohgi would keep the resistance cell alive – they'd made plans for this just in case Naoto ever got into trouble. And Kallen . . . she would be upset, but she'd be alive. That was all the mattered. Thank God he hadn't consented to her offer to join his team. Thank God for Jin, even if he was a manipulative bastard.

Kallen would be safe and alive. Gottwald would never lay a hand on her.

"So, now you're going to tell me everything you know about Code-R. And about your contact at the lab."

"Fuck you, Britannian."

* * *

AN:

. . .

I don't know what to say. I'm sorry. The reason this chapter took me so long to write (or one of them) was because I didn't want to kill Naoto. I knew from the start that I was going to kill him, which is why I wasn't sure if I wanted to write from his pov at first, but suddenly when I got to this chapter I was like ':O I don't wanna kill Naoto. Think what it'll do to Kallen!' . . . But that was the whole point really.

Another reason is that, after Lelouch's combat debut a couple chapters back, you guys have been SO kind with your reviews in telling me how good this story is and that, in turn, has pushed up my standards. I ended up reworking Lelouch's pov like three times because it wasn't perfect enough to reach my suddenly improved standards. Also, this chapter marks the beginning of a really huge turning point in Lelouch's character so I want the built up to that to be good.

Anyway, thanks for your reviews and thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it.

*Pokes Matsumoto's corpse* Yeah, he's really dead. I feel kind of bad for creating him just to be killed. Oh well.

Allora

PS: Oh, and sorry about the cop out about the traitor. The whole traitor mini-arc was never meant to be a big deal. Lelouch is a prince now and he's got to get used to the fact that people will gladly sell him out for whatever reason. I'm afraid Stacy Bernard was nothing more than a plot device used to put Lelouch in enough danger that he'd have to show off his skills. Though I was really interested in the theories you guys presented of just who you thought the traitor was. Unfortunately, most of them were too big and elaborate to work into the story.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Kallen was growing more and more suspicious as the hours passed that Naoto had only sent her with Jin to keep her out of the way. He had said he would contact her before beginning their operation, but their tentative plan had had them commencing operations three hours ago. She had yet to hear a word out of him, even though she'd been dutifully glued to the walkie-talkie he'd given her since six that morning.

She'd even occasionally scrolled through the other preset channels in case there had been a last minute change or he'd given her the wrong channel. But there was nothing from Naoto on any of them. Which left her sitting at the foot of her Glasgow with the walkie-talkie in one hand and her cellphone in the other. She didn't want to call him in case he was in the middle of the operation. She didn't want to distract him. But she still wanted to know what the hell was going on.

Kallen wasn't going to try to fool herself by claiming to be the most patient person in the world. She wasn't and she knew it. But this was just ridiculous. This was past the point of patience for anyone. If she found out that Naoto had deliberately sent her with Jin just to keep her from getting in the way or from trying to help them, she was going to punch him right in the face. And she wasn't going to hold back.

There was a crackle of static from the radio, as though someone had accidentally pushed the button for a moment and she jumped in surprise. It had been silent all morning. That was the first sound it had made and it let her know that someone else was out there monitoring the same channel.

Should she risk calling out?

This was the channel they were supposed to be using, but what it the Britannians had intercepted it somehow? Was that why Naoto wasn't on it? Because he knew the enemy was?

Frowning, she held down the transmitting button for a moment before letting it go. There, now they knew someone else was also on the channel. But because she hadn't said anything, if it was an enemy they at least wouldn't know where she was. And even if they did, it would be difficult to get to her.

". . . Is someone there?" Ohgi's voice echoed out of the radio and her heart leaped into her throat. If there had been a change, Naoto hadn't let Ohgi know of it. Maybe they were just running really late. Or maybe Naoto had gone in already and the operation had gone off without a hitch. So much so that even Ohgi hadn't been needed. That had to be it. . . . she hoped.

"I am." She said firmly into the radio. "You guys better not have stuck me out here to keep me out of the way."

"Have you heard from your brother?" Ohgi asked, careful to keep from mentioning any names.

"Haven't you?" Kallen asked quickly. As a lance of fear and dread and something else that made her nauseous shot through her.

"Not since last night." Ohgi said, then hesitated. "I have a bad feeling about this. He's not even picking up his cell. And no one else is either."

But Kallen had stopped listening as she descended into a full blown panic. Naoto _always_ answered his phone.

"Jin!" She bellowed, racing away from the Glasgow – still hidden beneath it's canvas tarp – towards the last place she'd seen her brother's annoying friend. "Jin!"

"When did I become 'Jin' to you?" The man questioned as he emerged onto the deck of the ship. "What happened to Nakata or asshole or bastard like you usually call me?"

"Shut up!" She snarled. "Get us to land. Quickly. And do you have a car?"

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"Naoto's dropped out of contact."

Jin frowned. "Maybe he just slept in. No need to work yourself into a panic." He said it nonchalantly, but she couldn't miss the worried gleam in his eyes. He knew as well as she did that the likelihood of that was slim.

"Get us to shore!" She ordered.

"A ship this size can't just pull up to shore." Jin argued. "We'll have to dock at the port and that will take a while." He explained but he was already giving some obscure hand signals to one of his men. Half a minute later she felt the engines hum back to life and begin chugging the ship towards the port.

"Do you have a car I can borrow?" She asked, suppressing a wince. She hated being at this man's mercy. Most likely he'd make her buy it or pay some outrageous rental fees. But there was no way she could just take the Glasgow there without it drawing a ton of attention. She'd have to come back for it later – but she was comforted by the fact that it was completely useless to Jin without the key that she was still wearing around her neck and the activation code.

"No, but I have a bike." Jin answered and for once he didn't tease her. Apparently he understood the gravity of the situation. "I'm going with you. I'm also going to lend you a bit of extra firepower. Come with me."

She trailed after him without question, her mind racing with different scenarios to explain Naoto's silence.

When he'd said a little extra firepower, she'd assumed a pistol since all she was carrying with her was her knife. She hadn't been expecting the duffel bag of assault rifles, pistols and corresponding ammo he'd shoved into her arms before wheeling an electric yellow motorbike up onto the top deck. Jin's second in command – a man named Shohei – would deal with the port authority while they were away.

"Hey," She called into her radio as the ship pulled into the port and was secured to it. "I'm going to go check it out."

"Yeah, I'm on my way also. Listen . . . expect trouble, okay?" Ohgi warned her softly before Jin waved her over to the bike.

"I'll see you there." She said to Ohgi before hurrying over.

She wasn't impressed with having to ride with Jin on his tiny sport bike, but making sure Naoto was okay was more important than her dignity at the moment. So she hopped on behind him and clung on as he gunned the bike to life and peeled away down onto the port, where he promptly told the security team that his Lady needed to attend to a family emergency. She'd used her best imperious glare as she'd introduced herself as the Stadtfeld heiress (Most forms of authority were helpless in the face of nobility.). It was the first time the title had actually been beneficial to her.

Jin drove _fast. _Faster than she would ever have dared in anything other than a Knightmare. Truth be told, she felt vulnerable on the bike without the heavy, enclosing armor of the Glasgow. But she wasn't about to tell him to slow down. In fact, she was thankful that he was taking this so seriously and that he'd decided to drive.

They ended up arriving at the same time as the van Ohgi arrived in, but Kallen could already tell it was bad as they were pulling up. One of the walls of the warehouse had been pulled down and the only thing that would cause that kind of damage without leaving scorch marks was a Knightmare.

"Naoto!" She shouted as she slipped off the bike and dropped the duffel bag to the ground. She rummaged around in it for half a second before pulling out an assault rifle and taking off into the building.

"Kouzuki-chan!" Jin shouted behind her.

"Kallen!" Ohgi yelled, trying to stop her, but she didn't heed them. She was too far gone in her blind panic to stop now. Naoto needed her. She just knew it.

She skidded through the hole the Knightmare had left in the wall, losing traction on some of the rubble as she came to a horrified halt. There were . . . bodies . . . everywhere. People she knew and people she didn't. They were Naoto's army. And they were all dead.

"Naoto!"

But he wasn't _there_ and hope flared within her for the first time since she'd seen the damage to the building. He wasn't there. His distinctive red hair – so much like her own – was nowhere to be seen in the carnage before her.

"Naoto!" She shouted again as she spurred herself into action, too selfishly worried about her brother to check for survivors amongst any of the bloody, prone bodies she passed by.

Maybe he'd managed to escape. Maybe he'd got out and escaped the massacre and the death that had overtaken all of his comrades. But she knew the thought was unlikely. Naoto wasn't the type of man to turn tail and flee while the rest of his people continued fighting. No, Naoto would have wanted to go down with them, trying to protect them to the last breath.

God, she hoped she was wrong. Hoped that she'd completely misjudged him. Hoped that he had – even if it was cowardly – fled from this massacre. Hoped that he had _survived_. Somehow. Somehow he had to have survived.

She heard footsteps behind her and her paranoia about just what kind of forces had caused such a slaughter had her whirling around with her gun raised to find Ohgi with his hand over his mouth, taking in the scene in horror.

"Maeda." He murmured numbly, staring at the corpses closest to him. "Takahashi."

Kallen turned away, unable and unwilling to watch him grieve over the others while Naoto had yet to be found. There was still some hope. He could still be alive. If he was, if he was only injured and left for dead . . . yes, there was still hope. Hope that he had gotten away, or if he hadn't, that he had at least survived. Naoto had always been a survivor.

It seemed apparent that the people who had done this were already long gone by now. If they hadn't been, Kallen would have already expected a bullet with her name on it headed her way. She certainly hadn't been quiet as she'd entered the building – foolish. Adrenaline and horror seemed to have brought her back to her senses as she cautiously made her way to the back wall, where a map of Tokyo – with the Code-R lab circled in red – hung listlessly on display.

It was so unnervingly quiet here. A silence only brought by death. And in this case, it was death on a huge scale. How many people had died? She knew that the resistance had about fifty members. Had they _all_ been there? Summoned by her brother for the debriefing of their greatest mission yet.

She wondered how far he'd gotten into it before they'd been interrupted. Had they known just what it was they were about to go up against when their lives were mercilessly cut short?

It had to be Clovis. Code-R. Even the Knight Police weren't this ruthless – usually. They would have preferred to take all of the resistance members in and publicly execute them as a clear warning to any other terrorists thinking about acting against Britannia. But this had to have been a precise military operation.

There were bullets embedded in the wall, but there were no bodies in this corner of the warehouse. This was where Naoto probably would have been when the Britannian's had attacked. No bodies and no blood – just rubble and crumpled bullets.

She turned away, numb feet turning towards the stairs. Would he have gone upstairs? If he wasn't on the main floor, then upstairs was the only place she needed to check to know if he was dead or if he had escaped. If he wasn't there, upstairs in the office of the small storage room up there, then it was possible that there was still hope. Even if that hope felt like it was slipping now.

Surely, if it had been so easy to escape, so many people wouldn't be dead right now. But Naoto had always been smart. He'd always been able to think on his feet and surely he would have been able to come up with something to get out of there. And there was nowhere to get out of from the second floor except a fire escape that had long since rusted away – the door of which was jammed shut anyway. Would he have tried to open it? It would have been a long fall, but probably survivable.

She made her way there first, past the closed doors of the office and the storage room to push roughly against the fire exit. But it didn't budge and it was obvious from the uninterrupted rust flaking across the door that it hadn't been opened recently either.

She turned back, the storage room was empty or corpses but full of supplies. She left Jin's heavy assault rifle there, confident now that whatever danger had been here had now passed, before heading for the office. She'd never really been sure why they'd called it the office since it acted as an auxiliary storage room. Naoto had always preferred to do his work on the main floor or at home.

She pushed open the slightly ajar door with her elbow and shouldered her way into the room . . . only to have the world drop out from under her feet.

That was. . .

That was . . .

Impossible.

That was impossible.

She must have fainted. This had to be a bad dream – her worst nightmare – because there was no way this could be real. No way . . . no way that all this blood . . .

. . . That couldn't be Naoto. It just couldn't. Even if it had her brother's distinctive hair and even if it was wearing his clothes and even if that graying, blood-drained face was his – that couldn't be him. Because Naoto couldn't be dead.

She was aware – barely – of the strangled scream of anguish that left her lips as she slowly sank to her knees. That couldn't be Naoto. That dead _thing _on the floor covered in blood and gore was not Naoto. It possessed none of her brother's goofy good humor or his determination or his charisma. _That_ was not him. I couldn't be.

". . . oh shit. . .Naoto . . ." It was Jin, who had come pounding up the stairs at the sound of her cry. Jin who was now standing, sagged against the door frame staring at . . . at that thing on the floor that just couldn't be her beloved brother. "Naoto. . . "

She wanted to scream. To shout at Jin. To rail in her fury because . . . because that wasn't Naoto and he should stop pretending that it was. Naoto wasn't that weak. Naoto wouldn't have let himself fall to the Britannians. The God damned Britannians! No way in hell!

It was only when Oghi arrived, sinking helplessly to his knees next to her before pulling her into a desperate, comforting embrace that she realized that it was true. It was all true. It _was_ Naoto. Naoto was . . .

Naoto was . . .

. . . dead.

"God. I'm so sorry, Kallen." Ohgi murmured against her ear but she didn't really hear it. Or rather, she didn't really comprehend it because . . . she was too busy staring wide-eyed in horror at the corpse of her older brother.

How had this happened? How had he allowed himself to fall?

She wanted to go to him. She wanted to pull him into her arms and reassure him that she would protect him. Just like she'd promised – even if it had been a joke at the time. She'd protect him from anything. She would have . . . if she'd been there. She would have rather traded places with him than have to see . . . to see this.

She wanted to run her fingers through his hair, across his cheek, over the bridge of his nose – crooked from where he'd broken it. He'd never told her how. She wanted to touch him – to know once and for all if this was real or not (please, please just be a nightmare) – but there was something holding her back. Something more primal and instinctual than the restraining embrace of her brother's best friend.

It was some kind of a . . . revulsion that ran deep within her being. A fear. Because Naoto was dead. And she was not. They had been separated – finally and more firmly than anything else ever could have. He was now that proverbial Other. He'd gone somewhere she couldn't. Become something she wasn't. And there was something inside her that was afraid. Afraid of Naoto and this . . . changed familiarity.

Because she could see – she could see from where she knelt trapped in Ohgi's embrace – that the Naoto she'd always known and loved was not the same as this body. Yes, they shared same, basic characteristics, but he was undeniably changed. His skin was pale, his hair was matted with blood, his cheek was a mottled graying-yellow and swollen, and his nose had been broken again.

His fingers, once steady and callused, were now twisted and broken. She could see bone – something that was supposed to remain hidden within the fleshy cocoon of the body at all times – through the wounds that had been inflicted to his knees.

He had been tortured, she realized with gradual clarity. Someone had done this to Naoto. Someone had twisted him like this. Someone had made him into this terrifying Other.

And she swore she would kill whoever it was who had done it. She would inflict damage in kind. Furious retribution. Whoever had done this to her brother was living on borrowed time. As soon as she found them. . . as soon as she found the Britannian who had done this to Naoto, she would make them beg for death.

* * *

"I wonder if my faith in you was misplaced."

Lelouch said nothing. He'd thought he had been shamed enough. Between Cornelia, the Glaston Knights, the rest of the soldiers on the base and even his own squad – who had been relegated back to patrol duty after Lelouch's act of insubordination (though he supposed he was thankful Cornelia wasn't sending them all on a suicide mission) – he thought he had been chastised enough. Though why _shouldn't_ Schneizel jump on the bandwagon?

"Well?" Schneizel asked when it became apparent he didn't intend to reply. They were speaking via video conference after his brother had received a report of the incident from Cornelia. "Did you forget why we sent you there? If I hadn't had faith in your ability I would have found a way for you to get out of it. I didn't think you were this soft, Lelouch. You can't afford to be. If you're going to go to pieces every time you have to make a hard decision I don't see how this is going to work."

"I wonder if you've forgotten that I was once a refugee too, Schneizel." Lelouch said blandly, sitting perfectly still and refusing to look directly at the image of his brother on the screen in front of him. Instead, he examined his hands folded neatly on the desk in front of him.

It wasn't that he was ashamed of his actions – not really. But he'd been dragged over the coals about it so many times in the last forty-eight hours that he was beginning to wish he's just squashed his misgivings and pulled the trigger. This one was, however, the worst. Because Schneizel was his ally – he was supposed to be on Lelouch's side – and yet somehow his actions had damaged their alliance. He felt like a child being scolded for misbehaving.

Schneizel sighed loudly and leaned back in his seat, massaging his forehead frustratedly. "No. I haven't forgotten that." Schneizel groaned before looking intently at Lelouch. "Does it paralyze you to think about killing people? Does the very thought of it make you unable to react?"

"Of course it doesn't paralyze me." Lelouch answered, rolling his eyes. It was just something he didn't want to do. Especially when those people happened to be defenseless.

"Then it was a conscious, deliberate decision on your part to let them go?"

"Yes."

"Then think of it this way, Lelouch." Schneizel said. "The longer you waste time over there, the more people who are going to die. I realize you have a soft spot for the Numbers, but both they and the Britannians would benefit from a quick end to this war. People are going to die, Lelouch and there's nothing you can do about that. You're in a war. Where you can affect change is in how _many_ people are going to die."

He understood what his brother was trying to say. It was like the quick, sharp pain of ripping a band-aid off instead of the long, drawn out pain of pulling it off one hair follicle at a time. A quick strike. A mercy blow. But he doubted those refugees who had escaped his squad's fire would think along the same lines. They'd been given another chance at _life_, just as Lelouch and Nunnally and Suzaku had been granted after escaping countless horrific situations.

"The end justifies the means then." Lelouch sighed. Of course it did. It always had. He wasn't going to be able to change this world without getting his hands dirty. But the sudden appearance of the refugees had taken him by surprise. He'd faltered – he could admit it. But it wouldn't happen again.

"What do you think of Cornelia's command?" Schneizel asked, leaning back in his chair again and scrutinizing Lelouch with an almost cunning gleam in his eye.

Lelouch quirked an eyebrow before answering carefully. "She holds the unwavering loyalty of most of the soldiers under her command."

"That's not what I asked you." Schneizel smiled. "Though I assume from the way you're skirting the issue that you have nothing nice to say about it. You can trust me, Lelouch. Tell me what you think of the way Cornelia is leading this war."

"She lacks precision. She is ruthless and cunning enough when she chooses to be, but her pride wont let her adapt to the situation at hand. She's trying to bludgeon the MEF into submission, but it's had little effect thus far. She's willing to let her men die for the sake of her foolish pride and the pride of the KMF Corps. In short, she's acting like a spoiled brat who's used to her enemies crumbling before her and is now at a loss as to what to do since the MEF wont play along with her whims." Lelouch explained disdainfully.

Schenizel laughed. "Great minds think alike, they say. That is exactly my interpretation of the reports I've been sent as well." Schneizel smiled. "So then, what would you do to bring this war to a swift conclusion?"

"You're forgetting my rank, brother." Lelouch said, relaxing for the first time since he'd been summoned to take a call from the Prime Minister. This he could deal with – hypothetical situations and teasing banter. He didn't want to put up with any more scolding.

"Ah yes, Corporal vi Britannia." Schneizel teased. "Well, let's pretend for a moment that you had a rank more befitting your intelligence. What would you do?"

"Put down the fort using the quickest, most efficient means available – regardless of whether the Knightmares featured in it or not – before moving on swiftly to the other final hold-outs in the Area." Lelouch answered. The answer was glaringly obvious. But such a vague explanation wasn't exactly a strategy.

"Could you do it?" Schneizel asked seriously, setting off warning bells in Lelouch's mind. He glanced sharply at the image of his brother who was staring back just as intensely.

"Do what?" Lelouch asked warily. He knew that look. It was the calculated, pensive expression Schneizel adopted during their chess games as he silently pondered his next move.

"Could you eliminate the resistance at the fort?" Schneizel asked. "If you were given the authority to act as you saw fit?"

"Just why are you asking? I'm sure I could come up with something, but any action on my part would only aggravate Cornelia. She would much prefer me as a mindless yes-man." Lelouch explained.

"But given the authority to act, you could?" Schneizel pressed.

"Well, yeah. Probably." Lelouch shrugged. He hadn't given usurping Cornelia's command much thought. It was easy for him to pick out the flaws in her approach, but he hadn't really applied himself to coming up with an alternative strategy either.

"Good then." Schneizel smiled. "Do it."

Lelouch snorted. "Right. Or is this your attempt to get rid of me, Schneizel?" He asked. "Acting on my own? Do you know what a blow to Cornelia's pride it would be if I succeeded? She'd gladly draw and quarter me for it."

"Don't worry about Cornelia. Worry about putting and end to this war. You're a soldier, aren't you? That's your job. Putting an end to wars."

"I don't have the proper authority to act on my own. Any operation I'd want to put into place would have to be approved by Cornelia and that seems incredibly unlikely. I'm a Corporal, Schneizel. I'm not a commissioned officer and the area of my authority is only effective in a very narrow range."

"You're a soldier, Lelouch. Aren't you?" Schneizel asked with a cunning smile.

"Yes." Lelouch glared.

"Well, as a prince of the Empire, I can call on the service of any Britannian soldier to do my bidding, can't I? Furthermore, as Prime Minister, I can make you a special unit and give you the authority to act outside of Cornelia's military hierarchy. In addition, you too are a prince and can request the service of any of your comrades to serve you in this endeavor."

"I think you're pushing your luck, Schneizel." Lelouch said, as the possibilities began to surface in his mind. By changing the masks he wore – the roles he identified himself with – he could create infinite loopholes through standard military policy. "Cornelia's already suspicious of us. She thinks we're planning something. Going through with something like this would only solidify that suspicion."

"Cornelia is easily managed." Schneizel said with an airy wave of his hand, as though the Chief General of Britannia were nothing more than an unruly child.

"Is she? Then I wish you'd teach me how." Lelouch said bitterly. "I find her most unmanageable."

Schneizel smiled. "Why, all you have to do is lay a few horrifically cheesy compliments on her and her battle prowess along with a flattering comparison between her and your mother and she practically become putty in your hands. Well, of course, such an approach might not work for you but for me it works every time."

"She's nothing like my mother." Lelouch growled, cringing at the very thought. Cornelia may have idolized his mother, but they were nothing alike.

"Lelouch, if there was ever a Britannian soldier praised for her ruthlessness, it was Marriane 'the Flash'. She carved a bloody path all the way up and down St. Darwin Street in order to put our father on the throne and eliminated all resistance afterward as well. If you've ever wondered why we don't have aunts, uncles, cousins or grandparents, you need look no further than your mother. It was the way she carried out all of her orders without question or hesitation that won her such prestige, not only her skill." Schneizel explained. "In that respect, they are very much the same. Cornelia will never disobey orders from a superior. And luckily for us, my official capacity as this Empire's Prime Minister makes me her superior, if just barely."

He had known, of course, that his mother had been involved in putting the Emperor upon his throne, but he hadn't been aware it was to such an extent. These were Imperial secrets. The attacks on the royal family had been officially blamed on assassins sent from Area Two and later used as pretext for Britannia's military campaign against the Area.

"She would still get in my way if I were to begin acting on my own. If only under the pretext of protecting me from harm. She's been surprisingly loath to have me in a position that may seem dangerous." Lelouch said calmly, deciding not to comment on Schneizel's comparison of his mother with his half sister.

"Well, don't tell her then. And neither will I, unless she asks me directly. Though I doubt that she will until after you do something to aggravate her. Discretion must be your friend, in this matter, I'm afraid."

"I didn't agree to anything yet." Lelouch pointed out.

"You don't have a choice. Having you participate in this war serves no purpose if you can't glean some renown from the experience. " Schneizel replied with a cool smile. Well, when he put it that way, how could he refuse? "How many soldiers can you rally to your side?"

Lelouch paused before chuckling mirthlessly. "One." He answered. Hector was the only one that would definitely follow him into whatever harebrained scheme he cooked up at Schneizel's behest. "Maybe four more if they'll forgive my last transgression."

Schneizel shook his head in disbelief. "What have you been doing for the last month?" He asked.

But Lelouch was not Schneizel. Perhaps his brother would have been able to have usurped half of Cornelia's soldiers away by now, but Lelouch didn't spend all his spare time schmoozing around the base. That was exactly what people were expecting him to do and so therefore he didn't.

_"Well what is this then? Some publicity stunt to gain favor with the court? Kissing babies and shaking hands with soldiers taken to the next level?"_

He couldn't afford to seem insincere. People tended to be resistant when they knew they were being manipulated.

"Never mind." Schneizel sighed. "I'll begin sending some of my men to infiltrate the ranks. They'll answer to you until this situation is resolved."

"No." Lelouch said, shaking his head slightly. "If I'm going to do this, I want to do it on my own merit. If anyone ever found out about their involvement, if they found out that you helped me, then this entire exercise would be pointless."

"What can you do with just five men?" Schneizel demanded.

"I'll think of something."

"Now you're just being egotistical, Lelouch."

Lelouch glared at his brother. "If I need more men, I'll acquire them myself. At least let me attempt this on my own first. If I haven't made any progress in a month _then_ I will accept your aid."

"Fine. Have it your way. You'll have your month. But I'll begin sending men now. If nothing else, Cornelia will benefit from the transfer of some of my best." Schneizel said before glancing off screen. "Ah, it seems my time is up. I have an appointment. Take care, Lelouch. And remember, by bringing this whole debacle to a swift conclusion, you'll be saving lives."

"I understand. Goodbye, Schneizel." Lelouch sighed before the screen went blank and he was left in silence. He stayed there, mutely pondering this newest task his brother had assigned to him.

Could he do it? Or was it all just false bravado? _Talking_ about putting down the fort was one thing but actually doing it was something completely different. It wasn't a chess game. If he miscalculated, he'd end up paying for it with his life. Because, if the King didn't lead, his subordinates wouldn't follow him.

. . . He supposed it was about time he went and checked if he had any chess pieces left. Or if they'd decided to play another game.

Rising slowly, he stretched before leaving the office he'd been sequestered away into and heading for his squad's hangar. They were all there when he arrived. Considering the fact that their entire squad had become more or less social pariahs on base after his little stunt the other day, they'd taken to spending their spare time in the hangar.

They all stood as he entered, turning away from their various activities to stand at attention in front of them. He'd scarcely been in their presence since departing for the morgue with Cornelia and Guilford. He'd been spending the majority of his time being 'reconditioned' – basically a psychological anti-sensitivity training (not that it had worked since nothing they had shown him could match the brutality he'd already been witness to in the seventeen years of his life) – and had temporarily been relieved of his command. As far as he knew, Hector had been leading his squad through their patrols.

"I apologize." Lelouch said after a moment of tense scrutiny. Roy didn't look happy to see him, but the others seemed somewhat relieved that he was still there. "I've brought shame to our squad and you've had to pay the price for my actions. I'm sorry. However, I assure you I have my priorities straight now."

"Until next time we have to do clean up work." Roy grumbled. "It's not like any of us enjoy that kind of thing you know, but we know our place and we know to follow orders when we're given them. What's to stop you from going AWOL next time we have to do something like that again?"

"I said I had my priorities straightened." Lelouch glared. "I will not mindlessly follow orders I feel are unjust. That's not who or what I am. I wont, however, drag you into my own moral dilemmas as I recently did. I will not act as your consciences. It is your responsibility to determine what actions you can and cannot live with committing.

"As to your question, Roy. What's to stop me from disobeying orders again? Nothing. But I have hope that the resistance at the fort will soon fall and this war will be brought to an end soon afterward. If that happens, then I most likely wont be given the chance to disobey orders."

"We've been camped here for over four months. It could be at least that long again before we starve those rats out of their hole." Roy retorted

"That's unlikely." Lelouch said firmly. It was true, if only because he had no intention of letting it drag out that long. It had already dragged out long enough.

Hector narrowed his eyes slightly. "Are you planning something?"

Lelouch let his eyes travel up the frames of the Sutherlands towering around them before smirking. An idea was already vaguely coming to him – it needed polishing before he could act on it - but it was certainly a start.

"I am Lelouch vi Britannia, Eleventh prince of the Holy Britannian Empire and seventeenth in line to the Imperial throne. I_ will_ bring this war to a swift conclusion, beginning with that fort." He swore, before holding out his hand in offering. "Will you help me do it? As a prince of this Empire, I request your service in this endeavor."

"Do you even understand what it is you're asking us to do?" Roy demanded angrily.

"Yes." Lelouch answered sharply. "I'm asking you to serve me. To choose loyalty to me over loyalty to Cornelia. Well?"

He was met with a long moment of silence and he wondered if he was going to have to recruit participants for this mission from other squads – or worse, Schneizel's men. He didn't want to have to rely on Schneizel for this (or anything really). It was high time he started standing on his own merit and ability and he didn't want to become just another piece on Schneizel's board.

"No way in hell." Roy answered gruffly.

"Do you even have authorization to attempt something like this?" Amanda asked.

"Yes, I do." Lelouch answered firmly.

She sighed loudly. "Then . . . I'll follow you."

"Thank you, Amanda." Lelouch said with a small smile, inclining his head to her.

"Well, I'm Q-1 right?" She said as she crossed her arms over her chest and glanced away in embarrassment. "The Queen always stands next to the King, doesn't it?

"I'm also with you." Nick promised.

Charles rubbed his hands over his face for a moment before looking at Lelouch very seriously. "Tell me this, first. Do you really think you can do it? Or are you just leading us all into a death trap?"

"Yes, I believe I can do it and I will do my utmost to ensure each and every one of you survive. I have no desire to have your deaths on my conscience." Lelouch promised.

"Then I'm in too." Charles pledged. "It'll be nice to be able to get out of this hellhole. But at the rate we're going, we'll still be here this time next year."

"Thank you." Lelouch said, genuinely touched. He hadn't been sure if it would work, if they'd forgive him. Overall, four out of five really wasn't that bad of a result. "Roy, I don't blame you for -"

"Hey! Don't go on acting like I'm the only one who said no. Hector hasn't said anything yet."

"Hector never had a choice in the matter." Lelouch revealed, his eyes straying to his second in command.

"I'd be with you anyway." Zimmerman shrugged.

"What do you mean he never had a choice in the matter?" Roy demanded.

"Hector has sworn himself to me. He is bound by oath to follow any order I give him." Lelouch explained with a shrug.

"You did what?" Roy demanded loudly, turning on his friend. "What the hell were you thinking signing away your soul to some punk -"

Roy cut off suddenly when Hector raised his fist menacingly. "Stop it, Roy. It was my decision to make and I made it. Nothing you can say now can change the fact and I don't regret it. I will follow Lelouch, no matter what order he gives me. And I will not allow you to slander him, either."

"Fine." Roy said, turning his back on Hector and crossing his arms over his chest. He glared at Lelouch. "I guess I'm helping you out. I'm not about to let you send Hector to his death."

Lelouch was surprised by the sudden turn around. He'd known that Hector and Roy were good friends, but he hadn't realized Hector had so much sway over his loudmouthed companion. He wasn't sure if it was because they had served together in Area Thirteen or because Hector used to be their squad leader, but somehow Hector had gained enough of Roy's respect to be able to put him in Check.

"I have no intention of sending Hector to his death, Roy. But thank you for your support." Lelouch said (with only minor traces of sarcasm).

"So then, what's the plan?" Roy asked moodily.

"It's still being perfected and it will take some time to be made plausible. In the meantime we will continue operating as normal. I ask that you all refrain from speaking about this with others. It would be unfortunate for us if our plans were leaked to the enemy." Or Cornelia, he added silently. The last thing he needed right now was his sister breathing down his neck.

Even if he technically wasn't doing anything wrong, since Schneizel had made them into a special unit and told him to act, he doubted Cornelia would be very amiable to what he was planning to do. Not that it would do anything but help her, but she wouldn't like the blow to her pride it would cause. Her ego was massive, and if Lelouch succeeded in taking the fort that had drawn her to a halt and forced her into a fruitless stalemate for months, it would be significantly deflated.

"Yes, sir." His subordinates said in chorus.

It was time for him to turn this war around.

* * *

AN: Well, here's another chapter for you all. I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing.

Also, if any of you speak Arabic or Hebrew and would like to create an authentic sounding name for the 'cursed sands fort', please just leave your suggestion in a review or PM. I'm kind of tired with dealing with a fort with such a lame name. I tried doing it myself, but I found that the internet doesn't host a translator that converts the Arabic words into roman letters. So, yeah, if any of you can help me out, it would be very much appreciated.

Once again, thanks for reading and don't forget to review.

Allora


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

"Well," Clovis said with a deep, contented sigh. "I'm glad that's all over with. It was beginning to worry me, what with how long you were taking. But all's well that ends well. I never imagined that their ringleader would have been a Britannian."

"Neither did I. It certainly didn't help that he went to ground for a while before I was able to catch him." Jeremiah answered before taking a sip of the scotch Clovis had offered him.

"Of course. Did you get him to talk before you put him out of his misery?" Clovis asked curiously, but with a dangerous gleam in his eye. It reminded Jeremiah of the dark glare Prince Lelouch had given him when he'd asked why he'd stayed in hiding for so long. There was something menacing that the two shared but maybe it wasn't all that surprising considering the two shared the same father.

"He was highly resistant to speaking." Jeremiah admit carefully. He was walking on thin ice, he realized. He was in the same position as that damned Eleven spy had been in when he'd planted a bullet in the boy's skull. He knew . . . too much. However, Jeremiah wasn't just an Eleven traitor. He was a well respected military commander and a member of the nobility. Additionally, he had sworn himself to Clovis – to serve unconditionally. There was no way his prince could think that he'd betray him, could he? "But I eventually managed to break him. He told me about a poison gas canister he was planning on stealing from a lab in the Settlement. He'd deduced that you intended to use it on the ghettos. He was debriefing his cell on how they were going to do it when we initiated our raid. We wiped the entire faction out."

"So he knew about the . . . poison gas, did he?" Clovis mused warily, and Jeremiah was reminded once again of Prince Lelouch. It wasn't that they looked the same, they didn't even look close to similar, but it was the way their expressions and little gestures were mirrors of each other's. The skeptical wariness in Clovis' gaze was an exact duplicate of the look Prince Lelouch had given him when he'd first entered his home.

Jeremiah had known the two prince's had been close when they'd been children. He still remembered standing guard and watching the two running rampant in the gardens of the Aeries Villa. It had been because Prince Clovis had been so close to the vi Britannia's that he had chosen to serve him above any of the other members of the Imperial family. Because Clovis hadn't given up on Prince Lelouch and Princess Nunnally when war had been declared on Japan – despite the curt rebuke from the Emperor. Even Princess Cornelia had abandoned any attempt to save them after the Emperor had reprimanded her.

Only Clovis had been willing to risk life and limb to search for his missing half-siblings and it was out of gratitude for that loyalty to Lady Marianne's children that Jeremiah had chosen to serve him.

So, no, he shouldn't be surprised by their similarities. They were family, after all, and they had been friends as boys despite the apparent age difference between them. Though a part of him wondered if he wasn't unjustly superimposing the younger prince's expressions onto Clovis in order to play host to some kind of sick wish-fulfillment.

There he went again. Still chasing after Prince Lelouch like some kicked puppy. Maybe Villeta had been right all those months ago. It shouldn't bother him that the newly rediscovered prince didn't accept him because he was already sworn to Prince Clovis. In retrospect, offering his service to Prince Lelouch had been downright disrespectful to Clovis. As though the older prince had no longer been deemed good enough to serve.

But Clovis had seemed to be so blasé about the matter that the point had kind of escaped him until now. His prince had been focused elsewhere, worrying over the leak of information from his lab. But now that that matter had been dealt with, would Clovis take the opportunity to pay him back for the slight and tie up a loose end at the same time?

He'd never before considered his prince to be vindictive or malicious, but if he knew that Jeremiah had tried to abandon him in favor of his younger half-brother, he doubted the reaction would be favorable. And he had to suspect, at least, didn't he? Why else would he have gone and chased down Prince Lelouch on the other side of the globe?

"Yes, my prince. But he and all of his lackey's are now dead." Jeremiah promised. "And Kouzuki gave up the name of his contact at your lab before he died."

"I see." Clovis said calmly, fingers drumming on the manila folder housing the report of the whole god damned affair that Jeremiah had typed up.

Jeremiah had been a fool, he realized suddenly. He'd been so eager to use this opportunity restore Prince Clovis' faith in him and restore his standing with the Purebloods, that he'd blindly walked into what could possibly be a deadly trap.

Prince Clovis had never been one really for subtlety of action, he preferred to move straightforward and – if it was something he'd rather not admit to – would cover it up later. But the very blatant truth of the matter was that even if Jeremiah _was_ a member of the nobility and had sworn an oath to him, Clovis was a _prince_ of the Empire and represented law in this part of the country. And it wouldn't be difficult for him – if not completely _easy_ – to have Jeremiah silenced permanently.

"Thank you, Jeremiah." Clovis said with a small smile. "Your assistance in this matter has been most appreciated."

_But?_

Jeremiah held his breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Waiting for the clarification that while he'd been most helpful, he was still expendable. He found himself looking for deception in Clovis' gaze.

And then demanded just why he cared so much? He had forfeited his life to the whims of his prince years ago when he had sworn fealty to him. His life belonged to Clovis, as far as the law and all the oaths he'd sworn were concerned. And yet at the same time, the thought of Clovis having him killed rattled him.

And it shouldn't.

Hadn't _he_ been the one to put the gun into Prince Lelouch's hand and practically beg for death. He hadn't even flinched when he'd felt the barrel of the gun press against his forehead. And yet _now_ he was working himself up into a silent frenzy at the thought of Clovis disposing of him.

Was it only that he would rather the younger prince killed him? Would he rather that Prince Lelouch was the one to put him out of his misery – to _finally_ deal out just retribution for his failures to Empress Marianne? Rather than dying as a loose end to protect Clovis' dirty little secret? Or did he believe that his life, despite whatever vows he's sworn, belonged not to Clovis, but rather to the eldest child of the woman he had first sworn his allegiance to?

Because the vows he'd sworn to Lady Marianne hadn't been solely to the Empress, but rather to the vi Britannia family? And those vows he had sworn proudly, not overshadowed by failure and grief. A purer vow to be certain.

After a moment it became clear that there was no 'but' to Clovis' statement and he forced himself to bow his head in obeisance to Clovis. "Thank you, my prince. I live to serve you."

Clovis' smile turned a little wry but he said nothing.

* * *

Kallen stood in numb silence as she stared at her mother – oblivious as always to her surroundings. The woman hadn't even noticed her presence yet. She gave a little cough to get the woman's attention and watched as her mother whirled around from where she'd been dusting the mantle in the living room and bumped a crystal vase – almost sending it to the floor. However, fate or whatever, decided that shattering the vase along with the woman all in one day would just be overkill.

"Oh, Kall- I mean, Mistress." She said cheerfully. "Did you have a good day?"

Had she had a good day?

Kallen stared incredulously at her mother for a moment, wondering if the woman had gone blind recently. It would certainly explain why she broke so many things. Kallen hadn't eaten or slept in almost two days. She was still wearing the same clothes she'd found Naoto in and there was blood smeared across the knees of her pants and the cuffs of her shirt. She had to look like Hell slightly warmed over.

"I . . ." She began, on the verge of telling the woman off, but changed her mind. It wasn't her mother's fault. She still wasn't sure why she was here. Why _she_ had to do this. For God's sake, she was still grieving and having to be the one . . .

But Naoto had still loved their mother. Seeing how far their mother had fallen had saddened Naoto as opposed to infuriating him, but he had still loved her. Until the very end. And there was really no one else who _could_ do this.

". . . Naoto's dead." She said leadenly and was surprised to find that – for the first time in two days – tears didn't automatically well up in her eyes at the statement. Though, she supposed, she was probably dehydrated after all the tears she'd already shed.

The feather duster dropped from the woman's limp fingers, clattering loudly on the gleaming hardwood floor. "What?" Her mother asked as all the blood drained from her face.

But if she wanted Kallen to repeat those two dreadful words, she would be sorely disappointed. Watching her mother's devastated expression had risen the lump in her throat that saying the words hadn't been able to and she could feel her eyes burning again, trying to created tears out of her dehydrated state.

Kallen shook her head slightly, backing away from her mother as she slowly sank to the floor – a wreck as usual, but worse now. Her back ran into the door and she silently turned on her heel and fled the room just as her mother let out a horrible keening howl of anguish. The sound of it permanently engraving itself into her mind.

She ran up the stairs to the symphony of her mother's wails – trying to block out the noise and keep herself from imagining how her mother looked at that moment - where she promptly ran into Lady Stadtfeld.

"What on earth is wrong with that woman now?" Lady Stadtfeld mumbled to herself as she came flying out of the library on the second floor only to stop short. "Kallen." Her step mother said in surprise, eyebrows shooting up to her hairline. "You came back. And here I'd thought your gone and run away just like your worthless brother."

Kallen didn't say anything. She _wanted_ to say something. She wanted to tear into the woman for being such an insensitive bitch, but the words wouldn't come. Her mouth had suddenly gone dry again and any response she'd thought about giving the woman died before it even crossed her tongue. Instead she stared sullenly at the woman, mute but still in agony.

"Why are you so filthy?" Lady Stadtfeld demanded, taking a moment to peruse her appearance. "Go upstairs and clean yourself up. I won't have you traipsing around the house in such a state. And you'd better hope that no one saw you coming in here like that."

Kallen turned away without a word and disappeared into her room. She hadn't needed her step-mother to tell her to go change. She'd been on her way to doing just that when the woman had interrupted her.

She slipped into her shower and vigorously scrubbed herself clean – refusing to think about Naoto and the last traces of him on her that were being washed down the drain. She was cleansing herself, moving on. No, not moving on. She was walking down a new path, that was all.

She'd focused herself so wholly on being what Naoto had wanted – a protector for the Japanese people – that she hadn't been able to see the folly of it. The Japanese didn't need a shield right now, they needed a sword. They needed someone to strike back, to avenge them (Naoto included) and she would gladly take up that role. She would pay them back, she'd teach the Britannians a lesson, or she'd die trying.

She toweled her hair off a bit, but left it damp as she changed into clean clothes and began tossing things into her duffel bag. She couldn't stay here. Not with that woman. This place had never been home to her – or at least not since her parent's divorce. But the place she'd always considered _home_ couldn't be home for her any more either.

She'd suddenly found herself displaced. Naoto's apartment was no longer Naoto's apartment. It was Ohgi's apartment and, while her brother's friend would never kick her out, it now lacked the integral component that had made it her sanctuary. Still, she'd rather stay at Oghi's than with Lady Stadtfeld and the sobbing wreck she'd left in the place of her mother.

She tossed her bag out of her window and clambered down the trellis, deliberately crushing Lady Stadtfeld's rose bushes as she came to the ground. In fact, she ravaged the rose garden, leaving a swath of broken stems and scattered petals in her wake.

She called a cab – mostly because she didn't feel like riding the train with a ton of other people right now – and rode it as far as the taxi driver was willing to take her into the ghettos. Which wasn't very far, but it was close enough to Naoto's apartment – no, it was Ohgi's apartment now – that it wasn't too much of an inconvenience.

Her mouth went dry again as the apartment came into view. Despite the fact that she'd spent the majority of the last forty-eight hours cooped up inside it, she couldn't help but stare at it. It was the same. The same decrepit building. The same key fit into the same lock in the same knob on the same door. And that door led to the same apartment . . .

But it wasn't.

It wasn't the same, because Naoto was gone.

Ohgi and Yoshida were perched on the couch watching the news. From the grave expressions on their faces, something had to have happened.

"What's going on?" She asked with a little dread, wondering if someone had told the news about what had happened to their resistance group, or worse, if Code-R had been released.

Ohgi's only reply was to turn up the volume on the television.

" . . . three hundred and eighty seven people were injured and one hundred and twelve were killed in today's subway attacks. The majority of those being Britannians. It appears that the terrorists placed a number of explosives throughout four of Osaka's busiest train stations and set them to detonate during the morning rush.

"The group responsible – calling themselves the Kenshiki Faction – laid claim to the carnage little more than an hour ago. They also threatened to further pursue this campaign of terror against Britannia and her citizens unless Viceroy Prince Clovis stepped down from his position and turned himself over to them."

"No way." Kallen breathed, sinking onto the couch next to Ohgi. "Those are the guys Nakata sold all those weapons to the other day."

Yoshida grimaced. "At this rate, it wont take Clovis long to decide to use Code-R. Things will escalate. It only makes it worse that they're threatening the Viceroy directly."

"What are they thinking?" Kallen demanded. "Clovis is never going to adhere to their demands."

"Yeah. But they already know that." Ohgi said darkly. "This way they can discredit him in the eyes of his own people. By choosing his own life over the lives of innocent civilians people will lose faith in him."

"They're idiots!" Kallen snarled. "That might work on the Japanese, but not on the Britannians. Their entire collective psyche is obsessed with the idea of the class system. Of hierarchies. It's bred into them from the moment they're born. You know your place within the system and you understand that those higher up the chain are worth more. Commoners are worth innumerably more than Numbers and the nobility is worth more than the commoners. But even the nobility are taught that they're worthless next to royalty. Survival of the fittest. According to the Britannians, the royal family is the most fit. Clovis wont give himself up and the Kenshiki will only end up provoking him to respond. We need to do something. If he uses Code-R. . ."

"But we don't have the people to do anything about it anymore. Naoto . . ." Ohgi froze as a harsh tension settled over them for a moment. "he . . . he planned to take Code-R with over forty people. We have less than half that many left. Even if we wanted to trust someone like the JLF or Blood of the Samurai with the information and collaborate with them, they'd probably go ahead and use the poison gas themselves. And that's not what Naoto wanted."

Kallen sighed, slumping back into the sofa that still smelled slightly of Naoto. Ohgi was right. If they couldn't take the poison gas themselves and guarantee that it wouldn't be used, then it would probably do more harm trying to take it than just leaving it with the Britannians. If it were ever used on the Britannians – and even if that idea really appealed to her right now (whether or not it was what Naoto wanted) – she had no doubt that that Japanese would pay dearly for it.

They'd been stalled.

* * *

Schneizel leaned back in his seat and calmly scanned the chess board in front of him. His Queen was in a dangerous situation. Trapped within a cross of four ebony pawns, he had deliberately sent her into the fray, sliding diagonally into the open gap between them. And why? Because the enemy Queen sat only three squares away, content to oversee his Queen's captivity whilst protecting the immobile King at her back.

The Queen had always been the most interesting piece on the board. Powerful, to be sure, and – almost – capable of ruling on her own, in the end she was still nothing more than a servant to her King. She was subject to all of her King's whims and fancies, and forced to obey – even though she could likely succeed in rebelling.

But Queen's had no ambition of their own, which was why they were so useful. They lived solely to serve their master and lost usefulness as soon as they became willful. It was because they were powerful but lacked the ambition to lead that they were so prized.

His Queen was, at present, still weak. Growing in confidence and authority by the day, but the process would still take some time to complete. It would be a while yet, before the Queen would be able to stand almost level with the King. And then . . .

The sacrifice of a Queen was a powerful and dangerous thing. It required some finesse and absolute precision in the timing. Too early and it risked being ineffective and making the King vulnerable. It was still far too early in the game to sacrifice his Queen. For now, he needed to protect it.

Using the tip of one finger, he gracefully pushed his Bishop into a space adjacent to his Queen. Silent support. In it's current position it acted as nothing more than a deterrent. But if his Queen moved, the Bishop would fall in behind it. He ran his gaze across the board to his other Bishop, tucked safely away on the other side of the board but lined up with the black Queen nonetheless. The moment she moved against him, it would be over for her.

He drummed his fingers against the board, creating a slight staccato against the wooden chess table, as he considered the other pieces he had in play. There were many in this game, far more than a conventional game required. His eye was drawn in particular to a Knight sitting just off the side of the board. Not in play.

Yet.

He'd always loved that piece. In this set, all of the playing pieces were made of marble, either starch white or pitch black. All of them except that single Knight. A jagged blemish in the stone left a thick white band running up the middle of the piece. Technically the Knight was on the black side, but that wouldn't stop Schneizel from acquiring it. And it was _because_ it was technically on the black side that it was so useful.

A turncoat.

But this was another situation that required finesse. It was impossible to miss the flawlessly jet Knight standing in his way. His desired acquisition's steadfast partner. Yes, finesse was certainly essential in this situation – and precise timing. Simply eliminating the jet Knight – his opposition – would only set the Turncoat against him. No, it wasn't time yet.

Both of these tentative plans would require patience. Feigning patience was a skill that he had finely honed over the years, but however calm he managed to act, it didn't necessarily negate the impatience brewing inside of him. He wanted to act. But it wasn't his turn right now.

He'd set his Queen loose amongst his enemy's army. Now he had to wait for their response. He could give Lelouch his month. If he succeeded, it would work better for him anyway. But it still galled him to remain inactive. He was a man who thrived on plotting and scheming. He hated having to wait for his opponent to catch up with him.

"You're tense," Kanon observed, coming up behind Schneizel's chair to jamb his thumbs into a knot forming in his shoulders. "And agitated. Is there something you want? Anything I can do for you?"

Schneizel winced slightly as the tension in his shoulders was released but didn't reprimand his assistant. "There are many things I want, Kanon. Unfortunately, none of them are in your power to give."

"I see." Kanon said after a moment of consideration, fingers still expertly and ruthlessly attacking his neck and shoulders. "You know, you've been staring at that board for hours now."

"Mm." Schneizel acknowledged. "Your point?"

"My point is that maybe you should look at something else for a while." Kanon answered calmly. "Play a different game if this one has you stumped."

"I'm not stumped." Schneizel retorted. "I have planned for every conceivable possibility. There's nothing they can do that can _stump_ me."

"Then why are you agonizing over the board?" Kanon asked. "Or is this your way of telling me you'd like me to play against you?"

"You hate chess, Kanon. Beating you at something you despise wouldn't be enjoyable." Schneizel smirked.

"Ever the arrogant prince." Kanon sighed, ceasing his assault on his friend's knotted muscles to ruffle the prince's hair out of place. "How about this then?" He asked, fishing a weathered old deck of cards out of his pocket and dropping them into Schneizel's lap. "Try your hand at something that requires more luck than skill."

"A game of chance?" Schneizel asked slowly as he fingered the deck. "You know I don't leave anything to chance."

"Humor me, then." His friend insisted as he settled himself at the other side of the table. "It's been a long time since you've indulged me in anything. Blackjack, if you please."

Sighing heavily, Schneizel handed the cards to Kanon. "You also know I always stack the deck when we play."

"I know." Kanon nodded. "But you're a terrible loser. Deal, Schneizel. And stop worrying about this board and everything it represents." He said, laying one finger on the head of the black King. "Your day will come, I have no doubt. Until then, however, let me indulge in a little wish fulfillment on your behalf." He said, slowly toppling the King.

"Don't." Schneizel scowled, reaching across the board to set the enemy King back on it's feet. "You're tempting fate."

Kanon laughed. "You don't believe in fate, Schneizel. Just as you don't believe in leaving things to chance. It will happen. In the meantime, deal."

Schneizel sent his friend a withering glare before splitting the deck and masterfully shuffling and dealing the cards.

"Are you going to win?" Kanon asked with a small smirk without looking at the cards he'd been dealt.

"Of course." Schneizel replied calmly.

"Hit." Kanon said, tapping his finger to the table. He still hadn't looked at his cards.

Shaking his head, Schneizel picked the top card off the deck and handed it to Kanon. "What if I'd lied to you?" Schneizel mused.

"I trust you." Kanon said simply with a shrug.

Ah, yes. That was the entire point. The only reason he allowed Kanon to get away with his blasé attitude and teasing. Because they trusted each other. They'd always trusted each other, ever since they were boys.

Of all the many pawns and pieces under his command – his allies – Kanon was the only one that he explicitly trusted. He was also the only one who he'd never asked – and who had never offered – to pledge themselves to him. It was unnecessary with Kanon.

"I trust you too." Schneizel said quietly as he reached across the table and flipped Kanon's three cards over.

Twenty-three.

The two of spades sat conspicuously next to an ace and a ten. It was the last card he'd picked up.

Kanon smiled. "It's unlike you to take pity on me." He said, pointing at the offending two.

"Even you deserve a victory every once in a while. All you need is the ambition to take it."

"Against anyone else, I would. But I will never steal a victory from you. We're allies, Schenizel. I only show my ambitious streak when it benefits you."

Schneizel snorted but inclined his head in acknowledgment before turning his gaze back to the chess game they were playing around. There really was _nothing_ he could do at the moment. All of his major pieces were already involved in operations. He would just have to wait.

He sent a longing gaze back towards the Turncoat Knight before picking up a handful of Pawns from a different chess set and setting them on the board. Since all of his other pieces were otherwise occupied, he supposed it was only right to acquire more.

* * *

... Well, it's been 12 days since my last update. . .. ^^' Sorry. Christmas is coming up and I got roped into going to my parents place to do some baking (cyber ginger snaps for you all!) and then this chapter didn't want to write itself so I ended up turning to watching entire series of animes online instead -.- Again, I apologize.

There was no Lelouch in this chapter, so you all know what that means! (Or you should since it's the third time I've done this now.)

Apologies for the shortness of the chapter but I really just wasn't feeling it this chapter.

Hope you enjoyed it anyways. I threw in some Schneizel - which is almost as good as Lelouch - to make up for our protagonist's absence.

Thanks for reading

Allora


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Lelouch sat quietly at the makeshift desk in the hangar, eyes closed and chin resting in his cradled fingers as he thought over the plan one last time. All of the conditions had been met. He'd double and triple checked his plan – and tried to put himself in the place of the enemy to thwart it. He'd planned for every conceivable possibility. As long as they could reach the walls – something Cornelia had proven was possible – his plan should work.

The most perilous part of the entire scheme was their approach of the base. If they were picked off by the long range cannons before they even reached the walls, all of his careful planning would be wasted and his squad members would most likely be dead.

He hoped that wouldn't happen. Cornelia and the Glaston Knights had easily been able to approach the fort using sand panels and he was confident that his squad members were just as proficient in piloting Knightmares as Cornelia and her militia. So as long as they hadn't modified their cannons . . . No, it had to work. He'd even done field tests on the customized equipment he'd had von Hoffman construct for him. He was leaving nothing to chance. Every step of the way had been meticulously planned and agonized over. He couldn't afford any mistakes.

It had to work. He refused to fail.

His eyes slipped over to the time display on his computer. It was just after two in the morning. The others would be there soon. In fact, even as he checked the time, Roy and Hector silently slipped into the hangar - adorned in their flight suits and ready to go - and went to stand at attention in front of the Knightmares. The others followed in five or ten minute intervals over the next half hour.

He couldn't help the small, proud smirk that crossed his lips when he saw them all together. They had chosen him. They had each chosen to follow him. Amanda and Nick had even sworn themselves to him in the intervening two weeks since he'd recruited them for this operation. These were _his _soldiers. The thought brought him a heady exhilaration.

"I'm not going to give you a fancy speech." Lelouch said calmly as he faced them. "I really doubt you need one and I'm sure you all know what I'm going to say anyway. I've explained every step of the way to you already. You all should know what we're going to do. There are nine targets that we absolutely must hit and those targets all happen to coincide with points on the wall directly beneath the turret cannons.

"Von Hoffman has given you each four modified Slash Harkens. Please remember that these are not to be used in combat unless your lives are in imminent peril. The Shriekers are delicate and not exactly suited to anti-Knightmare combat. This means we are going to be handicapped if it comes to combat, which is why we're going to blitz them. We're going to be in and out of there in under ten minutes. Once our objective is complete and all nine targets have been hit, loose your remaining harkens into the walls wherever is convenient.

"I'm not going to lie to you and tell you this operation isn't risky. It _can_ be done – we've all watched the Glaston Knights and Cornelia approach the fort's walls on the sand panels – but it will be difficult. If any of you don't feel confident enough in your ability, this is your last chance to back out."

"Give us some credit." Roy huffed as he rolled his eyes. "There's nothing the Glaston Knights can do that we can't."

Lelouch waited another few seconds to see if anyone else was less confident than Roy, but they stayed silent so he let a confident smirk fall on his lips. "Good. Then tonight we're going to bring down those damned walls." He said firmly before gesturing towards the Knightmares.

Providing that everything went according to plan tonight, Lelouch predicted that Cornelia would lead a full scale invasion either directly after their attack or in the morning (it depended on how quickly news of his actions got back to her). He wasn't exactly looking forward to the fallout when she did learn of what he was about to do, but he was acting with the sanction of the Empire's Prime Minister, so there was nothing she could really do about it. She may not like it and it was certainly an exploitation of a loophole, but it was still technically allowed.

Besides, if it worked – no, _when_ it worked – Cornelia would be so busy trying to save face with the Emperor for failing to take the fort in the months she'd been in the Area that she probably wouldn't concern herself too much with the legal technicalities of his actions. As for the Emperor on the other hand . . . well, _Survival of the Fittest_. Such thinking was a double edged sword. It was because he was 'fit' that his plan would work, even despite the restrictions placed on him. And really, even with the special designation Schneizel had given him, he was still only a Corporal. The Emperor couldn't complain about him getting hand outs if he wasn't actually promoted.

They made their way through the darkened - but ever vigilant - base, timing their departure to coincide with the shift change of the patrols to reduce the amount of suspicion they drew to themselves. Nevertheless, they were hailed by the perimeter guard as they approached the south gate.

"Your ID's aren't listed as active for this time. Return to your hangar immediately." A voice crackled over his radio.

Lelouch replied in text only.

_'Special Unit 3267, acting under the jurisdiction of Prime Minister el Britannia, will be commencing operations west of the base. Do not interfere. Do not alert central command. Consult timed authorization file on main server 000-H7Z33N2-02 for confirmation.'_

There was silence for a long time as they waited patiently at the gate and Lelouch wondered if he maybe should have tried the east gate instead. It had been a toss up – both of the men in charge of the gates were relatively new to Cornelia's command – so he'd chosen the one that was ultimately closer to their target.

"I understand. Proceed through the gate. Good luck . . . your highness." The radio controller finally said.

Ah, so they had been looking at more than just the authorization file. He'd deliberately left their identities out of the file, relying only on their identification numbers. At least now he knew why it had taken so long.

"Thank you. We'll do our best." Lelouch said into the radio as the gate opened before switching to a private channel shared between their squad. Now that his identity had been revealed, there was a seventy percent chance that Cornelia would be alerted before they had time to complete their objective. "Commence with plan 1-b."

He'd originally planned to take his time a bit, spread out and approach the fort from six different directions, but that was only possible if they weren't pursued. If someone was following them, it was in their best interest to move quickly.

"Understood." His squad mates confirmed as they closed in a tight formation around him and sped off in the direction of the fort. One by one their IFF signals went out, preventing central command from watching their progress.

It was forty-five minutes to the fort going full tilt (which they just so happened to be doing). It was a tense forty-five minutes, filled with a mixture of nervous tension and anticipation. This was the first time he'd ever tried something like this in real life. Sure, simulation operations were exciting, but they were nothing like the real thing. In the simulations, at least, he'd known that even if his plan didn't work he'd still be around the next day to try it again.

This time, there were no second chances. If they made even a single mistake, someone could end up paying for it with their lives. But, nothing ventured, nothing gained. And he couldn't just sit back and let Cornelia drag this altercation out any longer. Not only for the sake of his own glory, but also for the sakes of all those people – both Britannians and Eighteens – who would lose their lives if he let Cornelia have her way.

"We're at the safe line." Charles noted as they continued past it.

"Spread out. Commence with step 2-b. Hector, I'm counting on you to move quickly."

"I won't let you down." Hector promised as his Sutherland raced away to the north to circle around the fort and approach it from the west.

The others followed suit and fanned out in a wide arc as a klaxon began sounding in the fort and the cannons began targeting their movements, causing the sand to erupt all around them. "Don't forget to keep moving, no matter what." Lelouch reminded before hailing the fort on an open channel.

The parlay was returned a few minutes later when a video image of a sleepy-eyed man in his mid-fifties came up on the communications portion of his screen. Lelouch had seen pictures of the man. He was Aziz Malouf, the chief general of the MEF and leader of the country's military resistance.

"I will only say this once." Lelouch said firmly. "Lelouch vi Britannia commands you to surrender."

"We would rather die than bow our heads to your heathen empire!" The man snarled in badly accented Britannian.

Well, it wasn't exactly as though he'd expected them to surrender. But let no one say that he hadn't attempted negotiation before commencing his onslaught. "I understand. I'll see that your wish is granted then." He cut off the communications with the fort before continuing on their private channel. "Begin step 3." He ordered.

"In position and commencing assault." Hector informed him from his position out of Lelouch's view.

"Moving in." Amanda said from his left as a familiar ear-grating sound faintly seeped into his cockpit.

"So much for catching them by surprise." Roy muttered as his Shriekers joined the symphony on his right and the sand exploded right behind him.

Nick and Charles also confirmed their advances before Lelouch took a deep breath and flicked the switch, filling his cockpit with that same unbearable noise. It had taken almost the entire two weeks for von Hoffman to make the necessary customizations to the little gadget he'd originally developed as a tool for cleaning Knightmares.

When the idea had first come to him, he hadn't been sure if it would work. But when he'd tested the first prototype von Hoffman had made for him – essentially just one of the original devices that had been amped up and duct taped to the inside edge of a Slash Harken – he'd been able to collapse a twenty foot chunk of the old quarry on their patrol route's wall before the device has sustained damage from the falling debris and ceased vibrating.

That was the first Shrieker. The four he now had equipped to his machine had gone through three separate evolutions since then and now packed about four times the punch. He was going for the maximum effect. The Shriekers were now protectively sheathed inside the metal frame of the Slash Harken and powered both by drawing energy from the Yggdrasil drive via the harken's connective wiring, and by an internal battery that would keep it resonating for up to an hour.

Maybe it was overkill, but Lelouch wanted to be sure that it would work. They weren't exactly sure of the geologic composition of the walls. The fort had originally been built in ancient times, so it was likely that the stone had been drawn from the same quarry where he'd done his field tests, but on the off chance that they weren't, he still wanted to make sure that they worked. Even if the percentage of quartz in the stone was really low, the resonance should still be enough to cause fatal cracks in the stone. Which was all he needed.

Even if the walls didn't fall from the Shriekers – which he personally thought they would – the structure would be weakened enough to destroy with more conventional methods. Hence the grenade launchers each of them were carrying. Either way, the walls were going to come down.

Lelouch raced forward, swerving to the side a moment before the sand exploded to his right. He couldn't help the small determined smirk that crept upon his lips as the fort loomed ever larger before him. This was it – the moment of truth. The moment where he'd find out if all of his effort and preparation was for naught, or if he had the tactical skill to take down the fort's greatest strategic asset with only six Knightmares.

Crossing the cannon's minimum angle was like crossing into the center of a storm. Behind him, the sand still erupted with the impact of shots from the turret cannon above him. Apparently they realized that this attack was different from Cornelia's repeated flashy assaults and were panicking. Either that or the noise had driven them slightly insane – in which case Lelouch could sympathize with them.

He sank two Shriekers into the stone beneath the cannon – two for this one because it was closest to the non-resonating steel gate and absolutely had to come down – before severing the cords and moving on to his right. "Move to position two." He ordered and watched as they all raced another twenty meters around the fort – like lethal clockwork – before sinking in another Shrieker and ordering the advance to position three.

"Follow escape pattern three." Lelouch ordered as he backed away from the wall.

He had been expecting some form of vehicular resistance, but he wasn't expecting the Bamide that suddenly burst through the gate and barreled into Roy's Sutherland. The smaller Sutherland crunched onto the front guard of the Bamide, unable to halt the larger machine from pushing it back.

"Son of a bitch." Roy growled.

"Roy!" Lelouch yelled in alarm as the Bamide's twin machine guns began swiveling in to target the Sutherland. Dread rose like bile in the back of his throat as he rapidly assessed the situation.

Lelouch fired a grenade at the massive machine – knocking it's first few shots off target – before extending his stun tonfas and racing forward. Getting a Knightmare to jump was always a bit difficult. It was even more so when using sand panels as opposed to landspinners due to the lack of actually having something to lift off of. Nevertheless, Lelouch went through the practiced motions without a second thought, and launched himself up onto the Bamides rear tripod-like leg and drove both tonfas into the machine's Yggdrasil drive. The Bamide managed to get it's torso turned halfway around to address this newest threat before the sakuradite core ignited and threw both Lelouch's and Roy's machines away in a fiery explosion.

He felt the heat from inside the cockpit and smelled the acrid stench of melted paint and metal. His Sutherland was obviously damaged, but the damage seemed superficial and he himself was unharmed, aside from what would no doubt turn into a nasty bruise across his chest from the harness. In any case, he was still able to move. He pushed the machine back onto it's feet and glanced around.

"Report." He ordered a little breathlessly as he raced over to Roy's downed machine – laying face first in the sand and missing an arm.

"Proceeding to escape point three." Hector answered, followed by similar confirmations from Nick, Charles and Amanda. as Lelouch struggled with pulling his squad mate's Sutherland back to it's feet.

"Roy, say something." He ordered with mounting dread, looping the machine's remaining arm over his Knightmare's shoulder and beginning his hampered retreat.

"Next time you're going to save me, don't blow up the machine I'm caught up on." The weak reply came through the radio and Lelouch felt a wave of relief wash over him.

"I'll keep it in mind. Are you injured?" Lelouch asked, altering his course to make a straight line back towards the safe line.

"What do you think?" Roy groaned.

"How badly are you injured?" Lelouch asked patiently as he weaved their combined masses out of the way just in time to avoid a parting shot from the cannons as a deep rumbling began to vibrate through the ground. Lelouch ignored it for the most part - it was the expected outcome. The walls had to be collapsing and with that many thousands of tons of falling rock, a little vibration was to be expected.

"I . . . I dunno." Roy mumbled. "Not bad. I think I broke a rib."

"How's your breathing?" Lelouch asked, fearing a punctured lung.

"Fine. Quit fussing. Worse than my mother." Roy groaned as they passed the safe line and Lelouch checked for pursuit before coming to a halt.

"Act on provision 4-g." Lelouch ordered before flicking on his IFF to act as a beacon and unstrapping his harness. "Rendezvous at my location. Roy, open up your cockpit."

Lelouch grabbed his first aid kit before opening up his cockpit and clambering across onto Roy's machine. Amanda had already arrived at their location and he gave her the signal to guard them – not that she needed it because she was already facing the fort with her grenade launcher at the ready – while he tended to Roy.

He pulled off his helmet – learning his lesson from his first combat situation – and shook out his sweaty hair before crouching next to Roy's chair and very carefully releasing the harness.

"Sorry." He said quietly, as Roy hissed at the slight pressure he'd exerted on his chest. But it was only bound to get worse as he moved for the zip at the front of his comrade's flight suit and slowly pulled it down.

There was no blood and it seemed liked the ribs hadn't actually detached, which he was thankful for. Just a fracture. It would hurt like hell, but there was nothing he could really do about it. "Cough." Lelouch said as he fished around in the first aid kit for a field stimulant – a lovely mixture of pain killers, adrenaline and local anesthetic.

"No fucking way."

"It's an order." Lelouch replied firmly, knowing that if he continued to take such shallow breaths, his lungs would begin to build up with mucus. First aid had been a mandatory course at Ashford.

Glaring, Roy coughed then grimaced and clenched his fists and descended into a painful fit of wheezing. Lelouch took advantage of his moment of distraction to cause him even more pain, pinching the skin of Roy's already bruising chest and sticking it with the auto-injector in his hand.

"Bastard." Roy jerked, slapping Lelouch hand away and causing the syringe to tear the skin.

"Sorry." Lelouch said again before carefully removing the now empty syringe. He became aware that Roy's hands were trembling, no doubt from the immense pain he couldn't escape from. "I'm going to tape your chest to minimize movement. The painkiller should kick in in a moment."

"Yeah, I can already feel it getting numb." Roy growled. "Just hurry up. I want to get to the hospital and have a real doctor treat me."

Lelouch chuckled. Roy was as mouthy as ever, even in this amount of pain. If nothing else, it reassured him that his squad mate was going to be alright.

"Ah, Lelouch?" Nick's voice interrupting halfway through the taping procedure. "Take a look at the fort."

Frowning, Lelouch repositioned himself next to Roy's chair so he could close up the cockpit and use the Sutherland's factspheres to check out the fort's condition. Except . . . there was no fort to be found. In it's place was a massive, swirling cloud of sand.

"What the hell?" Lelouch asked. "What the hell happened? Were any of you watching?" He demanded as his mind was already racing with the worst cast scenario. Suppose the MEF had devised a way to turtle up the fort into the hill as a last means of defense? Was that even possible? But where else could the fort have gone? Surely the Shriekers hadn't disintegrated the walls and the buildings. There was no way they were powerful enough for something like that.

"When the walls fell the fort seemed to sink into the hill." Hector answered, his Sutherland the last to reach their position.

"Shit." He growled. Had it been deliberate? If they'd had this kind of ace up their sleeve all along . . . what else were they hiding? Had the MEF just been playing with them?

"Do you think the Shriekers had enough power to destroy the foundations?" Amanda asked.

. . . Well that was always a possibility. That the sinking wasn't deliberate. But that scenario was only likely if there was somewhere for the fort to sink into. Was the hill hollow? It was . . . possible. This region was covered with natural caves and caverns.

"We need to ascertain whether they deliberately sank themselves into the hill or if it's a consequence of using the Shriekers." Lelouch said firmly into the radio just as a damaged Bamide came careening out of the sand cloud. It was off kilter, one of it's sand panels obviously malfunctioning, causing it to drag itself lopsidedly towards them. But the hostile intention was clear as it aimed it's belly-mounted cannon in their direction. "Take it out." He ordered needlessly as both Hector and Charles raced back over the now obsolete safe line and fired their grenades at the imitation Knightmare.

"Charles, follow me." Hector ordered as they passed the smoking ruins of the machine they'd just destroyed. "We'll check out the fort for you, Lelouch."

"Be careful." He warned before turning back to finishing Roy's tape job. He would dearly have liked to be able to go see what was going on with the fort with his own eyes, but he didn't really want to abandon Roy either. He was torn between his duty to protect those under his command and his desire to lead his men. But he supposed it was about time for him to learn how to delegate. And he trusted Hector's judgment. "If they deliberately sank the fort, they may have something lying in wait for us."

"Understood. We'll proceed with caution."

Lelouch waited with veiled anxiety. He needed to get a hold of himself. His adrenaline rush was beginning to wear off and he felt his limbs tremble in it's wake. He clenched his fists and crossed his arms over his chest before taking a deep breath.

They had completed their objective. His sole objective for this operation had been to take down the fort's walls. But now something was inexplicably drawing his attention back to the fort. If it hadn't been deliberate then the MEF would be in a state of confusion.

He needed to adapt. Wasn't that one of the biggest things he'd faulted Cornelia for? For her inability to adapt to the changing situation? He would be damned if he let himself fall into the same trap. He was just a little shaken by how quickly the situation had changed – at how quickly he had almost lost one of his subordinates – but it was nothing he couldn't move past.

He was a Knight. A paragon of the field able to adapt at a moment notice. Furthermore, he was a Prince of the Empire born with the ability to command. He would not let this situation pass him by.

"Uh, it's a bit of a mess over here." Hector finally said. "I'm willing to bet that the sinking wasn't deliberate. It's a bit hard to see through all this sand, but it looks like there were caves in the hill and that the Shriekers cracked their supports. There are a couple buildings still standing, sort of, but not many. It looks like they're trying to rally their remaining forces in the northern part of the ruins, but there aren't many. No more than ten machines – a couple of old Glasgows and two Bamides. We're withdrawing for now to await your orders."

Lelouch's fingers tapped lightly on the console before he made up his mind. "We've completed out objective here, so we can retreat to the base without shame. However, we've been presented with the opportunity to do more. Give me your thoughts on the matter. Even if we move to take the fort, and even if they don't rally more numbers before we get there, we're still looking at two to one odds and none of us have Slash Harkens."

Maybe part of him was just glory seeking, but to take a fort such as this, to actually destroy all of it's resistance with only six men was . . . legendary. He was there to build a reputation for himself, but if he was careless now, or too eager, he might end up getting himself killed.

"Of course we're going to take the fort." Roy growled next to him, loud enough to transmit on the radio. "We're going to bring a swift conclusion to this war, aren't we? That's why you recruited us for this mission. So let's not do it half-assedly."

"You're not going to be doing anything, Roy. You have at least one broken rib, so you'll be sitting this one out." Lelouch replied calmly.

"The hell I will." Roy replied with a feral grin. "The painkillers are working. I can't feel a thing except a little pressure. I'm fine. More than that, I'm ready to pay them back. So go get in your own damn machine and lead us into combat, Lelouch."

Lelouch stared firmly at his subordinate, but his eyes were clear and determined. Apparently, despite numbing the pain, the stimulant kept the recipient's wits about them.

"I agree with Roy." Nick said calmly. "We didn't just come here to take down the walls. Let's not leave the job half done."

"Charles and I are already in position to move." Hector answered.

"Let's finish it." Amanda agreed.

Calmly, Lelouch nodded before pressing the cockpit release, standing up and climbing back across to his own machine. "Reengage your IFF's." Lelouch ordered as he buckled himself into his harness. "If anyone's pursuing us, we don't want to be mistaken for enemies. We will proceed in assault formation delta twelve towards the MEF muster point to engage their last remaining forces. Keep in mind this is clean up work, destroy any enemies you come across." He said, steeling himself against the revulsion the order brought him.

Slaughtering already injured and terrified enemies wasn't going to be enjoyable, but he would do it anyway. He would forcibly shut down his empathy for them if he had to. Besides, it was kill or be killed now and he was certain none of the MEF's soldiers would hesitate about putting down the Britannians if the situations were reversed. He would proceed as a soldier of Britannia - as a Knight of the Empire - and he would cast down her enemies.

"Understood."

They raced forward, his squad mates forming a spear head around his machine as they closed the distance between themselves and the fort. They would crash into the enemy resistance, plunging into the very center of their formation before turning on their enemies, destroying their formation from the inside out. Daring, perhaps, but nothing was gained without a little risk and they didn't have the time to skirt the issue. The longer they waited, the more time the MEF would have to recover from their confusion.

"Watch the ground around where the buildings sank." Hector warned as they passed over a collapsed portion of the crumbled ruins of the fort's walls. "It's still unstable there and even the sand panels can't help. I saw a Glasgow get swallowed up into the cavern earlier."

Lelouch was a little taken aback by the carnage he witnessed as they passed within the perimeter of the fort's walls. He had never imagined the Shriekers could have possibly been this destructive. Sure, he'd been aiming for their maximum effect, but never in his wildest dreams had he thought they'd work this well. He could still hear, resonating from deep underground, the Shriekers continuing to do their work, creating a helpless shifting hole at the center of the plateau where the crumbling ruins of buildings were all crushed in on each other, interspersed by thin, unstable bridges of rock that had yet to collapse even though the trembled delicately.

In the center of the mess, a Glasgow was fruitlessly trying to pull itself out of the vortex. But with nothing solid to fire it's Slash Harkens into, it was a desperate, but impossible task. Each surface the harkens penetrated crumbled instantly - the brick buildings suddenly brittle. Raising his grenade launcher, Lelouch fired at the unsuspecting Knightmare before moving on with his squad – staying only long enough to confirm the kill.

This was war, Lelouch reminded himself as he forcedly squashed his remorse. That's right. This was a war and he was a soldier. There was no need to feel remorse for an enemy. Kill or be killed. A desperate situation – wars were always like this. Kill or be killed – a situation that allowed him to shed his humanity.

"Commence assault." He ordered as the ragtag group of Glasgows and Bamides came into view – the fort's last resistance.

All six members of his squad fired at once, sending up a barrage of deadly grenades that rained down on the MEF's last defenders. A second barrage went up a second later without verbal command. They all knew what he was thinking – Lelouch had drilled them mercilessly on every possible branching step of the plan and this was just one of them. Initially prepared should they have come across standing opposition on their way to the fort.

A third barrage – this time Lelouch didn't participate, out of rounds as he was. He abandoned his useless weapon and extended his stun tonfas. "Stage two." He ordered as his squad mates quickly prepared themselves for close quarters combat.

As expected, the enemy's numbers had increased since Hector's initial report, but not so much so that it was impossible and the triple barrage had significantly decreased their numbers. And in any case, there was no way the MEF was going to get the drop on a squad of Britannia's finest Knights. It was the Britannians who had created the Knightmare frame, and Knights were the finest pilots of those machines in the world. Copycats and salvage were no match.

They crashed into the enemy formation, striking in tandem like a beast with many claws. Lelouch had the satisfaction of watching his enemy break formation as their enemies fell around them. Their line broke slowly in places, beginning with a hesitance to engage, and quickly in others, resulting in his opponents full out fleeing. His first taste of real success. Of victory.

He laughed maniacally as he watched the defense crumble around him. "Don't let them get away!" He ordered as he pushed his Sutherland after a fleeing Glasgow. "And don't let them lure you into a trap. Keep away from the holes." He reminded as he easily saw through his enemy's ploy. Grimacing, Lelouch release his least favorite weapon – the stun gun – and fired it at the retreating Knightmare.

The Glasgow's system fried for a moment which was all the time he needed to close the distance and shove his stun tonfa into the Glasgow's core. He backed away before it exploded and caught sight of a pair of military transports trying to escape the fort. He crushed them effortlessly, not daring to look at how many people had been inside. He would blind himself from the ugly truths of his actions if it meant success. He would not allow this operation to fail and he would not allow his comrades to fall. Those were his only chief concerns at this moment and he would do anything and kill anyone he had to to ensure that things went according to his wishes.

"Area seems clear." Roy reported, sounding out of breath.

"How are you holding up, Roy?" Lelouch asked, turning back to where his subordinate's one-armed machine stood nearby.

"Just fine." His subordinate griped. "Stop fussing over me."

"There's nothing moving over here." Amanda reported.

"Nor here. I think we've got them all." Charles said.

Lelouch cast his gaze over the destruction he and his men had caused. It had been a long time since he'd witnessed this level of carnage. Not since the invasion of Japan. His pride made him a little nauseous, but he forced himself to ignore the similarities to the things he'd seen in Japan. There was no reason for him not to be proud of what he'd done here tonight. They were at war and he'd just taken down a fort with only six Knightmares. The same fort that Cornelia had attempted to take with almost a hundred times that many Knights.

"Fall back in formation zeta three." He ordered calmly before turning his back on the destruction that was to be the first milestone of his reputation. "We're returning to the base."

His squad members conversed animatedly with each other as they returned to the base (though Roy slowly faded out of the conversation as his painkillers began to wear off) until they got within a kilometer of the base and were confronted with three squads of their own men.

"You are all under arrest." One of their assailants announced via radio. "Under military law you must allow us to escort you back to the base where you will be taken into custody, questioned and detained until judgment has been passed and your punishment decided upon."

"What the hell? You said we had authorization, Lelouch!" Roy snarled angrily.

Well, this _was_ one of the possible responses he'd considered from Cornelia, but it wasn't the one he'd been expecting. Apparently his relationship with his half-sister was worse than he'd realized. Not that it mattered. He hadn't actually done anything wrong, per se. It was all just a matter of miscommunication – deliberate miscommunication, yes, but miscommunication nonetheless.

Well then, he supposed this meant that he could quit pretending he was dotingly impressed by Cornelia's prowess.

"I assure you we do have authorization. But just do as they say for now." Lelouch ordered.

Despite the pissed off grumbling from Roy, they did as they were told and let themselves be surrounded by the military police's Knightmare units and escorted into the base. They stopped outside of Cornelia's command center and were forced to emerge from their cockpits.

He felt a surge of sympathy for Roy who winced painfully as he climbed down from his Sutherland. "Private Yates needs medical attention." Lelouch addressed the man who seemed to be in charge of the military police.

"He'll be sure to get it after you've been questioned." The man assured him. "For now, Chief General li Britannia and her command staff are waiting." The man said as he walked forward with a pair of handcuffs in hand.

Lelouch stared down the man coldly as he approached. "Please remember who you're dealing with." Lelouch said icily as the man reached to turn Lelouch around and put on the restraining device. "I am a prince of the Empire and I do not give you permission to lay a hand on my person, nor on my vassals. We have done nothing wrong, I bear no ill will towards my sister and we have graciously agreed to be questioned by Cornelia and her staff. However, I fundamentally refuse to be dragged before them like some common criminal. Do you understand?"

"Uh . . . yes, your highness." The man stuttered nervously, his confidence now thoroughly deflated.

"Good. Then you will take my subordinate to get the medical attention I requested for him. The medical attention that is his right by military law, if I'm not mistaken." Lelouch said calmly, pushing the threatening aura for all it was worth.

"Ah, yes sir. Higgins, escort the private to the medical center." The man said sheepishly.

"Good. And make sure he's well treated." Lelouch said firmly to the man Roy's well being had been passed off to. "I will be checking."

It was a testament to how much pain the man had to be in that he didn't complain about being shuffled off to the side like an invalid even once.

"Yes, your highness." The man agreed before escorting Roy away.

"Well then, shall we?" Lelouch asked, gesturing towards the command center.

His captors agreed and they formed a close formation around Lelouch's squad, but they didn't dare to touch them or try to restrain them – which brought a small triumphant smirk to his lips. It was a little entertaining to see how quickly people changed their tune when he slipped from the mask of a soldier to the mask of a prince.

Cornelia was waiting for him, seated regally at her desk, surrounded by Guilford, General Alex and General Dalton. He didn't let the prestige of the company daunt him and entered with his head held high and his expression calm. They each made their displeasure at his countenance known through their expressions.

"You would have been better off not coming back, Lelouch." Cornelia scowled.

"Are you saying that you wished I had gone rogue and run off with six of your Knightmares?" Lelouch asked, before his smile turned cold. "Or are you saying that you would rather I was dead?"

Her mask faltered for a moment and she showed her surprise at his last accusation before hiding it beneath her angry mask again. But it was a good thing, for Lelouch at least. He knew how to read her, and if such an accusation still shocked her, it meant she wasn't quite ready to consider such lengths as a means of dealing with him.

"I warned you, Lelouch." Cornelia said haughtily. "I told you that if you put even a toe out of line, I'd have you court martialed and sent back to Pendragon."

"Actually," Lelouch interrupted before she could gain too much steam, keeping up his annoyingly confident facade. "I believe you told me that if I ever countermanded your orders, you'd have me court maritialed. I don't believe I've done so, have I?"

If possible, her glare darkened even further. "Where were you?" She hissed, fingers flexing white on the tabletop.

"At the fort." Lelouch replied vaguely.

"Doing what?" She ground out.

Lelouch smiled enigmatically in response. He knew Cornelia. He knew the best ways to push her buttons and finally, for the first time in years, he wasn't going to hesitate to do so. He had done nothing wrong. He'd obtained all the proper authorization before he'd acted and there was nothing his sister could do to him.

He was tired of pussyfooting around her, scared of damaging her ego or bringing down her suspicion on him. Sick and tired of her attitude and her ego and her damnable pride. Tired of the meaningless platitudes and empty gestures of obeisance he'd offered her. He was _not_ one of her mindlessly enamored men and nor would he pretend to be.

From now on, he was Lelouch vi Britannia – a prince of the Empire and the tactician that had destroyed the MEF's most prized fort with only six men – not Cornelia's pet to coddle or discipline as she pleased.

"You!" Cornelia snarled, gesturing towards Hector. "Corporal Zimmerman, tell me what you were doing at the fort." She ordered.

"Disregard her, Hector." Lelouch countermanded, his gaze never leaving his sister. She blinked in surprise and his lip twitched in amusement. "_Now_ you may court martial me, if you wish, Cornelia. Though your time might be better spent looking into the condition of the fort that's had you stalled here for . . . five months now, is it?"

"Lelouch!" Hector hissed under his breath – a warning or a plea for caution.

He didn't respond to Hector's plea in favor of staring impassively at Cornelia who was trying her hardest not to turn a lovely shade of furious puce. She glared back before her patience finally waned. "Fine. If you want to be difficult, Lelouch, be difficult. Detain them until we can ascertain the situation."

He didn't fight this time, or voice any complaint as the military police closed in around them and escorted them off to a detention cell in a different building. Lelouch judged how serious of an offense they thought he'd commit by the fact that he and his four remaining squad mates were all locked into the same barren room together. Obviously, they didn't seem like the scheming types.

Or they were hoping that his squad mates were so furious with him they'd take him out for them. Either way, it didn't matter. Cornelia would send someone to check out the fort. Then, when they found it in ruins, she would likely go take a look at it herself. Then she'd come back and ask him about it and he'd tell her everything she wanted to know.

But he wasn't going to let her treat him like an unruly child any longer. He wanted her to see what he'd done with her own eyes before she passed her judgment on his actions. And then he would reveal his trump card – that he wasn't merely impatient and unruly. That he'd been acting under orders that had come from further up the chain than she. That Schneizel had lost confidence in her ability – or maybe he'd keep that to himself. Destroying her admiration for the Prime Minister would only make her more unmanageable.

"Wouldn't it have been easier to have just cooperated with the Chief General?" Hector asked as he glanced around their prison.

Lelouch smiled reassuringly as he settled himself on the ground and leaned back against the wall. "You needn't worry. I fully intend to cooperate with her when she gets back from the fort. And I apologize for dragging you all into my family politics."

"So what's it about, anyway?" Amanda asked from where she was reclining against the wall a little way away from him.

"Just jockeying for favor." Lelouch murmured as he closed his eyes. "I was sent here to prove if I could be useful or not. Cornelia wasn't helping me achieve my objective." He admit then smiled slightly.

There was silence for a long time before Hector hesitantly broke it. "Lelouch . . . we _did_ have authorization to act, didn't we?"

"I already said 'yes', didn't I?" Lelouch asked irritably. "Just relax, sit back, have a nap and catch up on the sleep we missed tonight. Everything will work out fine."

But Cornelia didn't come to get him in a couple hours like he'd expected. Even when Roy was forced to join them at about noon, they were simply fed and left to their own devices. And as the hours trickled by, Lelouch grew more and more concerned that he'd been foolish to provoke his sister as he had – then realized that that was exactly what she wanted him to think and berated himself for allowing her to rattle him.

It was a day and a half before he was called for. His subordinates were handcuffed as they were led out of the room despite his protests and they were take to Cornelia, who waited in almost the exact same spot as he'd last seen her with her entourage arrayed around her.

"Explain your actions, Lelouch." She ordered coolly.

"I received orders to take the fort using whatever means necessary from Prime Minister el Britannia." Lelouch answered calmly. "He wants this conflict brought to a swift conclusion and indulged my request to try my hand at it." He lied, but there was no point in pinning the blame on Schneizel if he was the only one who could 'manage' Cornelia.

"I already know all that." Cornelia said shortly. "Explain to me why you felt the need to keep this all from me. As your commanding officer -"

"If you know everything about the situation, then you'll know that I'm under Schneizel's command. Not yours." Lelouch cut her off before she could get her argument rolling.

"Why?" She asked. It would have sounded petulant coming from anyone else, but she was glaring at him so harshly that someone less experienced with her might have been rooted to the spot.

"Schneizel is my benefactor." Lelouch shrugged.

"There was no chess game, was there?" She frowned.

"Pardon?" There had been many chess games in his life, which she well knew.

"Before, you told me that the reason you had Schneizel bulldoze your way into the Knightmare Corps for you was because you beat him at chess. But that wasn't true, was it, Lelouch? It was so you could do this to me, wasn't it?" She asked.

"And what exactly have I done to you, sister?" He asked, surprised by her leap of logic which was, in a sense, true.

She made a disbelieving noise in the back of her throat but didn't answer. They both knew exactly what he'd done to her. He'd absolutely annihilated her reputation. But he doubted she would admit such a thing in front of so many people.

"You're being sent back to Pendragon." She said coldly. "The Emperor wants to speak to you about your actions. I've been sure to file a thorough report. The rest of you will return to your regular duties. That is, only _if_ you acknowledge my authority." She added dangerously.

Well, he had to hand it to Cornelia. She'd very easily managed to put his soldiers on the spot – questioning their loyalty. Only by renouncing their claim to follow him could they escape the situation unscathed, and Lelouch was in no position to help them.

He smiled instead of letting her know how much it bothered him as he felt the anxious stares of his comrades on him. She was robbing him of the small web of support he'd built for himself here, but there was nothing he could do. He nodded slightly – encouraging them to abandon him – as there was no guarantee that he'd ever even emerge from Pendragon alive. The Emperor wanted to see him? When had that ever been good news for him?

"Of course, Chief General. We will follow your orders." Hector saluted, breaking the silent tension that had fallen. Lelouch attempted to refrain from glaring murderously at his sister in response to Hector's reply but failed miserably.

* * *

AN: . . . :/

Not sure if I'm thoroughly satisfied with this one, but I want to start moving forward and get on to the next chapter - because the next one's going to be fun and more political-y.

I hope you enjoyed it. Eleven pages of just Lelouch sure takes it's toll on me. I've realized that he's not my favorite Code Geass character, even if he is the protagonist and has an awesome dramatic flair. Those of you asking about his return to Japan, be assured that it will be happening very soon (just 2 chapters away!). Those of you waiting for Suzaku, cheer (just one - or maybe two- chapters away). Those of you waiting for C.C., have a little more patience with me (she'll get here eventually).

Also, for any of those who are confused, these events are still all happening before the canon timeline. I'm pretty sure I said that already, but some people asked, so just to clarify.

One more thing . . . MERRY CHRISTMAS, because I possibly wont update again before the big day.

Thanks so much for reading, don't forget to review.

Allora


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

"You're troublesome, Lelouch."

Those were, generally, not words you wanted to hear from the Emperor. Ever. Even less so when you were Lelouch. He didn't respond, keeping his head bowed firmly towards the floor as he knelt in front of the man who held his entire existence in his hands.

"But you did prove you could be useful. Explain to me why Cornelia has warned me that you're possibly plotting your revenge against me." The Emperor said, raising one eyebrow in a silent challenge.

Oh, that was going too far. What the hell was Cornelia thinking? Or had his recent behavior finally sent her over that fine line that determined whether or not killing off her own brother was acceptable? He would remember this. This was practically an assassination attempt. He didn't care if she was loyal to the Emperor or not, but setting him up like this had crossed the line.

At least it explained why she'd been so quick to snatch up his squad mates – excellent soldiers that they were. She didn't expect him to come back to bother her again. He would do his utmost to ensure he disappointed her.

"What need do I have for revenge?" Lelouch asked calmly.

"I cast you out from the only home you had ever known and sent you for a foreign country as a bartering chip. I stole your home, your family and the only lifestyle you were familiar with and knowingly sent you to a home where you'd be scorned for your heritage alone."

_You have no idea what all you've taken from me, you tyrannical bastard. _

He forced his expression to remain neutral though he was sure his eyes betrayed his seething anger. "Those were all things you gave me. It was your right to take them away if you so pleased." He answered numbly, the words tasting like betrayal on his lips. He didn't understand the Emperor's thought processes and therefore it was better to steer the conversation away from something as certain to set him off as his exile. "Cornelia's accusations are baseless. I am here only to serve you to the best of my ability, Your Majesty."

The Emperor watched him coldly, his violet eyes – oh, so much like Lelouch's own – boring into him. Obviously, the Emperor knew Lelouch was being deliberately (and insincerely) sycophantic, but that was how things worked at court. It was never about what you said. Words were just flowery decorations people used to help conceal their own ambition.

"Why did you deliberately humiliate Cornelia?" The Emperor asked, face cold and impassive. Lelouch highly doubted that the Emperor actually cared about his sister's fall from grace. Not really, so long as the job got done.

"She was being weak." Lelouch answered mercilessly. "And weakness is not something we, as Britannians, should tolerate or encourage."

It was the correct answer, and Lelouch knew it. He couldn't go wrong spouting off the Emperor's own bigoted rhetoric. The Emperor's lip twitched slightly as he masked his approval before he stood up from the armchair in his study and gestured for Lelouch to follow him. Lelouch rose gracefully and fell in behind the man, sure to keep behind by a half step for propriety's sake.

"You did well." The Emperor said eventually as he led Lelouch out into the same garden where he'd announced Lelouch's marriage. Most of the flowers were still in full bloom, drooping heavily in the heat. "Despite using it as an opportunity to discredit your sister, you did what she couldn't with no losses and surprisingly few subordinates."

Again, Lelouch said nothing, uncomfortable by the Emperor's praise. He had never considered the man as an overly supportive father figure (or any kind of father figure). To Lelouch, the Emperor was nothing more than a monster. Nothing more than a despicable tyrant who hadn't even cared when his own wife was assassinated and his daughter was crippled and blinded. A heartless bastard who viewed the people around him as nothing more than pieces on a board.

"Have you been keeping up on the news from Area Eleven?"

The question surprised Lelouch and he glanced sharply at his father as dread washed over him. Was this a test? What was it he was supposed to be aware of?

_Had they found Nunnally?_

Panic clenched his heart and he stifled his suddenly ragged breathing behind thinly pressed lips. He couldn't give himself away to the Emperor. No, more importantly, he couldn't give _Nunnally_ away to the Emperor. He needed to maintain his composure – for her sake, if nothing else.

"No. I've been preoccupied with my duties in Area Eighteen. Has something happened?" Lelouch asked with forced calm.

"Yes. I wonder if you wouldn't mind teaching Clovis a lesson similar to the one you taught Cornelia?" The Emperor mused, glancing over his shoulder to quirk his eyebrow at Lelouch.

He felt his insides twist squeamishly at the thought. He'd told himself that he'd do anything – back when he'd first been brought back to Pendragon – if it would ensure first Nunnally's anonymity and secondly his own survival. But hurting Clovis – the closest of his brothers next to Schneizel – at the Emperor's whim . . . Being turned into the Emperor's watchdog. . .

Clovis had been his most sought after companion when he'd been a boy. They had gotten into trouble together countless times as children and when it had come time to reap the just rewards of their misbehavior, they had always taken their punishments side by side – even if one party was more guilty than the other. Even though they had been rivals, it had been a friendly rivalry and they had been brothers first and foremost.

But this time, if he chose to do this (and really, did he have a choice? No, of course not.) they would not be friendly rivals. Lelouch would be acting as an enforcer of the Emperor's will. He would be there to punish Clovis, even if he wore a smiling, brotherly facade as he did so.

"Has the situation in Area Eleven changed so drastically?" Lelouch asked cautiously.

Part of him wanted to jump at the chance to return to Area Eleven. He would be close to Nunnally again, as well as his friends from Ashford. But to offer Clovis up as a sacrifice for that seemed despicably low.

"The terrorists have become more active lately. Clovis is making a fool of himself by letting them run rampant." The Emperor spat. "There have been major terrorist attacks every day for the last two weeks by a single faction alone."

"They've always become more active at the anniversary of the invasion." Lelouch shrugged, though he was somewhat surprised by the Emperor's interest in the matter. The terrorists escalating their efforts in August had simply been something he'd learned to accept after living in the Area for so long. It was why he'd made sure to take Nunnally out of the city at the end of the summer every year.

"Yes. The Elevens have always been impudent. However, this time they've gone too far. They are demanding Clovis turn himself over to them in order to halt the attacks. They're making a laughingstock out of him and of Britannia. I will not stand for it to continue.

"I'm sending you to Area Eleven to deal with them. You can teach Clovis the true meaning of being a prince of Britannia while you're at it." The Emperor growled. "I'm making you a Colonel and charging you with dealing with the terrorist threat in Area Eleven. Anything having to with terrorists or resistance movements will fall under your jurisdiction."

"Huh?" Lelouch grunted ineloquently in surprise. "But you can't do that. I'm not even a commissioned officer."

Okay, well technically the Emperor could do that. As the head of Britannia's military, he could do whatever he damn well pleased with the soldiers under his command. But promoting people willy nilly like this was only inviting trouble. On top of that, it threw a major wrench in his and Schneizel's strategy. The plan had always been for him to move up, but the plan had been for him to move up slowly by his own merit, gaining the support of the soldiers around him as he did so. This was skipping the most vital step. Besides the Emperorwas the one who had insisted Lelouch not go through officer training in the first place. Who was giving him handouts now?

He'd fully intended to earn his stripes. He'd wanted to enroll in an officer's academy as soon as he'd returned from Area Eighteen, but that didn't seem like it was possible (or necessary) now. He wondered if the Emperor was deliberately sabotaging the plan in an attempt to knock out the few feeble supports he had beneath him, or if it was just one of the man's whims.

"Are you telling me what I can and cannot do with my own armed forces, boy?" The Emperor demanded, turning around fully to pin Lelouch with a glare.

Lelouch recovered himself quickly and forced himself into a bow. "Ah, no, Your Majesty. You surprised me, is all. I'm truly honored you expect so much from me."

"I _do_ expect a lot from you, Lelouch." The Emperor agreed. "Don't let me down, boy."

"One thing," Lelouch said, forcing the hesitance out of his request. It would be like another smack in the face to Cornelia – re-recruiting men that had just reaffirmed their allegiance to her – but he didn't care. "I want my men from Area Eighteen to join me."

The Emperor waved his hand carelessly. "It's your right to choose your subordinates. So long as you take care of the problem, I don't care what you do."

"I understand." Lelouch nodded. "Then I'll go prepare my departure."

"Good. Oh, and Lelouch, your wife has been asking after you. You should pay her a visit."

Lelouch scowled at the man's back before turning sharply away. "I'll be sure to do that before I leave."

What the hell did Abigail think she was doing? Had she actually gone to the Emperor to ask about him? Or was it simply common knowledge that he'd abandoned his wife and hadn't contacted her since their wedding? In which case, he was going to have a long talk with her about what was acceptable gossip and what was not.

Though he supposed it really was his fault. He hadn't left her any instructions on how to deal with rumors of his sudden enlistment. And as far as she knew, his relationship with his father was fine and he didn't harbor thoughts of patricide. He wondered if he should let her in on that little secret? Or if that would only create more problems down the line?

He brooded the entire way back to the Aeries Villa – about Abigail and about Clovis (but mostly about Clovis). This work was going to be undesirable. Humiliating Clovis and ravaging his reputation was nothing to look forward to. Nevertheless, he had to do it. And he would do it quickly before the terrorists had the chance to actually convince Clovis to turn himself in.

Clovis, for all his haughty arrogance, had always been a gentle and caring person who hated to watch others suffer. If this went on too long, he just might do as the terrorists asked. Which was unacceptable. Acceding to them even once would admit a weakness and encourage such behavior again.

So in a way, he supposed he was rescuing Clovis, even if the Emperor was harboring the ulterior motive of having Lelouch teach him a lesson. He wondered if his brother would hate him for the interference, or if he'd be thankful? Resentment would be hard to avoid.

The Villa hadn't changed in the last few months since he'd seen it, which he was silently thankful for. On some level, he'd been secretly dreading that Abigail had completely overhauled the place. But it was exactly as he'd left it.

He entered the foyer without announcement, the chauffeur from the Emperor's palace dragging in his dusty duffel bag as Lelouch carelessly unbuttoned his coat. His eyes were drawn, as always, towards the place on the stairs where his mother had died. It had become almost a ritual since he'd begun living there again – almost like saying hello to her. As if her spirit rested where it had been released from her body. Not that he exactly believed in ghosts, and nor did he think the villa was haunted. It was just something he did.

"Well, call Princess su Britannia and tell her that we'll be running late. And make sure you tell her why. Where is Samson? I told him to be here at two. I really ought -" Abigail fussed as she entered the foyer, Edith clicking at her heels, cellphone in hand. They both stopped dead in their tracks upon seeing him.

"Your highness!" Edith exclaimed, enforced formality obviously drilled back into her.

"Hello, Edith. Hello, Abigail." Lelouch greeted.

Edith bowed slightly in acknowledgment, but Abigail didn't respond. She was staring at him, watching him warily like he was some kind of wild animal that might attack at any moment. He wondered if his military training had changed him that much.

"Cancel all my plans for the afternoon." Abigail finally said after a long moment of tense silence.

"Really, you needn't prioritize me like this, Abigail. I'll be here for a few days." Lelouch said calmly as he draped his coat over a chair sitting against the wall and moved towards the stairs, hoping to escape her. "Don't cancel your plans on my account."

"A few days?" She asked with visible disappointment.

"I'm being sent to Area Eleven." Lelouch shrugged stopping a few feet from the foot of the stairs.

"I see . . ." Abigail said slowly before waving her hand snappily at Edith. "You can go, Miss Cardston. I'll be spending the day with my husband."

Well . . . it didn't look like he was going to be able to avoid her for any longer. "In that case," Lelouch said with an attempt at a gallant smile as he offered his arm to her. "will you walk with me in the gardens?"

He knew he was going to have to deal with her eventually, and he might as well try to make this as painless as possible. They were stuck with each other, after all. Whether they liked it or not. Still, the forced cordiality grated against him like sandpaper.

"Of course." She demurred, slipping her arm through his as he led her out.

"So, you've been well?" He asked somewhat awkwardly, at a loss as to what exactly to say to her. Their awkward goodbye before he'd left for Basic was still firmly engraved in his mind.

"Well enough. Princesses Guinevere and Euphemia have been very kind to me."

Lelouch wasn't all that surprised. Guinevere had always liked collecting things – friends included – and no doubt Abigail made a pretty little addition to her collection. Euphemia, of course, was just kind by nature. So even if Abigail had nearly run her off of the estate the first time she'd come calling, Lelouch could easily see her coming back to try it again.

"Sounds like them." Lelouch nodded before trailing off into awkward silence. This tepid civility was getting old fast. Apparently Abigail felt the same way, because she turned suddenly and pinned him with a glare.

"You know, you could have called me once at least over the last six months." She growled accusingly.

"If something had happened to me, I'm sure someone would have let you know." Lelouch replied with an unconcerned shrug.

"I'm your _wife, _Lelouch." She argued. "While I realize our marriage isn't exactly to your liking, the fact still remains that we're married and that married couples are expected to be together. I'll be going with you to Area Eleven."

"Absolutely not." Lelouch said immediately, surprised she'd even suggest such a thing.

"I don't need your permission to visit an already established Area." She retorted.

"Let me explain the situation to you." Lelouch said, as he came to a halt in the middle of the garden path and turned to face her. "I'm going to Area Eleven to hunt terrorists. You, as my wife, pose a very obvious weakness to me that they would be fools not to attempt to exploit. I will _not_ let you compromise my operation, Abigail."

"So what you really mean to say is that if I were to be taken hostage by terrorists, you wouldn't do anything to save me." She said, looking thoroughly unimpressed.

Well, that wasn't exactly true. He probably would attempt to save her in such a situation, but he didn't want to encourage her, so he nodded instead of correcting her. "I'm glad we're both on the same page." He said calmly. "I can't afford to show any weaknesses right now. Even if it means leaving someone out to dry."

Abigail was quiet for a while, head bowed in thought as they continued down the path, arm-in-arm. Lelouch wasn't all that concerned (she didn't seem like the kind of person to put herself in such a dangerous situation just to test the theory) and so he ignored her, turning his mind back to the problems his newest assignment would pose, how to proceed, and how to keep Clovis from hating him for the interference. He'd already destroyed relations with one of his siblings, which was already proving to be troublesome, so he'd like to avoid doing the same with Clovis if he could.

"It's really true, isn't it?" Abigail asked quietly. "Everything she said. I wanted to believe she was lying, but I don't think she was. You really do hate the Emperor, don't you? And your a traitor to Britannia."

Lelouch froze for a moment before glaring at her. "Did _Cornelia_ tell you that?" He asked venomously, wondering just how far his sister would go to cast a shadow of doubt over him.

She huffed in annoyed disbelief. "Is it common knowledge then? Does everyone know but me?" She demanded.

"Just what exactly did you hear? And from who?" Lelouch growled.

"That Ashford girl." Abigail said angrily, slipping her arm from his to cross them tightly across her chest as she glanced huffily away.

"Why were you talking to Milly? When?"

"She called here for you. Months ago now, something about a rough day. Then she told me you were exiled, and that you were brought back to Pendragon as a prisoner. And that our marriage was only meant to humble you." His wife answered, her tone caught somewhere between anger and pouting.

Lelouch chuckled and shook his head. He wasn't exactly pleased that Milly had decided to fill her in (ignorance was bliss, after all), but he would have given almost anything to have been able to see her face when Milly had dropped that bomb. "What did Milly want?"

"That's all you care about? Even after she leveled such serious accusations against you?" Abigail snapped.

"Well what would you like me to say?" Lelouch asked, quirking an eyebrow. "It's true. All of it's true. I was exiled after my mother's death and sent to Japan to die. I refused to come back and so went into hiding – I changed my name and destroyed anything that could identify me as a prince. Then Clovis recognized me and sent me back to be judged by the Emperor.

"If not wanting to be used as a bargaining chip again makes me a traitor to Britannia, then I most certainly am. And I'll let you in on a little something else, too, Abigail. No one cares about the widow of a traitor. It's in your best interest to make sure I don't fail."

"Fail at what?" She asked dangerously.

Ah, but she was a sharp one, wasn't she? He'd said too much, dropped too many hints. "Just stay out of my business, Abigail. If you do that, I swear I will protect you from anything and anyone."

"Fine." She said eventually, after staring him down for a long moment. "I'll stay here - stay out of your way."

"Good." He said, turning away from her and heading back towards the house. "I have things I need to take care of. Enjoy your afternoon." He called over his shoulder before picking up his pace and disappearing inside.

He almost didn't hear the quiet "For now." Abigail added to her final statement in his rush to get away. But it was fine. He would deal with her stubbornness when the time came.

He sought out Edith and found her up in what had been his room until – apparently – Abigail had decided to have all of his things moved out of it and into the master suit, dusting the dresser.

"Your highness." She greeted upon his arrival with a small bow of her head.

"Drop the formality, Edith." Lelouch ordered as he sat himself on the end of the bed and gestured for her to continue what she was doing.

"Of course. I'm sorry . . . Lelouch." She said a little hesitantly, as thought having to reacquaint herself with the name.

"What would you think about moving to Area Eleven?" He asked curiously. He knew offering this to Edith would piss Abigail off, but his assistant was much less likely to be targeted by his enemies than his wife was, so the threat to her would be minimal. And in any case, Edith was more useful to him than Abigail was.

Edith blinked in surprise and turned fully around to face him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, if I asked you to come with me to Area Eleven, would you? Or would you rather remain in the homeland?" He asked. "Your family is all here, so I would understand if you said no."

"Of course I'd go, if you wanted me to." She answered easily, without hesitation.

"Good. Well then, since you're technically an employee of the Aeries Villa, you're fired. I'm hiring you as my personal assistant. You'll answer only to me and your sole responsibility from now on is to take care of my affairs. Which means," Lelouch said as he pushed himself to his feet and deftly plucked the feather duster from her fingers. "no more dusting."

She stared at him mutely for a moment before blushing and blurting out her response. "I . . . yes, of course, Lelouch. Thank you so much! I never expected . . ."

"You're welcome, Edith." He smiled. "I'll be sending you on ahead to procure lodgings in Area Eleven for me. You'll leave tomorrow."

"I understand. Do you have any preferences for your place of residence?" She asked, hand diving into her apron to fish out her palm pilot, ready to make notes. Efficient as ever.

"Not really. The only thing I really care about is that it's defensible. Other than that, I don't care what it looks like or how big it is. I want it comparable to the Aeries Villa in terms of security." Lelouch answered easily. "But we can talk about that later, along with your new salary. For now, can you send to have the car made ready for me? I need to see Schneizel today to inform him of some new developments."

"Yes, right away. Would you like me to accompany you?" She asked, and almost managed to succeed in masking her hesitance.

"No, that's alright. I don't expect you to deal with Schneizel after what he did to you." Lelouch answered easily. "Did all of my things get moved to the master suit in my absence?" Lelouch asked.

"Yes. I couldn't talk her out of it. I'm sorry."

"That's fine. She's tenacious when she wants to be, but it wont stop me from sleeping in here tonight." Lelouch said with a smirk. "I'll go change and then I'll want to be leaving."

"Alright. I'll go get Samson." Edith said quickly before leaving the room, the feather duster abandoned on the dresser behind her.

Lelouch followed her out and head down the hall towards Abigail's room – oddly feminine, but as though waiting for a masculine touch. One side of the room, the side closest to the door, had obviously been claimed by his wife. The dresser's surface was covered with jewelry boxes and hair accessories, her robe was draped across the back of a chair and there was a pair of pastel pink slippers sitting next to the bed. The other side was disturbingly unused. Sure, his things were all there, but there was a distinct air of staleness – like a guest room that was kept ready but rarely used. Even the pillows on the left side of the bed were crisp and untouched.

It was a little disconcerting. If he'd been her, he would have taken over the room in it's entirety. But then again, if he'd been her, he would have known better than to expect him to stay in the room with her. He crossed the room quietly, feeling like he was trespassing the entire time, and changed his shirt and jacket (sure to leave the discarded items on top of the dresser so it didn't seem so unused) before heading for the car.

While he was certain that he knew what he needed to do in regards to his scheming with Schneizel, his brother liked to play more than one game with the same pieces. Lelouch thought being made aware of the big picture might be beneficial – especially now that he was going to be working as the Emperor's newest dog.

He arrived at Schneizel's estate half an hour later to find his brother and Kanon sitting opposite each other at Schneizel's desk in his study playing poker (Schneizel seemed to be winning by a rather large margin). Next to them, pushed out of the way to the edge of the desk sat a chessboard and a few extra pieces.

"Lelouch!" Schneizel said warmly as he rose from his chair to greet him. "I thought we'd be seeing each other again soon, but I didn't expect this soon. Come, sit with us. We'll deal you in next hand and can talk while we play."

Lelouch pulled up a chair and placed it next to Kanon (because Schneizel was a notorious and unapologetic cheater) and waited for them to finish their hand. His gaze was unsurprisingly drawn to the chessboard in front of him, noting the inordinate number of pieces and their arrangement.

Lelouch chuckled after a moment's examination and picked up the white Queen, holding it up in front of him. "So this is what I am to you, Schneizel?"

"Are you offended?" His brother asked, raising one eyebrow as he pushed a handful of chips into the center pot.

"No. The most powerful piece on the board, why should I be offended?" Lelouch shook his head slightly and set the Queen back where it had been, facing off against it's black counterpart. "Though perhaps," Lelouch mused as he picked up a black Knight with a jagged white mar down the center of it that had been left sitting out of play. "This one would be more appropriate since it's not currently being used."

"You're scaring me now, Lelouch." Schneizel said with a small smile that made him look anything but afraid. "What happened?"

"Apparently, I did such a good job putting Cornelia to shame in Area Eighteen he's decided that's to be my new role. I'll be leaving for Area Eleven in a few days to do the same to Clovis whilst taking care of the terrorist threat." Lelouch explained, rolling the black and white Knight between his forefinger and thumb.

"Distasteful work since you were once so close." Schneizel agreed with a frown. "Though for our purposes, it suits us fine. He's still testing you, and it's only natural that these tests should become more difficult as you proceed. What will you do?"

"I'll go, obviously." Lelouch said, shaking his head slightly. "Don't make it sound like I have a choice, Schneizel. You know as well as I do that refusing to play the Emperor's game would only serve to get me killed."

"I suppose. But even if you do let yourself become the Emperor's puppet, you can't have that piece." Schneizel said, plucking the black and white Knight from Lelouch's fingers. "I already have someone else in mind for that one. And even if you do feel like a traitor, I know where your true loyalty lies."

"Oh?" Lelouch asked, quirking an eyebrow. His brother was going to be in for a rude awakening if he thought that Lelouch _actually_ thought of Schneizel as his benevolent benefactor. "And where's that?"

"With your revenge, Lelouch." Schneizel answered with a cunning smirk. "I'm not so arrogant as to believe I have you dancing in the palm of my hand."

Lelouch snorted, but inclined his head to his brother and acceded him the point. Yes, that was certainly true. His revenge was what drove him – even to the point of sacrificing Clovis. And Schneizel was wise not to disregard Lelouch's independent will.

"I'm curious what your wife thought of you leaving again so soon. Or did you not intend to tell her and just disappear without warning again?" Schneizel asked after a moment.

"I told her and she offered to accompany me, but I ordered her to stay here."

"You ordered her?" Schneizel asked with a smile. "You've spent too much time in the military already Lelouch. We'll see if she listens to your so called 'order'."

"You seem remarkably concerned about her, Schneizel." Lelouch pointed out shrewdly.

"Are you trying to play the part of the jealous husband, Lelouch?" His brother quipped. "You'll need more practice. And in any case, I am concerned about her. As your wife, she is connected to you. And as my ally, anything that adversely affects her, adversely affects you which affects me. Shit rolls down hill, as they say."

"How crass of you. I didn't think such a saying would be a part of your vocabulary." Lelouch teased.

"I can put on as many masks as you can, Lelouch." Schneizel shrugged. "While we're on the subject of masks, I'm curious as to how you like your newest one?"

Lelouch's eyes narrowed suspiciously. Was he asking about the new role he was being forced to take by the Emperor? If so, then he didn't even need to ask the question. In fact, he'd already let his disdain for the assignment show.

"Which one do you mean?" Lelouch asked.

"Ah, so you haven't read it yet." Schneizel smiled. "Where's that newspaper, Kanon?"

Schneizel's assistant glanced around before swiftly rising from his seat and retrieving the newspaper from the nearby coffee table and handing it to Lelouch.

On the front page, emblazoned in huge letters was a headline about funding for a new scientific research foundation Schneizel had just endorsed. Lelouch quirked his eyebrow at his brother, unsure what the story had to do with him.

"You're on the third page, I believe." Schneizel supplied calmly as he gestured to Kanon to deal the next card.

Lelouch flipped to the third page, ignoring his brother and his assistant in favor of skimming through the text. The pictures accompanying the news story were instantly recognizable – before and after photos of the fort that he'd destroyed.

_**Was It A God Of Victory We Recovered From Area Eleven?**_

_Many soldiers are wondering just that as news of Prince Lelouch vi Britannia's staggering victory makes it's way through Britannia's front line base just outside of Amman in the newly established Area Eighteen. Prince Lelouch, as many of you probably remember, made headlines months ago when he rejoined the Imperial family after being fostered in obscurity for seven years. He later made headlines again with his sensational engagement announcement to the daughter of the Duke of Oregon before dropping off the radar completely. _

_ They say the best things are often unlooked for, and in this case it certainly applies. After fruitlessly searching for news of the dashing young prince for months, information was recently uncovered in the wake of our troops' victory at __Qal'a Al Kuthban_ _- an almost impenetrable fortress the MEF had been using to hold off our advance – __revealing that, not only has Prince Lelouch joined the military, but that he was the man responsible for our victory at the fort. _

_ Official reports tell us that the prince himself led the assault on the fort at the head of a squadron of only six Knightmare frames. How they managed to literally raze the fort to the ground, no one's quite sure, though many people are now wondering if Prince Lelouch hasn't been secretly developing new weaponry during the last seven years. He was fostered with the Ashford family, founders of the Ashford Foundation – famous for creating the first Knightmare frame._

_ In any case, our Empire's newest hero has quite the reputation to live up to now. Latest estimates for enemy casualties number in the nine hundreds, while the prince and his five subordinates escaped the fray completely unscathed. _

Lelouch stopped reading at this point and glanced sharply up at Schneizel. "Why are there so many casualties? We were told that there were no more than two hundred soldiers left in the fort."

"You didn't get to read the report?" Schneizel asked in surprise.

"No. I spent thirty-eight hours in confinement before I was shuffled off onto the plane and brought straight to the Emperor." Lelouch explained. "And Cornelia wasn't exactly the most amiable when I left her so I didn't want to bother with asking for the report that I was supposed to have written anyway."

"I see." His brother frowned, before pinning Lelouch with his gaze – waiting to judge his reaction. "There were one hundred seventy-three soldier casualties at the first count and I don't think that number has risen significantly since. But the number of non-combatants involved has risen dramatically. It seems like the local civilians from the surrounding towns and villages flooded into the fort and were granted refuge in the underground caverns."

Lelouch felt nausea swirl in his stomach as he unconsciously clenched his fist – crinkling the pages of the newspaper between his strained fingers.

. . . He'd collapsed a fort on top of more than seven hundred innocent civilians. . . He'd crushed them to death.

He felt sick with the knowledge – sick with the thought of the death and destruction he had wrought. _But_, the ruthlessly logical part of his mind pointed out, there was nothing he could do about it now. Wallowing in remorse wouldn't change anything and it wouldn't help him achieve his goals either. Sacrifices had to be made. He wouldn't be able to change anything without getting his hands a little dirty.

"Oh." Lelouch said numbly as he returned his gaze to the news article, forcibly quelling his nausea..

_ When we attempted to contact the prince, we were told that he wasn't available for comment and none of the prince's subordinates would speak to the press, exhibiting the loyalty the young prince demands of his subordinates. It's little wonder, between the loyalty he demands from his followers and his penchant for leading his own men into combat despite the odds to take down an enemy many times larger than himself, that they've begun calling him the Wolf of Britannia. _

_ In response to her half-brother's astounding victory, our very own Goddess of Victory, Princess Cornelia has pushed the Britannian forces forward to take out the last, feeble holdouts of the MEF. Six hundred and seventeen Knights of Britannia have been mobilized to put an end to all resistance in the newly formed Area._

_ We'll be looking forward to learning of Prince Lelouch's further exploits in the days ahead._

This all had to be Schneizel's doing. There was no way in hell that Cornelia would have let news of what had happened at the fort leak to the media. And even if there had been a leak, she would have suppressed it immediately. No, this had Schneizel's influence written all over it.

Which meant the new mask his brother had been referring to . . .

"Why a wolf?" Lelouch asked as he calmly folded up the newspaper, thoroughly unimpressed. "It's hardly a fitting counterpoint to the White Prince."

"I don't see what's wrong with it." Schneizel said blandly. "Wolves are supposed to be noble and majestic."

"They're also steeped in thousands of years of stigma and generally viewed as evil." Lelouch accused.

"Not always." Schneizel shrugged. "What about the boy who was raised by wolves?"

"Is that an allusion to my exile, brother?" He asked coldly. "I am neither Romulus nor Remus."

Schneizel chuckled. "You're so serious, Lelouch. Not everything has a deeper meaning. You will find that there are few things more useful than your reputation. I'm merely cultivating it for you. You really don't like the moniker?"

"Of course I don't." Lelouch growled.

"It's just a name, Lelouch. And in any case, I'm afraid you're stuck with it now." Schneizel declared high-handedly with a shrug. "Once people get something stuck in their heads, it's hard to get it out. And that story was published all across the Empire, in all of the Areas too."

"Don't do things like this without talking to me about it first!" Lelouch snapped. It wasn't just a name, and Schneizel knew that quite well. It was a persona which would identify him with certain traits and behaviors – it would govern how he needed to act.

He didn't need Schneizel crafting another persona for him. He was having a hard enough time keeping up with the ones he already had. And he was sure he wasn't going to like this one – even if it was only a new face for the Soldier Lelouch he had already cultivated.

"I apologize." Schneizel said insincerely as he collected his winnings from the center of the table. "I didn't think you'd be so adverse to it."

Lelouch didn't respond, instead flicking the card Kanon dealt him back at him before getting to his feet. "I'm going home." He said, casting his gaze over the chessboard one more time. He'd recreate it later and examine it more thoroughly. Then he'd see if he couldn't figure out exactly what Schneizel was up to or not.

* * *

_ In a very dark and distant part of his mind, Suzaku Kururugi knew that he was dreaming. Because he knew that his father was dead. He'd commit that unforgivable sin years ago, so logically there was absolutely no way that his father could be towering over him, giving him that disappointed glare he had always hated so much. _

_ But knowing it was a dream – however distantly – did nothing to quell the horror and dread seeing his father again caused him. _

_ "Father. . ." He croaked, the word trapped in his throat behind all of his guilt and self-loathing. "I-I'm sorry."_

_ If anything his father grew larger, until he became a towering menace of accusation, who's eyes refused to leave his traitorous son. Faintly, in the distance behind his father, Suzaku could see the silhouette of his mother, weeping with her back turned to him. She hadn't been able to look at his face since that day she'd found him in his father's office, covered in her husband's blood. _

_ "I'm sorry." He said again. "I didn't mean -"_

_ His father's hand raised swiftly, threatening to slap him as though he'd still been a child caught misbehaving. Suzaku flinched and squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the blow to fall, but it never came. Eventually, he peeked open one eye to find that his father was gone. In his placed loomed a man Suzaku had only ever seen on the television. _

_ A man Suzaku hated, but a man he would obey nevertheless. _

_ "Do you, Suzaku Kururugi, swear your life and your loyalty to the Holy Britannian Empire? Do you swear to serve this great nation, to lay your very life on the line in the pursuit of her progress?" The Emperor demanded, violet eyes boring into him and reducing him into nothing more than weak boy who was helpless to do anything as he watched the world burn around him. _

_ It was this man's fault. Everything was this man's fault. If he hadn't ordered the invasion of Japan . . . his father wouldn't have had to . . . and Suzaku could have been free from this stain on his conscience. If it hadn't been for this man._

_ Fingers clenched tightly around the knife in his hand – a knife that was familiar. The knife he had killed his father with. It would be easy to do it now. He was bigger now – stronger. He could plunge the knife into the Emperor's chest – for vengeance . . . or to create change. _

_ It would be so easy . . ._

_ Instead, he set the knife at the Emperor's feet as he knelt in obeisance. "I swear, Your Majesty."_

_ But the Emperor didn't look pleased or satisfied with his pledge. Instead, the man glared and ground the heel of his boot into the fingers of Suzaku's left hand. He cried out at the imagined pain and jerked his hand away, cradling it against his chest as he glared at the Emperor. _

_ "It's because you're a traitor, Suzaku." A soft, feminine voice said from behind him. "That's why everyone hates you. Isn't that right, Nana-chan?"_

_ Suzaku turned slowly, Emperor forgotten as he found his cousin Kaguya kneeling gracefully next to a wheelchair-bound Nunnally vi Britannia, who nodded enthusiastically in agreement. Behind the chair, dressed in the blue and gold uniform of a Britannian General stood Lelouch – his best childhood friend. Except, he wasn't the ten year old little boy that Suzaku had known so well, anymore. _

_ "Even you hate yourself, don't you?" Kaguya continued. _

_ "Lelouch?" Suzaku asked quietly, ignoring his cousin's not-so-far-off-the-mark accusations._

_ It wasn't that Lelouch was there at all that unsettled him, but rather it was the look of pure, contemptuous loathing in the other boy's eyes – those violet eyes that had him checking over his shoulder to confirm that the Emperor really was gone. Sucked back into whatever niche of his subconsciousness that the loathed man usually occupied. _

_ Lelouch said nothing, one hand resting reassuringly on Nunnally's shoulder, the other hanging casually as his side. He was, as always, the perfect picture of confidence and if it hadn't been for that disgusted expression he might have been happy to see the other boy. As it was, he felt like his childhood friend could see all of his faults and sins with those eyes. _

_ As if he knew what Suzaku had done to his own father. _

_ "At least say something, Lelouch." He chided, hoping to provoke a response from him. But the other boy still said nothing, and the uncanny steadiness of his gaze caused Suzaku to look away. Only to catch sight of what it was he was holding in his hand. _

_ The knife was back (but he was sure he hadn't picked it up), only this time it was bloodstained – along with his hands and the cuffs of his uniform. He dropped it reflexively, fingers recoiling from the detestable object of their own accord. _

_ "Lelouch! I had to!" He exclaimed helplessly, looking back to find that Nunnally and Kaguya were gone. There was only Lelouch left, alone on a landscape of devastated Tokyo, surrounded by corpses. "If I hadn't -"_

_ But he cut off when Lelouch's lips moved, curling into a frown for a moment before his eyes burned even brighter with hatred – the first change in expression since he'd entered the scene. "I swear . . . I swear, Suzaku, so help me, I will one day . . . obliterate Britannia!"_

Suzaku awoke in a cold sweat with his friend's name on his lips.

Lelouch . . .

He hadn't thought about Lelouch in a while – he tried not to think of him at all if he could help it. It usually hurt too much – another reminder of something he'd lost. Something he could never regain – the innocence of his childhood friendship to a Britannian. Especially now that Lelouch had rejoined the Imperial family. Even though he was a traitor to Japan and had become an Honorary Britannian, the gap was still far too wide between them. Lelouch was a prince and Suzaku was still just a converted Number.

. . . He really ought to have learned his place better by now. He and Lelouch would most likely never meet again, and even if they did, there were still a significant number of problems to deal with before they could resume their friendship. Not the least of which was that no one would stand for a prince of Britannia befriending a Number. It had been okay when they'd been children, but that had been in a different time – a different world. That had been in Japan, not Area Eleven.

He scrubbed his hands over his face and forced the thoughts of Lelouch out of his head. This was a waste of time. The only reason he'd probably even dreamed about Lelouch was because of that news article he'd read the other day.

Lelouch had joined the military too and was doing to the MEF what they'd watched Britannia do to Japan. Committing the same crimes Lelouch had once cursed Britannia to hell and back for – only more efficiently.

Not that Suzaku was one to judge Lelouch for his crimes. He wasn't that hypocritical. Besides, killing someone you were at war with was completely different than murdering your own father. Between the two of them, Suzaku was sure that he was still the more guilty party, despite the number of deaths Lelouch had caused.

No, he would be the last one to call Lelouch on his actions.

Enough about Lelouch. Suzaku glanced at the glowing red display of his alarm clock in annoyance. 2:43 AM. He had to get up in just over an hour in order to get to the base on time. He'd hoped to sleep straight through the night, but he doubted he'd get back to sleep now. And even if he did, an extra hour was hardly worth it.

Shoving back the covers, he got ready for another day. Another day of halfhearted imitation. Another day of lying to himself – of pretending that he wasn't in some way responsible for the current state of Japan. Assuming the role of an Honorary Britannian – and mimicking pride at the distinction.

But it had to be this way. Because he was going to do things the right way this time – even if it was more difficult and took longer. He wasn't going to let himself create more things to regret – more sins to atone for – for the sake of his goal. Not if he could help it.

This time, he'd do things the right way. And he'd save Japan.

* * *

AN:

Well, let's see. This chapter's got Suzaku (check), Abigail (check), Schneizel (check), plot development (check), more of the Emperor toying with Lelouch (check) AND it was primarily from Lelouch's pov (check). I think that's a pretty good recipe for a chapter if I do say so myself. I hope you all enjoyed it.

Special thanks go to Slices for helping me come up with an authentic Arabic name for the 'cursed sands fort'. From now on, I think it will only be referred to as Qal'a Al Kuthban, though thanks to everyone else who game me their suggestions too. Also, if you were curious as to what I was envisioning when I first created the fort, google Herodium. I just came across it the other day and was shocked by how perfectly it matched up with my imagination - except instead of vegetation surrounding the hill, think sand dunes.

So, I've got some bad news. And I know it's a shitty time to do this now that we're finally getting into the thick of the story, but I'm going to be going back to school on the 10th of January to work on getting my MA (plus continuing to work full-time). So, as you can probably guess, my free time for writing will be severely hampered in the coming months. My boss showed me the schedule that I will be working and, between getting up at 7 to make it to the university on time for classes, and working until midnight five nights a week, I calculated that I'll have about an hour and a half of 'free time' to use for showering, eating, and writing (not to mention catching up on Bleach, Fairy Tail, Bakuman and Stardriver). Should be fun.

However! just because updates might be a bit slower than they have been up to this point, please let me assure you that I'm not abandoning this story. I'll still try my best to get updates out in a semi-timely fashion, but my gpa has to come first. Also, I'll try really hard to get another chapter out before I begin classes for you, but I'm not sure how well that will happen, because I'm going away for five days . . . and wont be able to write.

Well, that's it for this author's note. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. I'm hoping to crest 1000 reviews with this chapter, which has my totally psyched.

Have a very happy New Year's everyone (I know I will :D).

Allora


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Stepping off the plane was like stepping into another world – another existence. It was _home _in a way Pendragon would never be. This had been a place where he'd been someone else. Part of him loathed the intrusion his new persona was making on his memories of this country, but a much great part of him was just thankful to be back. Even if he wasn't the same as he had been then, this was still the country where he had first learned what it meant to have friends and to be wanted – needed even – for more than his heritage (or despite of it).

This was where he belonged.

And . . .

_Nunnally was here_.

Somewhere, possibly in this very same city, his sister was sequestered away waiting for the day she wouldn't have to hide anymore. She was waiting for him to make the changes he'd sworn to make so that she could live a happy life, free from being used as a tool by the Emperor.

Soon . . .

"Lelouch." Edith greeted with a slight bow as she met him on the tarmac of a private runway in Tokyo. Keeping with his already established character, he was avoiding the press and so hadn't alerted anyone of his arrival in the country. Even Clovis was still in the dark, though he fully intended to go see his half-brother before the day was out.

"Edith." Lelouch nodded. "How have you been liking Area Eleven?" He asked, watching as a dark suited man loaded his baggage into a waiting car and the rest of his entourage filed off the plane. He'd thieved the majority of the security team from the Aeries Villa for use at his new estate, along with a few of the members of the household staff (though most of them had chosen to remain in Pendragon with Abigail).

"It's more like the homeland than I expected. Though there are differences. . ." She hesitated. "Do you mind the eastern style? You said you didn't care what your new house looked like, but . . ." She shrugged awkwardly as she led him into the car.

"The house is Japanese?" Lelouch asked curiously. As far as he knew, most of the old Japanese estates had been destroyed during the invasion and few if any had been rebuilt in the Tokyo settlement.

"Well, not entirely. You'll see when we get there. If you don't like it, I'll start looking for a new place or planning renovations immediately. But it was the most secure place I could find. The former owner was a bit paranoid. A Marquis Hartfield - he's a bit eccentric. He didn't really want to sell, it took a bit of fiscal convincing to get him to agree and then a little more to get him to go before your arrival. But other than the style, the place should be well suited to your needs. It's in the Settlement and relatively close to Prince Clovis' residence."

"I'm sure it will be fine, Edith." Lelouch shrugged. "I actually kind of like the Japanese style. It reminds me of . . ." _The Kururugi estate . . . and Suzaku . . ._ "of when I was a kid."

"Good then. I hope you like it. I personally find it a bit strange." Edith admit as they both climbed into the back of a waiting car. The others would be following behind in the other waiting vehicles.

"What about those other preparations?" Lelouch asked as the car pulled away.

"I've sent the acquisition requests to Area Eighteen already. They should be arriving today and if all goes well, your subordinates should be formally transferred to your command by the end of the week. But are you sure it was a good idea to do it this way? From what I understand, Princess Cornelia isn't going to approve of this." Edith asked worriedly.

"It will be fine." Lelouch shrugged. "I've already gone over her head twice and she's reprimanded me for it both times. This time, to prove my point, I'll work through the formal channels and watch her try to hinder me. It's like retroactive justification for my past actions. I fully expect delays. If they aren't here by the thirtieth, I'll contact them directly, charter a flight, and have them brought straight to Area Eleven. Either way, I get what I want in the end."

"I suppose. You have everything all planned out already, don't you?" Edith asked with a small smile.

"To a certain point, yes." Lelouch agreed. He'd spend a lot of time over the last week thinking about how he would approach this new assignment, the stance he would take, and what he was and wasn't willing to do for the sake of success. The rest of his time had been spent researching the personal histories of all the known members of the Kenshiki faction and going over the group's activities to date.

Between blowing up train stations and breaking into Osaka's mayor's house and assassinating the man and his whole family (two year old daughter included), they had made it abundantly clear that they would stoop to any depth to attain their objective. For now, their operations had remained limited to the Osaka Settlement. But if they actually entertained hopes of getting Clovis to turn himself over, they'd eventually have to move into the Viceroy's own backyard. Which meant Tokyo ran the risk of being torn apart by terrorism just like Osaka already had been (and he was _not_ going to let that happen if he could help it). He actually felt pretty bad for Clovis and knew he'd have been stressed to entirely new levels if it had been _his_ fault that so many people were dying.

The sooner he could resolve this, the better.

"We're here, Lelouch." Edith said hesitantly a while later, gesturing out the window as they turned up the drive. He understood immediately why she'd had such trouble identifying the house as either eastern or western. The house, structurally, was as Britannian as you could get. You wouldn't have been able to find a more architecturally Britannian mansion even on Saint Darwin street. The decorations and the garden however, were another story completely.

However Britannian the house may have been structurally, the mock facade of a traditional Japanese manor slapped on over the previously Britannian exterior and the 'authentic' Japanese garden stretching out for half a mile in any direction from the house, was enough to put it into a category of it's own. It was going to be . . . interesting to explain to any Britannian visitors he had over.

Though, then again, this may have been a good thing. Japan would one day be his, so showing his acceptance of traditional Japanese culture would only help him win over the Numbers. It was a stance he'd already decided to take, so a house this eccentric shouldn't intimidate him.

And it _was_ nice. He liked it, even. It reminded him of the Kururugi estate, in an obscure kind of way. The gardens were especially nostalgic. He would like it here. Nunnally would have liked it here (he tried the ignore the twinge of pain it brought, knowing that he wouldn't be able to bring her here).

"It's nice, Edith. You did well." He reassured her, casting his gaze back down the driveway (surrounded on either side by a rock garden) to the gate set into ten foot high walls with artfully hidden razor wire wrapped in ivy on top. He'd have to go through all of the security measures later.

"Thank you." She said nervously as she climbed out of the car after him. "Listen, Lelouch. The staff here are all Marquis Hartfield's old employees. He left them as employees of the estate rather than his personal entourage and I didn't have time to replace them before you arrived."

"I'm sure it will be fine." Lelouch said as he walked up the front steps with Edith at his shoulder. He paused, however, when she opened the door and he stepped through to a foyer filled with said employees.

He should have guessed, judging from the rest of the house, but they were all Elevens. "Oh, I see." He rubbed his hand over his face in frustration before casting his gaze down the long, twin lines of employees, each dressed in traditional Japanese kimonos, though he thankfully noted that the interior of the house was in the western style. "Well this makes things more difficult."

"Welcome, Master." They said in chiming unison.

It wasn't that he had anything against someone of Japanese heritage working in his house. Hell, he'd sent his beloved little sister into hiding with only Sayoko for company, so it was very obviously not that he had a problem with the Elevens. _But_ he'd been sent to Area Eleven to put an end to terrorism and rebellion in the country and that was sure to garner more than a little tension from the Japanese population. Leaving his house full of Elevens left him wide open to assassination attempts. It was almost like asking to be killed.

Still, to let them all go just because they were Elevens would make him no better than the many employers he'd scorned and criticized during his time as a student here. So simply firing them all because it would make things easier for him, didn't sit well with him, and nor would it help him ingratiate himself with the Numbers.

"Alright," He said loudly, paused, then switched to his mostly-fluent Japanese. He knew that many of the Numbers only had a base understanding of the Britannian language (despite the seven years they'd had to learn) and he didn't want there to be any confusion. "I am Lelouch vi Britannia, eleventh prince of the Holy Britannian Empire and the new owner of this house. This means, you are currently my employees.

"I'm going to make this clear right now; you are not going to be fired due to your ethnicity. I have absolutely no problem with cooperating with the Numbers. However, you will each be undergoing a thorough background check to ensure my own safety. Those of you who don't think you will pass, are free to leave now. Those who don't pass will be fired.

"Of course, if you'd rather not work for a Britannian prince, you're free to quit as well. I understand my reputation is rather malevolent at the moment, so I can understand some hesitance on your part. File your resignations with my assistant Edith, if you choose to quit." He said gesturing at Edith and ignoring the blatant expressions of surprise on their faces – either from what he had to say or the language he was saying it in, he wasn't sure. "Thank you for your welcome, you may go back to work.

"Now," He said, turning on his heel to face the entourage that had come with him. He didn't really feel like dealing with domestic affairs right now. There were other things on his mind. But he'd at least get the others set up. "Ambrose, Seckel, set a team up at the perimeter and then make a thorough sweep of the house and gardens. I want you made aware of ever closet and cupboard in this house, along with ever security camera and audio device on the premises. I expect a full report by tomorrow.

"Samson, please retrieve a car for us. I have business I need to attend to today. The rest of you, get settled in. I'll tour the place later. Edith, you're with me."

* * *

"Well, when it rains it pours, they say." Clovis frowned.

Jeremiah said nothing, still unsure of his position with the prince. Clovis had grown, unsurprisingly, more and more distressed over the last few weeks as the death toll mounted. Each day the terrorists were sure to proclaim their activities and restate their demands over a pirated broadcasting signal. And every day, Prince Clovis was forced to make a statement to quell the mounting citizen unrest the terrorists' actions caused.

The Osaka settlement had turned into a war zone in places. Residents were afraid to leave their homes and many of those with any rank or status had since abandoned the city. The terrorists were running rampant, unchecked and the local garrison had been unable to put even so much as a dint in their plans.

"Jeremiah, I'm sending you to Osaka to deal with this problem. You did well bringing Kouzuki down, but I'm afraid we don't have that kind of time to deal with this situation. You _must_ deal with it as soon as humanly possible. Stop the attacks. Put them down. I don't care how you do it. Use any measures necessary. It's time for you to prove your loyalty to me. It's quite likely that if this continues for overlong, I will be stripped of my position." Prince Clovis explained.

The unspoken threat was quite clear in the firmness of his prince's gaze. If Prince Clovis went down, he'd be taking Jeremiah with him – out of spite if nothing else. It was a stance Jeremiah understood, as he'd taken it before in the past, and it did it's job in motivating him as it was supposed to. He took this assignment to mean that he was back in the prince's good graces and he didn't intend to mess that up now.

"Of course, my prince. I'll bring these dogs down for you -"

Someone knocked at the door and both Clovis and Jeremiah frowned. Clovis' assistant should have announced any visitors that had come calling. The fact that she hadn't meant that something was very obviously wrong.

Jeremiah was out of his seat with his hand on his gun before the prince could even respond. Not that the caller was waiting for a response anyway as the doorknob slowly turned and the door pushed open to reveal . . .

Prince Lelouch flanked on either side by women in smart business suits. One was Clovis' own assistant Lisa, looking sheepish and flustered. The other he recognized as the maid who had let him in to see Prince Lelouch at the Aeries Villa. The eavesdropper, though apparently the prince didn't mind.

Jeremiah carefully took his hand away from his gun as Prince Clovis sank into his chair defeatedly. "I see. So I'm too late already, then. You've come to replace me then, Lelouch?" Clovis asked before adding bitterly. "Better you than Schneizel."

Prince Lelouch smiled reassuringly before stepping into the office fully and closing the door behind him – leaving the two assistants outside. "The situation's not quite that dire, Clovis. I've been sent to take care of the terrorists in the Area for you. For the most part, I think the Emperor approves of your method of governing and is leaving you in charge."

The two brothers stared at each other searchingly for a long moment and Jeremiah received the distinct impression that they were somehow silently communicating with each other. At last, finally, Prince Lelouch glanced away, acceding some kind of victory to the Viceroy.

"Of course, this wasn't exactly my choice. As I'm sure you're aware. I wouldn't do this to you if there was another way." Lelouch said, as though answering an unspoken question.

Clovis sighed heavily. "Of course, I understand." He said calmly before his dour mood took a sudden upturn back towards normal. "I'm sure you remember Margrave Gottwald, Lelouch?" The Viceroy introduced charmingly, gesturing towards Jeremiah.

"Yes, of course." Prince Lelouch said calmly, offering his hand to shake. Jeremiah thought it would be rather hard to forget him after he'd smuggled a weapon onto the prince's estate and practically begged him to execute him. "A pleasure to see you again, Lord Gottwald. And still alive."

"And you, your highness." Jeremiah answered doubly with a slight bow, ever mindful that Clovis was watching him like a hawk.

"Come, have a seat, Lelouch. I was just discussing the issue with Jeremiah, here." Clovis said, gesturing towards the chair adjacent to Jeremiah's. "I suppose this means you'll be working together now."

Jeremiah glanced sharply – eagerly – at the younger prince, but Prince Lelouch shook his head slightly as he seated himself. "No, that wont be necessary. I wont steal your own men from you unless I absolutely have to. My squad mates from Area Eighteen will be here by the thirtieth at the very latest. Until then, I'll simply set the stage. My first priority is this Kenshiki faction that's making trouble for you."

Clovis smiled coolly and Jeremiah could physically feel the tension in the air. "How very like the Wolf of Britannia to refuse to hunt with anyone but his pack mates."

Prince Lelouch rolled his eyes. "Oh, don't start, Clovis. _That_ was Schneizel's doing. I assure you I had nothing to do with it. Personally, I would have chosen something a little less on the endangered species list. The Rabbit of Britannia, maybe. They're common enough."

"You'd need more children before we could start calling you the Rabbit of Britannia." Prince Clovis pointed out, to which Prince Lelouch nodded thoughtfully.

"Yes, you're right. That would be a good one for the Emperor though." Lelouch said calmly.

Jeremiah choked back his reaction as Clovis laughed openly. He was shocked that the younger prince would speak so openly disdainfully of his own father. But if Prince Lelouch _had_ been exiled as Clovis had alluded to once in a slip of the tongue months ago, maybe there was no love lost between the young royal and the Emperor. And it was also certain that the Emperor hadn't seemed to do anything about Empress Marianne's death.

He watched the younger prince closely, listening with half an ear as they cheerfully caught up with each other, reminiscing about childhood pranks and family affairs. His joke seemed to have broken the ice between them and they were now nothing but the brothers they had once been. It was almost uncanny how quickly the atmosphere had changed.

Jeremiah decided upon further observation that Prince Lelouch _was_ rather godlike, as the newspapers had suggested – and not only because of his accomplishments in Area Eighteen. Fresh from combat with a spectacular victory on his shoulders, he appeared just as calm, composed and unaffected as he had been months ago in his villa the same day he returned to Pendragon.

He exuded confidence in a way that was wholly different to his brother. Whereas Clovis was flippantly cheerful, Lelouch seemed apathetically unconcerned. As though nothing on this earth could touch him and so he needn't worry. It was slightly disconcerting, especially when he thought of the cheerful little boy Prince Lelouch had once been before Empress Marianne's death.

That boy was long since dead and in it's place stood the young prince before him. Confident, self-assured and ruthless. His attitude screamed of Marianne's influence, almost as though she'd been reincarnated in her son. Lelouch was the perfect picture of Britannian royalty and it seemed to come easily to him, whereas Clovis was always building up one facade or another.

"You mentioned earlier something about setting the stage. What exactly did you mean by that, Lelouch?" Clovis asked some time later.

"Yes." The dark haired prince nodded before casting a wary glance at Jeremiah.

"Jeremiah is one of my most trusted and efficient vassals." Clovis said calmly, answering the unspoken question. He felt pride bloom in his chest at his prince's distinction and hoped it would enamor him somehow to Prince Lelouch. But his hopes were dashed a moment later.

"As you wish, then." Prince Lelouch shrugged with a slightly mocking smile. Jeremiah's heart stuttered to a stop as he wondered if Prince Lelouch would mention the offer he'd made all those months ago – his infidelity to Clovis – but the prince merely continued on with the conversation at hand. "I was hoping to get your help setting the stage, actually. I don't necessarily need it, mind you, but I'm willing to cooperate with you as much as I can. Lets face it, the more we seem to be working together, the less damage my presence here will do to you."

Clovis' eyes narrowed slightly at the verbal stranglehold Prince Lelouch had just put him in, no doubt trying to determine his brother's true intentions. Jeremiah also wasn't sure whether the the younger prince had just offered Clovis the olive branch or a leash, but the way he saw it, Clovis didn't really have a choice but to accept. Even so, it would be a blow to his pride – to have to ask his younger brother to protect him – but less of one than making it appear that Lelouch was there without Clovis' consent.

"Of course, my brother. Anything I can do to help you, you need only ask. They are after my life, after all." Clovis replied with a smile that sent chills down Jeremiah's spine. That was not a smile he ever wanted to see directed at himself. Clovis may have been generally jovial, but that didn't mean he wasn't dangerous.

The deadly smile didn't seem to affect Prince Lelouch in the slightest, which sent warning bells off in Jeremiah's mind. Whatever happened, he didn't really want to be caught in a conflict between these two men. However, that seemed exactly where he was headed. He really wished Clovis had excused him when Prince Lelouch had given him the chance – no matter how disrespectful it may have been, playing witness to this exchange had to be worse.

No matter which way he looked at it, Prince Lelouch had the upper hand because he had the Emperor's backing. There was no higher power that Clovis could consult to counteract the orders and the the Emperor's authority was not something to be disregarded. Add to that Prince Lelouch's new fearsome reputation and that fact that he didn't look like he was willing to be trifled with and all signs were pointing to Prince Lelouch coming out on top.

"I only want a few small things from you for now." Lelouch said calmly. "Firstly, I would like for you to allow me to debut with you the next time you make a national address. And secondly, I would like for you to increase the security around yourself."

Clovis snorted. "And here I thought you were going to ask for something difficult after backing me into a corner like that." The viceroy laughed. "As always, you play masterfully, Lelouch. That hasn't changed, I'm still no match. Yes, I will agree to your demands."

"Thank you, Clovis." Lelouch said sincerely as the tension seemed to melt out of him and he relaxed into his chair. "And I really am sorry about this."

"Don't. This is my own fault. I'll accept this as my penance for turning you in in the first place." Clovis waved airily, suddenly seemingly unconcerned. Another facade? "Now then, about this party I promised you months ago."

* * *

This had become a bit of a ritual of sorts. A tradition. And even though Kallen hated it – hated every second she spent in that apartment and the pain it caused her – she found herself back there every day. Because, without Naoto, Ohgi didn't have anyone else either. Not really. Somehow, over the years, Ohgi had transcended the boundary between friend and family. He and Naoto had been brothers in a way she didn't fully understand – but what she did understand was that she had been Naoto's sister and therefore anyone he considered family was her family too.

So she found herself on Ohgi's sagging couch once again – half spaced out and half listening to Tamaki prattle on and on about some asshole Britannian he'd scared so bad he'd wet himself. Ohgi and Nagata were paying about as much attention as she was, a deck of cards spread out on the table between them as the television droned on in the background.

"And then, after he pissed himself, he totally started bawling. It was so embarrassing. And this guy was seriously like twice the size of me." Tamaki chortled.

"Fascinating." Kallen grumbled before picking up the remote and changing the channel.

"You're not really listening to me." Tamaki accused.

"Of course I'm not!" She finally snapped. He'd been elaborating on the same crappy story for almost an hour now, growing steadily louder with each new rendition. She had to have heard the part about the Britannian pissing himself four times. "Do you really, honestly, not have anything better to do with your time than picking fights with Britannians? Do something useful for once, Tamaki. Find out who killed my brother!"

"Why don't _you_ find out who killed him? Don't criticize me for not playing detective when you're here every day spacing out on Ohgi's couch." Tamaki retorted tactlessly.

"Don't you dare think I haven't been!" She snarled and lashed out, palm reaching across the distance between them to collide with his cheek. "Every minute that I'm not here, I've been trying to find out who killed Naoto."

It was true. At first, she'd thought the Britannians would make a big to do about it and report the story as a warning to the other resistance groups. But over the weeks since her brother had been laid to rest, they hadn't said a peep about the slaughter of almost thirty Japanese rebels. Now, it became ever more apparent that they weren't about to. Obviously, Prince Clovis didn't even want to leave hints about his Code-R project.

Which had left her spending the majority of the rest of her time self-instructing herself how to hack. She had a pretty thorough understanding of it by now, but she hadn't been able to find any record of activity involving their faction on any of the servers and networks she checked so far. It was almost like it had never happened.

In fact, she was pretty sure that according to the Britannians, their resistance group had never existed at all. Which only served to piss her off all the more. Any record of their activities – even old stuff that had had nothing to do with Code-R – seemed to have disappeared. It was like they'd been completely erased from existence.

And if it hadn't been for the group Naoto had sent with Ohgi and herself, that just might have been true.

For now, she was suspecting Prince Clovis' Royal Guard. They were the only people she could think of off the top of her head who would be able to act indiscriminately like this without leaving a record on the main military databases.

Unless the prince had some . . . secret militia of some sort. But that presented a whole new set of problems.

"Oh? So why haven't you found them yet?" Tamaki asked, rubbing his tender cheek. "I want to take revenge just as much as you do. Naoto and I went way back and he was like a brother to me too."

"Enough, you two." Ohgi snapped, tossing his cards on the table. "Just shut up. I don't want to hear you arguing about this, Tamaki. Kallen has lost the most here and she's still doing the most to move forward. If any of us can find out who was responsible for the deaths of our comrades, it's her. So stop antagonizing her."

"Fine. Side with her." Tamaki said, petulantly crossing his arms over his chest and turning away.

She just glared at him before turning her attention to the television. It was the news, reporting the latest terrorist attack perpetrated by the Kenshiki faction.

If they hadn't been out of line before, they certainly were now. Their latest target was the Honorary Britannian administrative center in Osaka. While she could understand feeling scorn for those who were willing to sell out their own heritage for the chance to become a second-class Britannian, she couldn't understand – or forgive – the Kenshiki Faction blowing up a building full of applicants. No matter what choice they'd made, they'd still been Japanese. And the fact remained that they'd been killed by Japanese freedom fighters.

Fifty-one innocent Japanese people were dead because these arrogant extremists felt that anyone who accepted the Honorary Britannian system deserved to die. Not that the Britannians were any worse, but the Kenshiki faction certainly weren't any better. They seemed to be proponents of the fight-fire-with-fire school of thought and would stoop to any level.

"Hey look, Prince Clovis is about to make an ass out of himself on the television again." Nagata said blandly, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen over the room.

Kallen turned her attention back to the television and sure enough, the Britannian prince was standing in his customary pose with the Britannian flag serving as a backdrop.

"To all my imperial subjects, including, of course, all the many cooperative Elevens who choose to serve the Empire, today fifty-nine innocent civilians lost their lives in an unprovoked terrorist attack by the Kenshiki Faction."

Kallen blinked in surprise and sat up a little straighter. This announcement was different than the prince's previous announcements. Usually, Prince Clovis got up there and began spouting off a diatribe about how the terrorist movement was breaking his heart and 'couldn't they all just get along?' bullshit, all the while clutching at his heart dramatically with fake tears in his eyes.

This time, however, the prince was deadly serious and there was no trace of heart clenching or fake tears in sight. She frowned and turned up the volume a bit, aware that the others were just as interested in the changes in the prince's act.

"Terrorism is a despicable means of achieving one's goal and the bane to all those who wish to live in peace. It is because of terrorism that this country has remained in such an unstable state. And now, because of terrorism, Osaka has been torn apart. Citizens are afraid to leave their homes and businesses refuse to open. The city is dying under the influence of fear that the Kenshiki faction has cultivated there."

Still not a heart clench or fake tear in sight. Only a glacial blue gaze staring down the camera. This time, it seemed, the viceroy was serious.

"For this reason – because this has gone on already for far too long – I am appointing . . ."

Kallen couldn't believe it. The Kenshiki had really done it. Clovis was going to resign. That had to be why he seemed so different.

"a new Chief of Internal Defense." Clovis finished with a grand gesture to his left reminiscent of his many previous addresses, though his gaze was still cold and the small smile on his lips was anything but charismatic. This was a new prince, a far more dangerous and deadly prince who lived beneath the charming facade. The man who had created Code-R.

A second man walked onto the stage, a black and purple cape swishing around his shoulders to counter the brilliant white of Clovis' attire. He stopped next to Clovis and turned to face the camera – his gaze far more deadly and cold than even Clovis'.

"I am Prince Lelouch vi Britannia, eleventh prince of the Holy Britannian Empire and the new Chief of Internal Defense for Area Eleven. I have been tasked with putting an end to the terrorist activity in Area Eleven and that is precisely what I intend to do.

"I will begin my eradication of the terrorist threat with the Kenshiki Faction who have been creating so much trouble lately. To all members of the Kenshiki Faction, including your leader Tatsuhiro Saito, you have until the thirtieth of September to surrender yourselves to me. Doing so will ensure you see the inside of a courthouse before being granted a quick and painless death."

The dark haired prince gave a cool, feral smirk to the camera, "Should you refuse my offer for a fair trial, I will make sure your deaths are anything but painless and quick. You have made yourselves a nuisance to not only the Britannian people with your actions, but also to your own people. If you have any _pride_, as your name suggests, you will turn yourselves in and cease being a burden to your own people.

"On the thirtieth of September, I will commence military operations to capture and kill all remaining members of the Kenshiki Faction and bring peace back to the Osaka Settlement. I will not negotiate with these terrorists and I will not allow them to further threaten the peace of this country. And I especially will not allow them to harm the Viceroy. _That_ is my promise."

The transmission ended after a few moments of recording Prince Lelouch's glare - which sent chills down Kallen's spine. This guy, Prince Lelouch, was a hundred times more dangerous than Clovis had ever been. He was the one they were calling the Wolf of Britannia – the one who had killed almost a thousand people in one go. Merciless. A monster.

And he was now in Japan swearing to put an end to terrorism and bring peace. The peace of a collared dog. She glared at the news reporter who had come back onto the television.

"Do you think he was the one to take our group out?" Tamaki asked darkly. "Prince Lelouch, I mean."

"Couldn't have been." Ohgi answered after a moment of thought. "He would have been in Area Eighteen at the time."

"I guess. Still. . . I don't like him." Tamaki said firmly, as though that made all the difference.

"None of us do. Just think about what he would do if he ever got a hold of that poison gas." Kallen growled. "I don't like the Kenshiki and I certainly don't approve of them, but if Prince Clovis and Prince Lelouch choose to use Code-R on them, a lot of innocent people are going to get killed. We need to take it off their hands."

"How?" Nagata asked. "We don't have the people to make Naoto's plan work."

"It was a good plan, wasn't it?" She demanded of Ohgi.

"Of course." Ohgi said softly. "Naoto's plans were always good."

"But he had a lot of safety nets in place to make sure everyone got out okay, right?" Kallen continued. "If we rounded up Inoue, Yoshida and the others, do you think we could do the operates bare bones? We wouldn't have any safety nets like he'd planned, but we still have the Glasgow."

"You mean, you're suggesting you'd take on any and all pursuit on your own?" Ohgi asked skeptically. "Listen, I know you're good, but you're not that good."

"It doesn't really matter how good I am. It's do or die now, remember. If we don't do this, a lot of innocent people could die. Also, the Glasgow is only backup insurance. Naoto said that if his plan worked, it wouldn't even be needed. If you make sure you have a clean getaway, I wont be in any danger. What do you think?" Kallen asked.

"Well, I'm in." Tamaki said at once. "It'll be a big fuck you to Prince Clovis if we take it away from him after what he did to the others. Besides, it was what Naoto wanted to do. We owe it to him to finish his last mission."

Ohgi stared at her for a long moment before turning his questioning gaze to Nagata.

"I'm in. We still have the truck we were going to use, but it will be difficult to get Jin Nakata to lend us his ship again, I think." Nagata said.

"Load the Glasgow onto the truck. That way I can guard the gas as we make our escape and I'll be close at hand if we get into trouble." Kallen suggested.

"Yeah, that works." Nagata agreed.

Ohgi closed his eyes and sighed before nodding. "Yeah. We'll do it for Naoto. I'll round up the others, but we'll have to move soon. If Prince Lelouch gets the idea to use it, they'll most likely be moving it to Osaka soon."

"You're right." Kallen nodded. "So we better get ready to move in a day or two."

The idea of what that cold-eyed boy on the television would do with such a weapon made her slightly nauseous. She'd actually met Lelouch before. They'd been in the same class at Ashford Academy for several years, but she'd never really approached him. He'd always seemed thoroughly unremarkable to her – just a quiet slacker who's only point of interest was that his absences rivaled her own. And he'd always seemed so arrogant and disinterested to her, despite the fact that the majority of her 'friends' had decided they were in love with him.

It was always the quiet ones you had to look out for. She should know, she herself adopted a quiet facade when she went to school. But what was under their common masks was so far from similar.

A prince. She'd been going to school with a prince and she hadn't even realized. So many missed chances and opportunities. She could have killed him then . . . well, maybe not. She thought back to that cop and the horrifying, sticky sensation of his blood drying on her hands and cringed. No, she probably wouldn't have been able to assassinate one of her classmates – whether he was a Britannian prince or not. Not then, at least.

Not when there had been even the remotest possibility that he'd been innocent (even if he was Britannian). And not when she'd been untested – unsullied.

But both of those situations had changed. She had killed and had sworn to kill again. And he . . . he was positively drowning in the blood of innocent Eighteens. The word going around (not in the Britannian sanctioned and monitored newspapers) was that the majority of that thousand people the prince had killed had been women and children. So she wouldn't exactly feel bad for him if she was given the opportunity to put him down.

He'd deserve everything he got.

* * *

AN:

WE ARE OFFICIALLY AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CANON TIMELINE!

:D

I'm so totally fired up on this story right now because we're getting into the plot and the fun parts that I'm actually dreading going back to school next week because I wont have the time to write that I want. It makes me a sad panda. However, for now, enjoy this chapter, and we'll see if I can't get another one out for you before I get sucked back into academia.

I'm not too sure about the second portion of this chapter, either. I think it might have been more interesting to write it from Lelouch's pov, but at the same time, I really wanted to put Lelouch, Clovis and Jeremiah in a room together to see what would happen. Jeremiah has _technically_ sworn oaths to serve both of them, so the moment they're at odds with each other is when Jeremiah gets conflicted. It would work better for him if they could just get along, but that seems unlikely as Lelouch is there to destroy Clovis' reputation and Clovis is unlikely to find that amusing - even if he understands it's not really Lelouch's fault. So I thought it would be interesting to watch the struggle from an only semi-biased third party. :D

Also, I'm aware that there's a one or two day variance here from the canon timeline since Clovis made his address about the bombing while Kallen and co. were stealing C.C.. I'd completely written that part of the chapter before I clued in. So let's all pretend that, because this is an AU fic, somehow the discovery of Lelouch still being alive and his subsequent being returned to Britannia/joining the military/kicking Area 18's butt, caused a temporal shift which either made Clovis make his announcement early or made the resistance hesitate. Not that it really matters. It's close enough, I think, to not make that much of a different.

Anyway, I just want to thank you all, officially, because this story now has more than 1000 reviews. :D whee! That totally psyched me up. Thanks to everyone who reads this and thanks especially to everyone who reviews. I really appreciate it. It makes my day.

Hope everyone had an enjoyable New Years. Looking forward to what the new year has to bring. ^.^

Allora


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Lelouch shrugged as he made his way through the Tokyo military base. It was his first time actually wearing his new uniform and he found the epaulettes surprisingly uncomfortable. He'd considered just wearing his ceremonial Knight's uniform, but after winning his verbal chess match with Clovis, he couldn't afford to show discomfort with anything. He couldn't afford to show a weakness and he would be damned if he let his brother know just how uncomfortable he was by his new command.

Not because he didn't think he was capable, but rather because he felt he hadn't earned it. It was a handout. Worse, it was a handout from the Emperor. He'd never really been picky about how he achieved his goals, so long as they were achieved. He hadn't cared when he'd been accepted into the KMF Corps only because he'd been able to swindle Masen, or that he'd only been made a corporal because Cornelia had taken pity on him.

But this was different. This was the Emperor's handiwork and, aside from the blow to his pride, he couldn't help but wonder just what the man was up to. Maybe he was just paranoid because he was actually guilty of planning to participate in a coup d'etat and committing patricide, but he didn't trust that man as far as he could throw him. In anything.

He suspected the Emperor had to know – at least to some degree – that the accusations Cornelia had leveled against him were true. The Emperor was not a fool. He had something planned – he had to. Something far more damning than simply crafting Lelouch into a more effective tool for his use. It was not knowing this ulterior motive that set Lelouch on edge whenever he thought about the man.

Lelouch paused as movement out of the corner of his eye drew his attention. A little ways away, a group of soldiers were practicing their hand to hand fighting. Except this match was grossly unfair with the three larger combatants ganging up on a single smaller one. It took him only a moment to realize why.

"Come on, 404. Don't tell me we're too much for you to handle." One of the soldiers taunted.

A Number. Even with the Honorary Britannian system granting them rights and the 'privilege' of joining the Britannian military, they couldn't escape being identified my a number. Stripped of their humanity and their pride, Honorary Britannians who joined the military were addressed only by their ID number ninety percent of the time. It was barbaric.

And now this – an outnumbered sparring match used as an excuse to vent the Britannians' own need for violence.

Lelouch turned sharply, causing Edith to falter behind him, and headed straight for the group of soldiers. He was surprised to find that the Eleven was managing to defend himself effectively. He didn't dare strike back, but he did manage to evade a fair number of the blows directed at him, and blocked most of those he couldn't.

He was also surprised that one of the assailants was a corporal – identified by the striped armband one of the Britannian men were wearing. So, this Eleven's commanding officer was assaulting him. No wonder he refused to retaliate.

"Line up!" Lelouch barked sharply as he came level with them, just as one of the men landed a blow that sent the Eleven sprawling, revealing startled emerald eyes and a face that was far too familiar.

No, there was just no way. This Eleven just . . . he just looked like Suzaku. Because there was no way in hell that Suzaku would be _here _of all places. And Suzaku sure as hell wasn't a Britannian soldier. He wouldn't do that.

Glancing sharply away, Lelouch pinned his glare on the corporal, who was standing fully at attention and saluting. "Sir!" The man shouted nervously, obviously recognizing him. Though, after yesterday's media debut, he doubted there was a person in the country who didn't know his face.

"Corporal, explain this brutality to me." Lelouch ordered calmly, though his heart was hammering in his chest as the Eleven hurriedly got to his feet and crisply saluted. He couldn't help watching the Eleven out of the corner of his eye – he looked so much like Suzaku . . .

"Ah, we were just . . . trying to make the situation more real, sir. We want 404 to be prepared for anything, and there's no guarantee in the field that you'll only have to fight against one opponent, sir." The Corporal answered a little too quickly. It left Lelouch with the impression that he'd prepared such an excuse beforehand. Or was possibly even using it as a justification. It was true that soldiers were taught how to take on multiple opponents at one time, but not like this. Not a three on one grudge match without the supervision of an officer. And certainly not with the officer participating.

"I don't recall undergoing such training myself." Lelouch said icily, though he could only imagine how much Harken would have enjoyed pummeling him.

"Of course not, sir. You're . . ."

"Britannian?" Lelouch asked sharply. "Or are you suggesting that my military training was deliberately handicapped because I'm a prince?"

Ah, he could verbally annihilate these types of men all day long. "So which is it?" He asked, with slightly malevolent glee as he watched the man struggle to come up with the correct answer. On the one hand, he'd be insulting a prince (and not just any prince, but a prince with a fearsome reputation) and on the other hand, he'd be admitting to racial discrimination which, despite the stance of the Emperor, was not technically allowed. Most officers liked to turn a blind eye to it, but there was a clause in the rulebook stating that Honorary Britannians were citizens of the Empire and ought to be treated as such.

"Uh . . . I apologize, sir. We were out of line." The Corporal finally said, coming out with the correct answer. "It wont happen again."

"Good." Lelouch said firmly, finally releasing the man from his salute. "Then, if you wouldn't mind making yourself more useful, Corporal, I'd like you to escort my assistant Edith to General Bartley's office." He said, gesturing to the woman standing mutely behind him.

"Lelouch?" She asked in surprise.

"There's something else I want to take care of." He answered. "Just hand in the paperwork to the General and everything should be fine."

The paperwork in question was the formal turning over of the garrison in Osaka to Lelouch's command. As well as procuring seventy of the best Knights Area Eleven had to offer to serve him. They were all crack pilots, but more importantly, none of them had sworn oaths to Clovis. He wouldn't steal a sworn soldier from Clovis. Not only because it would be offensive, but also because it would serve little purpose. He wanted to make these men his own, so conflicting their loyalty to an already established lord would achieve little more than allowing Clovis to plant spies in his forces.

"Yes, sir!" The corporal said quickly as he moved to Edith's side. "This way, ma'am."

Lelouch watched as they departed, the corporal's back straight and strides long as Edith struggled to keep up in her high heels and skirt. He smirked slightly when she finally gave up and reprimanded him for moving at such a rushed pace.

He turned back to the three remaining men. The Britannians stood at attention, each watching his every move raptly. The Eleven, who's stance was just as stiff and textbook perfect, kept his eyes averted.

"Private 404." Lelouch said finally, watching the soldier stiffen slightly.

"Sir."

Was that Suzaku's voice? Or was he just wishing it was Suzaku's voice? No. No, why would he want it to be Suzaku? Sure, he wanted very much to confirm whether or not his friend was alive or dead – but not like this. He would never want to witness a Suzaku who had fallen as far as this. Better he was dead than . . .

"Come with me. You two are dismissed." Lelouch said, waving his hand at the other two Britannians.

The two soldiers relievedly saluted before scampering away, leaving only Lelouch and Suzaku's look-alike – no, Private 404 – behind. Lelouch stared searchingly at the Eleven, while the Eleven stared firmly at the ground, refusing to make eye contact.

Eventually, Lelouch turned away and began walking, the Eleven falling into step behind him. At the time, it had seemed vitally important to speak with this boy who looked so much like his old childhood friend. But now that he'd managed to separate him from the rest of his comrades and could finally speak plainly, what exactly did he have to say to this imposter.

Because he was quite clearly determined to deny that this was actually Suzaku. Just a look-alike. An imposter. Possibly some relative who shared facial characteristics. Anything but the real Suzaku.

Still, he had to be sure.

But it was very difficult to surreptitiously watch someone from the corner of your eye, when they refused to stand in your field of vision. Private 404 was doing just that, keeping a step or two behind him, like they were playing follow the leader.

Lelouch turned back suddenly, catching the private by surprise and almost causing a collision. He stared intently at the private, at that face that reminded him so much of Suzaku's but couldn't be. He had to make sure. Something that only the real Suzaku would know.

A signal. One of many they had created during those brief months they'd spent together before the invasion. One of the many that had helped them to survive in the war zone that had once been Tokyo.

His hand brushed the bangs out of his eyes.

_Quietly._

Before he tugged slightly at his collar.

_Meet on the roof._

There. If this boy really was Suzaku – providing he still remembered the silent language they'd created all those years ago – he would meet him up on the roof of the building they were next to. If not, then he'd know he'd been mistaken. At least he wouldn't continue being gripped by this uncertainty.

"I apologize for singling you out. You're dismissed, Private." Lelouch said firmly, before turning on his heel and stalking towards the door.

"Lelouch." The private called after him.

He froze. No mere Eleven private would dare to address him so informally. It had to really be him.

"So it _is_ you. . . Suzaku." He said quietly before tugging on his collar one more time and disappearing through the door into the nearest building. An administrative building of some kind, he didn't even glance at the receptionist before heading for the stairs and taking them two at a time up to the roof.

Now what the hell was he going to do? He needed a moment to collect his thoughts, to clarify a few things. To think. He'd expected to be wrong. He'd wanted to be wrong. He didn't know exactly what to do now that he knew it actually was Suzaku. Think! First off, what the hell was Suzaku doing in that uniform on this base? What was the most likely scenario?

. . .

That Suzaku was a terrorist and had taken up this role to filter information back to his comrades.

. . . Great. Just fucking great. He finally finds out that his best friend is alive, only to find that he's been sent to the country to destroy him. The Emperor's orders were quite clear – he was to eliminate all of the terrorists in Area Eleven. If Suzaku was one of them, then they would end up enemies.

He'd barely made it onto the roof, overlooking the base with a hand over his mouth as he thought rapidly about this newest situation, when Suzaku arrived. It wasn't something he'd expected. No, he'd fully believed that Suzaku was dead. He didn't know how to deal with this.

His childhood friend didn't say anything as he came to join Lelouch at the edge of the roof. An awkward, tense silence fell between them for what seemed like a long time before Lelouch couldn't take it anymore.

"What faction are you with?" He asked quietly, unable to look at Suzaku.

"What do you mean?" Suzaku asked earnestly.

"You're here for intelligence gathering, aren't you?" Lelouch asked. "Who for? Don't tell me it's Kenshiki."

"Wait! You think I'm a terrorist?" Suzaku exclaimed. "Lelouch -"

"Don't lie to me, Suzaku. Please." Lelouch groaned. This was all wrong. This was not how they were supposed to meet again after being separated for seven years.

Suzaku stood up a little straighter as he glared back at Lelouch, a shadow of the impetuous little boy he had once been visible beneath the guise of an obedient soldier. That boy who had punched Lelouch in the face the first day they'd met because he hadn't liked Lelouch.

"I am _not_ a terrorist, Lelouch." Suzaku said firmly.

"Then why else would you be here?" Lelouch snarled as he sent Suzaku his most withering glare.

Not that it seemed to bother Suzaku, who ignored it and glanced away over the base. "I joined the military. I _chose_ to join the military."

"_Why?"_ Lelouch hissed as he took a step towards the other boy. How could Suzaku be so . . . so _stupid_? And how the hell could he have fallen so low? The Suzaku he knew, the Suzaku he remembered, would never have bowed his head and let himself be used like this. "Have you forgotten, Suzaku? Did you forget what we saw here? What this military did to your people?"

"Of course I haven't forgotten about the invasion." Suzaku answered stiffly, lips pressed into a thin line.

"Then why?" Lelouch demanded.

"Because I can make a difference this way. Britannia can be changed for the better." Suzaku argued passionately.

"Yes, it can." Lelouch agreed. "But what the hell do you think _you_ can accomplish? Suzaku, to them, you're nothing but a Number. And you will never be anything more to them than a Number. How the hell could you sell yourself like this?" He ignored the flash of hurt that manifested in his friend's eyes before they turned cold.

"You're hardly in a position to criticize me, Lelouch." Suzaku responded with fire. "_You_ were the one who hated Britannia the most. More than I ever did. And yet here you are, _Colonel_."

Lelouch clenched his fist and wanted so badly to reach out and hit Suzaku. "_Don't_ misunderstand my situation, Suzaku Kururugi." He said icily. "I am here because I _have_ to be here. I did not _choose_ this path. Believe me, the very last thing I ever wanted was to have to put on a uniform like this. But you chose this, Suzaku. You made the conscious decision to sell your own pride to the Britannians for the chance to become their dog. I never thought you capable of falling so far."

"Don't pretend you understand my situation, Lelouch! And then you preach to me about misunderstanding you?" Suzaku finally snapped – and there it was, the tempestuous boy who hid behind the mask of a soldier, finally fully awakened. "We haven't seen each other in seven years and you still think you know me? You have no idea what I'm capable of. You're arrogant, Lelouch. You were then, and you still are now. Don't think that you still know me. I'm not the same little boy I was then."

"I can see that." Lelouch said coldly, even though he understood this new, angry Suzaku better than the one who had _chosen_ to join the military.

"Don't, Lelouch. Don't do that. Don't look down on me now like you despise me. Not you too. And stop looking at me like that. You were by greatest friend back then. Hell, you were my only friend, but things have changed. Japan is dead. My father is dead. And I'm just trying to do what I can to make things right again. My pride is a small price to pay for that."

Lelouch glanced away and let the tension seep out of his stance. No, however much he wanted to, he wouldn't attack Suzaku. Not that he actually thought he could land a blow on him anyway. "You're such a fool." He sighed. So naïve, but he had always been.

Whatever else he wanted to say was cut off when the door slammed open and Edith and three soldiers stormed onto the roof, weapons drawn.

"I . . . I heard raised voices." Edith stammered an explanation, no doubt surprised to find the semi-civil atmosphere their conversation had morphed into.

"Private, what are you doing here?" One of the soldiers asked, weapon pointed at Suzaku's chest.

"I asked the private to accompany me." Lelouch answered calmly, stepping in between Suzaku and the armed men. "There isn't a problem here. Go back to your duties."

However pissed off he was at Suzaku, he wasn't about to let him be shot. Not when – maybe – he deserved some of the words that had been said. Suzaku was right. Seven years was a long time and he couldn't expect Suzaku to have remained unchanged. Not after losing everything – first his home, then his country, then his father. Those events _had_ to have left a mark on him. They'd certainly left a mark on Lelouch.

"Yes, sir." The soldiers replied immediately, saluting before retreating back inside, leaving Edith behind with a thoroughly confused expression on her face.

"Did you get that paperwork to General Bartley?" Lelouch asked.

"Yes. Well, he wasn't in his office, but I left it with his receptionist." Edith replied.

"Good, then. We're finished here." Lelouch said crisply before turning to glance back at Suzaku. "Private 404, you are dismissed."

Suzaku frowned and looked like he wanted to argue for a moment before saluting. "Yes, sir."

"Come along, Edith." He said softly as he headed for the door.

She followed after him and didn't say a word until they were safely back in the car and on their way back to the estate. But, as he'd expected, it was only a matter of time before she had to comment.

"You let that Eleven soldier speak to you like that?" Edith eventually asked. "I didn't hear everything, but I know he called you arrogant. I thought you were in trouble."

"_That Eleven soldier_ just so happens to be my oldest friend." Lelouch said, glaring out the window. He really was in a bad mood after his meeting with Suzaku and, unfortunately for Edith, she was close at hand to play victim to his temper.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be disrespectful."

"Don't apologize." Lelouch growled. "If he wont defend his dignity, I don't see why I should."

Edith frowned and glanced down at her hands in her lap for a moment before speaking hesitantly. "Lelouch, what exactly is your policy regarding the Numbers? I mean, first your mechanic from Area Eighteen, and then the staff at the house and now this . . . this soldier."

"Are you asking because you're concerned about the stance I'm taking, or because you're only half Britannian?" Lelouch asked sharply and almost regret the words when he saw the panicked expression on her face.

Edith froze, staring at him aghast. "You . . . you knew?"

Lelouch snorted disdainfully. "Of course I knew. Don't think I didn't look into your background before I began trusting you. You're the daughter of a Britannian businessman who fell in love with an artist from Area Two. They met in Montreal, got married at Niagra Falls then moved to New York when your sister was born so she'd escape being labeled as a Number. You came along two years later. It's a romantic story."

"Why didn't you say anything?" She asked, looking thoroughly disturbed that he knew so much about the secret she'd tried to keep hidden.

"Because it doesn't matter to me." Lelouch said, as though the answer were obvious. "What? Did you think I'd fire you if I found out? My first friend was Suzaku Kururugi – that soldier you just met. So, compared to befriending the son of the former Prime Minister of Japan, I think having a half-Britannian as my assistant is rather tame as far as a scandal goes.

"I don't care if you identify yourself as a Britannian or a Two or even if you think of yourself as Canadian. None of that matters to me so long as you're good at your job. In fact, it was because you were able to keep your heritage so well hidden that I knew you'd be able to keep my secrets as well. Stop doubting your position or the reason I chose you. I chose you because I trust you. End of story."

Okay, so maybe it wasn't the kindest reassurance he'd ever given someone, but he'd got his point across. And judging by the way she held her silence for the rest of the trip, she also caught on that he wasn't in the most communicative mood at the moment.

When they returned to the estate, he abandoned the car (and his uncomfortable jacket) and headed for the garden. Finding a shady spot under a cherry blossom tree next to the pond, he settled down to brood in the far too serene environment that reminded him of another Japanese garden he'd used to play in as a child.

Suzaku . . .

He hadn't planned for Suzaku – especially not like this. In fact, he would have almost preferred if Suzaku _was_ a terrorist working undercover. What was the likelihood that Suzaku had lied to him?

. . .

Not high. Not after he'd lost his temper like that. He'd been so indignant at the very suggestion. And he somehow doubted Suzaku's skills in deception had been honed to the same echelon as his. When they'd been children, Suzaku had been a bit of a hot head, but he'd also always been almost painfully honest. He couldn't lie effectively to save his life. It had been a bit embarrassing when he'd tried.

So then . . . it was likely that Suzaku actually had _wanted_ to become an Honorary Britannian. Back when the Honorary Britannian system had been put in place, Lelouch had immediately taken a disliking to it. The oaths the applicants had to swear – to serve Britannia and her ideals and to abandon all aspects of their native culture – were absolute, but little more than the false promise of a better life. The majority of the people who applied for Honorary Britannian status ended up with their lives worse off than they'd ever been before.

Honorary Britannian status let the Japanese live in the Britannian settlements, but it didn't protect them from the scorn of their neighbors. It also allowed them to work in the settlements, but didn't guarantee that their employer would treat them fairly. Basically, it was little more than a free pass to earn the disdain of both the Britannians _and_ the rest of the Eleven population.

It was nothing more than false hope. And Suzaku had to know that. He had to, he wasn't quite that stupid. He'd seen what Britannia was really like. He'd seen just how little the Empire cared even for it's princes and princesses. Suzaku would have known full well when he'd become an Honorary Britannian that it would only make is position worse off.

So _why_ then?

If Suzaku had stayed in the ghettos . . . No, if Suzaku had turned to terrorism, he could have rallied the majority of the Elevens behind him. He was someone they would follow, if only because of who his father had been.

And let's face it, the son of the last Japanese Prime Minister leading the Japanese in revolt against their tyrannical overlords to avenge past transgressions and free his people was a romantic story that a lot of people would be only too eager to take an interest in. He could have shaken this country to it's core with enough support.

And in a toss up match between Suzaku and Clovis, he'd bet on Suzaku every time (if only because his friend had more common sense than Clovis had ever had). Clovis was arrogant and whimsical while Suzaku had watched helplessly as his people were annihilated all around him. Suzaku _ought_ to be gunning for his revenge.

Instead, he was trying to play nice with the Britannians who had stolen his world away from him.

It just didn't make sense.

Britannia could change, he'd said. Yes, of course it could. Lelouch and Schneizel were already well down the path to affecting change. And there was no turning back now. Not after Cornelia had ousted him to the Emperor. Even if he did suddenly decide that his revenge was pointless and that he didn't want to be anything other than the Emperor's new pet, it was too late for that now. Now that the seed of suspicion had been planted, it would be carried with him for the rest of his life – or rather, the rest of the Emperor's life.

The Emperor would never fully trust him – not even if he remained obedient and faithful for the rest of their lives (until whichever one of them died first from natural causes at an old age). So the only option he had now, was to take down the Emperor (not that he was actually having any doubts about this) and affect the changes he wanted to so badly from this Empire.

He was a Britannian, but he had never been proud of his nationality. Not since that day – that fateful day when he'd guaranteed his own exile (and Nunnally's). That was when the first cracks had begun forming in the childish idea he had of the mighty Britannian Empire. That idea completely shattered when Japan was invaded without warning and with himself and Nunnally still occupying the country.

He wanted to be able to say he was proud of being Britannian. In order to do that, Britannia had to change. And in order for that to happen, the Emperor had to die.

He sighed. Maybe he was just trying to justify his own actions. It wasn't just about that, no. He was also after revenge. Revenge for his and Nunnally's exile and the invasion. But most importantly, revenge for his mother. His mother, who had been the very pinnacle of the Emperor's ideals. His mother, who had been assassinated. His mother, who's death had been swept under the Imperial rug along with all those other little mistakes they'd rather not think about or widely acknowledge.

She deserved better. She deserved justice and he swore he would get it for her. He'd find who killed her and then he'd find how her killer was connected to the Emperor. It _had_ to have been someone from the Imperial family. And from what Margrave Gottwald had told him all those months ago, it had to have been someone she'd known or trusted.

She'd sent her guard away to ensure her and her visitor's privacy, but she hadn't sent Nunnally away. That meant that whatever their meeting was about, it was something probably too complex for Nunnally to understand. Or someone who visited the household often enough that any childish observations like 'so and so was at the house' wouldn't seem out of place.

Had it been the Emperor himself? If that were the case, he would be sure to make the Emperor's death extra painful. In his vengeance, he would not go easy on whoever had killed his mother and crippled Nunnally.

. . . Which was precisely why he couldn't understand Suzaku's actions. Didn't he want revenge? After everything they'd seen together – innocent civilians mercilessly slaughtered by faceless soldiers, Knighmares trampling hospitals and shooting down fleeing refugees, and worse atrocities done to Japan's young women who would rather live and be used than fight to the death – how could he bow his head to Britannia?

Those had been his people. Those were the people who had looked to the Kururugi regime for salvation. And now Suzaku had . . . _joined them?_ It was the ultimate betrayal to people who he had a responsibility to. Sure, Suzaku wasn't a prince. Japan had been ruled by a democracy, but he was the closest thing Japan had to a prince and it was his responsibility – at least, that's how Lelouch saw it – to take care of the people his father hadn't been able to.

For Suzaku to join Britannia, it was quite simply traitorous. He could _not_ understand. It was maddening. Lelouch had always prided himself on being able to see the next move of his opponents in chess. He was able to do this because people were creatures of logic and they generally moved along logical pathways of thought.

Suzaku, apparently, was not logical.

Suzaku wanted to change Britannia, but didn't realize he didn't have the power to do so. He would likely spend the entirety of his life toiling away in the military and, assuming he didn't die early, would never be promoted past the rank of private. He would waste his life only to be unsuccessful in the attempt.

He was interrupted from his brooding by Edith approaching an hour or so later. She hesitated a few feet away from him, telephone muffled against her palm.

". . . It's your wife." She said, gesturing towards the phone.

Scowling at the pond in front of him he held out his hand to accept the device. "Thank you, Edith." He said sullenly before bringing the phone to his ear. "Hello, Abigail."

"Lelouch? Have you gone completely insane?" She demanded without so much as a 'hello' or 'how are you?'.

"Not to my knowledge, no." He answered. He was _really_ not in a mood for dealing with her right now, but he knew that if he hung up on her, she'd just call back. And continue to call back until she'd finished reprimanding him for whatever transgression it was this time or until he blocked the number. Though he thought he knew what this was about. News of his media debut, which had only been aired in Area Eleven, had to had filtered it's way back to the homeland by now.

"Do you realize that you've basically painted a target on your chest?" She asked, as though he were a particularly stupid person she was having to explain something to.

"Yes, I'm aware of the consequences of my actions." Lelouch said blandly, picking up a fallen blossom from the tree he was sitting beneath and examining it.

"Do you have a death wish or something?" She asked incredulously. "Why would you do something so stupid?"

"Because I want them to target me." Lelouch explained boredly. Personally, he thought it was a little obvious.

"_Why_?"

"To protect Clovis. To force them to engage me. It will be easier to find them if they're coming after me than if they're hiding out in Osaka waiting for their next chance to blow up some building with a few minor officials in it." Lelouch elaborated. "Do you understand now why I didn't want you here with me?"

"_Lelouch!_ Quit being so careless with your own life. First you're throwing yourself in front of assassins, then you run off to take on a fort with a thousand people in it with only a handful of soldiers and _now_ you're baiting terrorists?" Abigail said, and he couldn't help but think that she actually sounded concerned. "I'm worried about you. You're being too reckless."

"Don't be. I am fully prepared to take these guys on. I'm not being nearly as reckless as you think I am." Lelouch explained reassuringly. It was true. On further inspection of the security of his new home, he'd decided that short of a full scale KMF siege, his house would be able to withstand an attack from almost anything the terrorists could throw at him. Even should they blow up his gate with explosives and invade the estate en masse.

He was secure here and he didn't leave the estate without armed escort. Except for his recent foray to the Tokyo base, because the likelihood of the terrorists attacking a fully manned military installation just to get at him were less than slim. With only a word of command, he could turn the entire base into his personal militia.

"What would you do if I showed up in Area Eleven?" She asked suddenly.

"I'd send you back." Lelouch answered, rolling his eyes.

"But I wouldn't go. You've promised to protect me." She reminded petulantly.

Well, this was a side of her he hadn't seen since before the wedding. The spoiled, 'I-have-to-get-everything-my-own-way', rich brat that he'd hoped had died the night of their wedding. Apparently it had just been waiting for the right opportunity to resurface.

"I only promised to protect you if you stayed out of my business." Lelouch said ruthlessly. It was the only way to deal with her when she was like this.

"I'm not interested in your business. I'm interested in my husband who I've only spent five days with since our marriage." She snapped.

"Stay in Pendragon." He ordered firmly.

"I don't want to. I hate it here." She pouted, and not for the first time, he wished he'd run away instead of going through with the marriage.

Rubbing his forehead in frustration, he sighed. "Why?" He asked, knowing that if he didn't solve this he would most likely wake up to find Abigail in his living room the next morning. "You were all excited about moving to the capitol before the wedding."

"The novelty's worn off." She answered sharply.

"Then go back home to the west coast." Lelouch replied just as sharply.

"Oh, and what would that look like, I wonder?" She mused sarcastically.

"It would look like you went to visit your family while your husband is off risking his life to fight terrorists. Like any responsible married couple." Lelouch answered. "_Don't_ come here. I swear if you do, I'll have you handcuffed to the plane and sent back the very same day." He threatened. "The people I am hunting don't give a damn that your father's a Duke and your husband's a prince. They killed the entire family of Osaka's mayor, including his children, just to prove their point. What do you think they would do to you? Someone like you would be lucky if all they did was kill you."

There. If that didn't scare her into staying away, nothing would.

She sighed heavily on the other end of the line. "Fine. You win, Lelouch. This time." She finally snapped. "But you'd better make sure you don't die." She threatened.

"I have no intention of letting them kill me." He said calmly.

Abigail was quiet for a moment, as though not quite sure what else to say. "Goodbye, Lelouch." She said finally before hanging up on him without waiting for his response.

He glanced at his phone and shook his head ruefully. She was going to be a handful, but at least she was easy to manipulate. She was, after all, an average, aristocratic young woman. Even if she did want to make herself unmanageable, there were things that no lady would risk. He'd have to find something else to keep her away once he'd put the Kenshiki down.

* * *

Nunnally wasn't exactly sure what to think.

Lelouch had been back in Area Eleven for at least a day and a half, but he hadn't contacted her or Sayoko or Nina. A quick call to Milly confirmed that he hadn't made contact with any of the Student Council members either.

She'd always thought that if he was ever allowed to come back to Area Eleven, she'd be the first person he'd seek out. She'd thought that he'd miss her as much as she missed him.

Apparently, she was wrong.

And it hurt so bad it actually made her nauseous. Lelouch didn't care. He'd forgotten about her, or given up on her. Even . . . even an anonymous text message to Sayoko's phone would have been better than not hearing from him at all. Better than being ignored.

Milly and Shirley had come to visit her earlier, hoping to salve the wound her brother's rejection had caused. But it only made things worse. She hated having to pretend she wasn't hurt – hated having to keep her cheerful mask on – when she was pretty sure she was dying inside.

She'd ended up telling them she wasn't feeling well and sending them home before retiring to her bedroom and crying her eyes out into her pillow. Feeling thoroughly depressed and lethargic, she'd even lost her appetite in the wake of her brother's return.

Lelouch had changed.

Of course, she'd known that for almost a week now. Because there was no way the loving brother she had once known – the boy who had dotingly tucked her into bed and avidly listened to her boring stories about how her day had been – could possibly have been responsible for the deaths of one thousand and twenty three people.

Lelouch wouldn't have done that. Not her Lelouch.

So she knew that he was different now. That the Emperor had succeeded in turning him into a tool for the Empire. But she'd never once thought that those changes would affect the way he felt about her.

_Why _hadn't he come to see her? Called her? Sent a text message? Even a letter in the mail would have appeased her. She just needed to know that he still cared. That he still even thought about her. Or was he more concerned about Clovis now than about her?

Had she been . . . replaced? Was that what had happened? Had being reunited with the rest of their brothers and sisters filled up the place she had once held in his heart. Were Clovis and Cornelia and Schneizel now more important to him than she was?

Lelouch was here, it was clear from the announcement he'd made on the television, to protect their brother Clovis from the terrorists who had been threatening his life.

. . . She'd liked Clovis when they were children. He'd been funny and kind. Mischievous and Lelouch's constant companion. When they'd been children, he'd used to pick pears for her from the branches of the tree in the garden that were too high for her to reach. He'd used to carry her on his shoulders as they'd walked through the gardens and he'd even occasionally indulge her and play dolls with her.

But it was Clovis' fault that Lelouch had been taken away from her. And now it was Clovis' fault that Lelouch was back. Why had Clovis become so important? Why did Lelouch want to save him so badly? Clovis was the one who had separated them.

Lelouch should be angry with him, shouldn't he?

. . . or was he thankful? Thankful that his brother had finally released him for the shallow existence of playing caretaker for a crippled, blind girl who would never be anything but dependent on him?

She should have been more important.

They'd been through so much. Lelouch had promised to take care of her. To protect her. He'd promised to always try to make her happy.

What had happened to that Lelouch? When had that brother died or morphed and changed into the young man she'd heard on the television? The one who had sounded gleeful at the thought of bringing long, drawn out death to his enemies.

She felt betrayed. It was worse than if Lelouch had died. To see him like this, a tool of the Empire he'd always hated so much . . . an apparently willing tool.

She just . . . . didn't know what to do now. Without Lelouch, without the hope that Lelouch would come back for her one day – that he still loved her – this existence seemed rather shallow. Not that hiding in Nina's basement had been particularly riveting before, but now that Lelouch had given up on her, she wasn't sure what to do next. She felt . . . unwanted.

"Mistress Nunnally," Sayoko said quietly from the door to her room. She'd been there for a while, at a loss of what to say. "Your brother loves you. He just wants to protect you. Don't give up on him."

It was a much needed bolster to her self-worth. He was staying away to protect her? It had barely been tolerable when he'd been on the other side of the world. But now, knowing that he was living in the very same city as she was, it was impossible to accept. She felt like someone was squeezing her heart in a vice, but she gave Sayoko a watery smile and nodded before burying her face back into her pillow to soak up the newly formed tears.

_Hurry up, Lelouch. Don't just leave me like this. Let me know you still care._

_

* * *

_AN:

Another chapter for you all to enjoy!

I know many of you wish Lelouch was nicer to Abigail, but the unfortunate fact remains that she made a bad impression on Lelouch and he doesn't have the time or patience or desire to try to change his opinion of her at the moment. To Lelouch, Abigail is nothing more than an annoyance at the moment. Which is why he avoids her and limits the time he has to spend with her.

Also, I'm not writing Suzaku as quite so much of a whiny pushover as he was in the anime. Suzaku has a plan and a goal he wants to achieve and he'll sacrifice himself entirely to make it happen if he has to. And I didn't like in the anime how Lelouch was like 'What? You're a soldier?" and then doesn't say a thing about it again. Although, I suppose the fact that Suzaku took a bullet for him a few minutes later might have had something to do with that.

And poor Nunnally. Feeling all left out.

Sorry about the non-actiony chapter. We'll be getting to the beginning to the Code-R heist next chapter.

Thanks for reading and reviewing. I'm so glad I have such a huge fan base for this story. Random fact of the day: Did you know that Dauntless has an average of 3000 hits per chapter? It's insane. You guys are all great.

Allora


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Suzaku Kururugi was pissed. Just what the hell did Lelouch know about anything anyway? Lelouch didn't know what all Suzaku had done. Lelouch would never understand what it was like to see his home destroyed in front of his very eyes. He'd never understand what it was like to watch people who he was supposed to protect die en masse in front of him.

And he would never understand the sin Suzaku had commit in his childish folly. That he had killed his own father. That he had tried to take matters into his own small hands and only caused more problems. The current state of Japan was his fault – and he knew it.

So, no, Lelouch was not in an adequate position to judge and condemn him.

Lelouch would never be in Suzaku's position and so he'd never be able to fully appreciate what Suzaku was doing. The sacrifices he was making. The atonement. And why.

Nevertheless, Suzaku had been more than willing to try to explain it to his childhood-friend-turned-prince. But no, the bastard had simply dismissed him before going back on his way to take care of whatever princely duty was waiting for him.

His first shaky attempt at an explanation had been summarily rejected and laughed at.

"_You're such a fool."_

Was he?

Just what exactly did Lelouch see wrong with his plan anyway? Not that he'd really got that far into explaining just what it was he was attempting to do. No, because Lelouch had wandered off before he'd had a chance to fully explain himself.

Was he missing something? Did Lelouch see something inherent and simple that he had missed? Something he'd neglectfully ignored in his planning phase? Uncertainty gripped him. Now, Suzaku was not an idiot, but he certainly wasn't a genius either. He was primarily a man of action – he'd rather _do_ something than sit around thinking about it. He liked to dive in head first. After all, it was easier to just react to something than to plan for some kind of preferred outcome. He liked flying by the seat of his pants.

However, before he'd ever applied for Honorary Britannian status, he'd taken the time to think things through. He'd spent a lot of time, actually, thinking about it. Trying to think of another way to achieve the same results. Because he'd never been particularly enamored by the vows he'd had to swear and the way people would view it.

However, he _did_ believe in the Honorary Britannian system. It was a good system in theory. It allowed outsiders like himself to obtain citizenship rights almost par with natural Britannians. It was just people and their unbridled prejudice that were ruining the system. If it weren't for the negative stance most of the Eleven's took on the program, and the racism from the Britannians, the Honorary Britannian system would be great. In theory. It gave hope to the Japanese.

So, even despite all the time he'd spent thinking about it, he'd still decided in the end that the Honorary Britannian route was the way to go. Because if he could get people's opinions to change, then changing the system would be exponentially easier. And if the system changed, he'd really, actually, have a shot at his goal – the Knight of One.

So . . . in a way, he supposed he supported the task Lelouch had assigned himself in Area Eleven. It was because of the rampant terrorism in the Area that he was never fully trusted by his comrades. It was assumed that all of the Eleven's were in league with the terrorist movement in some way. Which wasn't true. Suzaku had nothing to do with terrorists and he never had. He never would, because terrorism wasn't the answer.

All that terrorism was managing to do was put the Eleven's in a worse position than they were in the first place. And . . . they were in his way. If he was ever going to prove himself to the Britannians, he couldn't have them doubting his intentions and his loyalty.

Though, he supposed, that if Lelouch ever succeeding in ridding Area Eleven of all terrorist activity, Suzaku would be out of the chance to prove himself anyway. It was only because there was such a problem with terrorism that the military allowed Honorary Britannians to enlist in the first place.

"Private 404." His commanding officer called, drawing him out of his musings.

"Sir!"

"You had a private audience with the Wolf of Britannia?" The corporal asked, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. Suzaku grimaced. He hated Lelouch's new nickname – it was a very blatant reminder that the Empire had reclaimed him despite the fact that Lelouch had sworn he'd rather die than submit to the Emperor again. Lelouch was a tool of the Empire now. "What did you discuss?"

"With all due respect, sir, the prince's business is his own." Suzaku replied, hoping to waylay his commander.

It didn't work.

"Yes. But your business is my business, 404." His corporal sneered. "What did you say to him?"

Suzaku hesitated, wracking his mind for a suitable explanation. Obviously, telling the man that he'd just been catching up with an old friend and trying to explain his apparent betrayal and decline in moral character, wasn't going to work. No one knew that Lelouch had been originally sent to the Kururugi's to act as a political hostage. As far as most of the world was concerned, Lelouch had been sent to live with the Ashford family for fostering in obscurity. So then . . . what to say?

"His highness was simply inquiring if I was injured." Suzaku lied (because Lelouch had never once asked if he was okay) and felt himself begin to sweat. He was a terrible liar. Everyone had always been quick to point it out – especially Lelouch who was so adept at it he ought to have been born with a forked tongue.

Lelouch had always been subtle and deceptive when they'd been kids. Suzaku had not. He'd been the painfully blunt and honest one out of the two. So lying, while not entirely foreign to him (just because he was bad at it, didn't stop him from attempting it), was definitely not one of his more refined skills.

"And what did you tell him?" The corporal asked with a nervous glare.

Ah, he got it now. Suzaku had had the ear of a man capable of utterly destroying his commanding officer. Had they not known each other, and had Lelouch actually inquired after his health, Suzaku would have had the opportunity to paint any picture he wanted of the man who lead his squad. It would almost assuredly not have been a pretty picture if he'd been honest.

"I told him I was fine, sir. I'm unhurt." Well, that was also a lie. He was pretty sure there would be a purple, boot-shaped bruise in the middle of his chest if he'd bothered to check, along with other lesser bruises and tender spots. But his commanding officer wouldn't want to hear that and Suzaku himself didn't feel much like sharing that information either.

No one liked a whiner, after all.

"Why did Prince Lelouch's assistant requisition the service of three soldiers to break up your meeting?" His corporal asked. Either the corporal was particularly desperate to hear what he wanted to hear, or Suzaku had improved at deception.

"I'm not sure, sir. I imagine because I'm an Eleven. The prince left shortly after she arrived." Suzaku reported. "I'm sure I don't have to say it, but I didn't touch him, sir."

That one, at least, wasn't a lie. He hadn't so much as shaken Lelouch's hand. Though his friend had looked like he wanted to make contact of a violent nature for a moment. Lelouch's temper tantrums had always been entertaining when they were children. Lelouch had the spirit of a lion inside the body of a house cat. So when he lost his temper and didn't know exactly what to do with all that pent up frustration, it was mildly amusing to watch.

When they'd been children, Lelouch had attempted to throw a temper tantrum of the violent variety a few times, but the thing about Lelouch was that he had been so very weak and Suzaku had been training in the marital arts for as long as he could walk.

He supposed that had to have changed now. Lelouch had alluded to his military training and part of any military training included learning how to fight with nothing but your hands. So he must have learned at least the basics. Still, despite the experience he'd had to have gained, Lelouch had still looked so frail. His friend was delicately built and, while that didn't necessarily make him a bad fighter, Lelouch had always been more of a thinker than a doer.

"Right. Good." The corporal nodded distractedly before turning away. "Carry on, 404."

Suzaku blinked in surprise as the man walked away. No racial slurs or derogatory statements this time? Had a reprimand from Lelouch really made the man that panicked? Lelouch was long gone by now and no one but Suzaku and his corporal would have known if things had gone back to the status quo.

He repressed a chuckle at the man's retreating back. Lelouch's bark had always been worse than his bite (or at least it had when they'd been children), but he wasn't about to fill the corporal in on that particular piece of information. It felt kind of nice not hearing 'filthy Eleven' at the end of every conversation.

* * *

Kallen was tense. Wound-like-a-spring-about-to-snap tense. But things were going according to plan. It was just that she hated waiting in limbo like this. It was the anticipation of something that could go wrong that had her on edge.

She was currently in the truck with Nagata waiting for Ohgi and the others to find and steal the gas. She'd had to drive when they'd initially pulled up while Nagata hid in the back to prevent suspicion, but they'd since traded places. Nagata had more experience at driving big trucks like this and she needed to be able to move to the Glasgow in they got in trouble.

_When_ they got in trouble, was more likely. She had a bad feeling about this, try as she might to hide it from the others. Since Naoto's death she'd become something like the second in command of their little resistance group. Not officially, of course (after all, she was a rookie and this was technically her fist mission), but the others looked to her as their morale standard.

Because she was Naoto's sister and because they had been so close, everyone seemed to think that she knew what to do and what he had planned. This was not true. They were expecting her to step into his shoes and become what he'd once been. Needless to say, she fell short of the mark. Naoto had been brilliant, but he'd only given her a very brief, very vague synopsis of what the other teams were going to be doing when he'd explained his plan. No, it was Ohgi who knew everything about the strategy Naoto had concocted.

Still, Kallen refused to show anything but confidence in it. They _had_ to do it. For Naoto and for all of the people who would die if they didn't. For Japan – to protect the Japanese. That was the highest and most esteemed ideal her brother had ever held and in this last mission of his, they would embody it as much as possible.

This was for Japan.

Dread curdled in her stomach as she heard gunshots echoing from the corridor that connect to the receiving bay where they were parked. What the hell? This was supposed to be a quiet job. Naoto had planned it as a quiet job. They weren't even supposed to have to draw their weapons.

"Shit." She hissed under her breath as she glanced out of the side mirror.

The sight would have been almost comical if the situation hadn't been so dire. Ohgi came careening around the corning driving a forklift. A massive, hulking globe of hoses and nozzles balanced precariously on the forks as he sped towards the truck looking thoroughly disgruntled. Tamaki was clinging onto the back of the forklift firing shots off at unseen pursuers whilst hurling insults.

"In your fucking faces, Britannian pigs!"

"Tamaki!" Kallen shouted furiously as she bolted out of her seat and head towards the side loading door where Ohgi was currently trying to load the poison gas capsule. "What the hell happened to sticking to the plan?" She demanded as she helped loose the capsule from the forks. She should have known better than to hope Tamaki wouldn't cause any unwanted surprises. It was probably the reason Naoto had assigned him to Oghi's team so he'd be out of the way.

"Go, Nagata!" Ohgi ordered the second the forks were free.

"Get in!" She yelled at them, but pursuit from the corridor was already catching up with them and Tamaki had stopped to reload.

Ohgi shook his head grimly before wheeling the forklift around and heading towards their original intended escape route (which just so happened to be on the other side of the three panting security officers who had pursued them. Ohgi made it more than obvious that he was willing to run them through as he raised the forks to chest height and floored the forklift towards them, steering wheel in one hand, his own gun in the other. She slammed the truck door shut the same moment Nagata spun the tires to get out of there, leaving the fates of Tamaki and Ohgi uncertain.

"Shit." She cursed again as she lost her balance and stumbled against the gas capsule. God, she hoped all this jostling didn't set it off. They had their gas masks, but she'd left hers in the passenger's seat in her hurry to assist Ohgi.

"Fucking, Tamaki." Nagata muttered under his breath, shaking his head as Kallen staggered into her seat and pulled her hat lower to shadow her face. "Sometimes I think he does this shit on purpose. Maybe he's just unlucky."

"You mean _we're_ unlucky. We're the ones who have to put up with him." Kallen grumbled. "Let's get the hell out of here. But let's try not to draw too much attention to ourselves."

"On it." Nagata grumbled as he turned onto a major roadway and signaled to get into the far left lane perfectly legally.

Kallen slumped in her seat, heart racing in her chest but as calm as she could make herself seem on the outside as she waited for the other shoe to drop. When it did a few minutes later, to the chaotic symphony of machine gun fire ricocheting off the pavement and top of the truck and demands for their surrender, she felt like she might just be sick.

"Find us another route. You know the settlement better than I do. Which way do I go? We've got to get away from those helicopters. If they hit that capsule. . ."

"Yeah, I know. A lot of people will die and we'll be blamed for it. Crap, turn left up there. If you follow that road, you should be able to make it to the old subway tunnels. The helicopters won't be able to follow you and it will get you to Shinjuku."

"What about you?" He asked, picking up on the fact that she wasn't including herself in their daring escape.

"I'm going to cover you in the Glasgow." She answered as she once again got out of her seat.

"Kouzuki -"

"Listen, if they hit that capsule, we're all toast. I'm not going to let that happen." She argued. "You take care of the gas canister, I'll take care of the pursuit. That's what I'm here for, remember?"

She didn't wait for further argument and shed her cap and jacket on her way back through the trailer to where the Glasgow was hidden. She didn't even wait for the back door to fully open before firing her slash harkens at the nearest chopper and bringing it down in a fiery heap of slag and shrapnel.

She smirked at the feeling of power the Glasgow gave her – the chance to fight back. The Japanese had learned the hard lesson seven years ago that conventional military vehicles were no match against a Knightmare. These choppers stood no chance.

Two more went down to her harkens and KMF rifle fire, each scattering their ruin down on the city below. It was almost easy to kill like this – when she didn't have to see their faces. It was machine versus machine, not man versus man. Somehow, she felt less remorse this way.

Far above, a KMF carrier dropped a unit onto the pavement in front of her. It was one of those new models, the ones that had been especially designed for anti-Knightmare combat. The Sutherland seemed to radiate intimidation as it stood before her fearlessly for a moment.

"You're no match for my Sutherland, you filthy Eleven." A voice declared haughtily from the enemy cockpit before it charged forward. And it was _fast_. She barely managed to careen out of the way of his first attack and was totally useless against the second. She instinctively raise the Glasgow's arm protectively in front of the cockpit as the Sutherland's slash harkens collided with it, tearing the limb completely from the frame.

She growled as she launched her counterattack, scoring a glancing blow with her harken before she was forced on the defensive again. The pilot had been right, she didn't stand a chance in this fight. Especially not with the remaining helicopters closing in to take pot shots at her while she was distracted with the enemy Knightmare.

For a people who prided themselves on their honor and dignity, they sure fought dirty.

The Glasgow was an amazing machine, but the Sutherland was better. It was faster, sleeker, more agile. It had been built with the sole purpose in mind of destroying other Knightmares – rogue and abandoned units like her Glasgow along with the new, customized knockoff models Britannia's enemies made.

She needed to think. She needed a plan. And quickly! She forced the Glasgow to move, putting the obsolete machine through it's paces, as she attempted to match the faster Sutherland. She was already down an arm and if she let this fight keep going, she could only foresee herself losing more body parts.

Not to mention, that carrier had been toting at least one more Knightmare when it had dropped the first and her quick, cursive glance at the aircraft showed that that machine was now missing. If she didn't hurry, there was no way she'd be able to get out of this fight alive.

"Ah! God damned Britannian!" She shouted in frustration and rushed towards the Sutherland, only remaining stun tonfa held at the ready as she fired her undamaged slash harken at the machine. The pilot had thus far demonstrated a preference for projectile weapons, so she was hoping that if she could press him hard enough and fast enough she'd be able to make an opening for her escape.

It worked. In fact, it worked far better than she'd expected. She pressed forward, managing to swipe aside the slash harkens he sent straight at her cockpit (the bastard wasn't messing around) and get inside his guard. If it came down to a knife fight, she was sure that she could win. That little pocketknife she carried with her (the one she hadn't dared to touch since she'd killed that cop) became an extension of her own arm when she decided to wield it. The stun tonfa would be same.

The Britannian seemed to understand that she was in her element at close range and jumped back, only to slam into the railing of the bridge they were fighting on. She didn't wait to let him recover from the jolt and charged forward, slash harken and tonfa pushing the machine over the edge.

She didn't wait to see if the fall was fatal, instead getting the hell out of there before the downed Britannian's cronies could find her. Not that she was being particularly subtle. It was difficult to pilot a Knightmare down a busy freeway without drawing a few stares.

It couldn't be helped.

Glaring, she took off down the road, sure to avoid the subway tunnels she'd sent Nagata down. She would lead any pursuit away from the others. That was her job on this mission and she'd sworn she could do it. She _would_ do it. They would complete Naoto's mission, even if she had to die to make it happen.

* * *

Lelouch had initially enjoyed the grand display of Clovis' petty insecurity at the Viceroy's Palace. His welcoming party was a joke. His brother had taken it upon himself to not-so-subtly show him just who he was dealing with here. And so his welcoming party comprised of only elite politicians, high ranking military officers and business tycoons. The catch?

They were all simperingly loyal to Clovis. It seemed that Clovis had spent a significant portion of the last seven years since he'd been made Viceroy establishing his power base. Although, Lelouch supposed he could understand the need for it since he hadn't been any older than Lelouch was now when he'd taken up the post. Not many people enjoy taking orders from a seventeen year old kid, so establishing a solid foundation for his authority would have been essential.

Hell, he'd done the same thing when he'd joined the military. First recruiting von Hoffman to his side, then Hector, followed by the others. It was necessary to procure allies when building up your power base and the more powerful they were, the better.

So when he'd first walked into the room and realized what Clovis had planned for him, he'd been goodnaturedly amused. So this was Clovis' response to losing their verbal chess match. A big, flashy show of power from the Viceroy's acquisitions.

He chuckled to himself as he let Clovis lead him from one sycophantic pawn to the next, mildly enjoying the discomfort he'd put his brother in. He wasn't malicious and he wasn't ambitious for Clovis' position (yet), so he found the whole display and the effect his presence was having on Clovis entertaining.

Or he had. For the first few hours.

He wasn't intimidated at all and eventually, he found himself wondering if he'd ever be granted a genuine welcoming party or if it would always just be political posturing. Schneizel had done the same thing (but for a different reason) when he'd first returned to Pendragon. He snorted ruefully as he remembered Schneizel declaring him a partner, not a disposable playing piece. His chessboard declared otherwise.

He pushed those thoughts from his mind - he'd deal with them when the time came – and glanced around the room. Clovis could learn how to throw a decent party from Milly Ashford, he decided. It wasn't that the hall wasn't decorated grandly or the hors d'ouvers were bad, or that the slow, classical waltz playing in the background was off, it was simply that the atmosphere was suffocatingly pompous. If was difficult to smile in a room full of people with superiority complexes.

"Ah, and this here is Deitard Reid. He's my man in the media." Clovis introduced with a flourish to a blond haired Britannian man who looked about as unimpressed by his surroundings as Lelouch was. He perked up, however, at the introduction.

"A pleasure to meet you, your highness." The man said, bowing courteously.

"The pleasure is mine." Lelouch said as he offered his hand to shake. He'd done the same thing to every one of Clovis' lackeys that had bowed to him. Apparently Clovis didn't deign to shake hand, so it was usually interesting to see how they reacted. He'd actually had one man kiss his hand in obeisance earlier – it had been a little awkward.

Deitard Reid, however, smoothly swept up from his bow and shook his hand in the same gesture. Obviously, the man wasn't easily flustered. Though, since he was in the media, Lelouch figured quick reaction speed was part of his job.

"Deitard here is responsible for crafting my public image." Clovis explained.

Lelouch wanted to ask if this man was the reason Clovis had been presenting himself as a whimsical, simpering idiot for the past seven years, but thought it might be rude. Also, he'd caught the slight, displeased narrowing of Reid's eyes when he'd been given the credit.

"I see." Lelouch said instead. "Well, I think I'll be crafting my own image." Though, in all honesty, he could do with a little toning down on the ruthless, merciless soldier routine. That would have to wait, however, until the Kenshiki were put down.

"If you ever change your mind about that," Deitard said eagerly with a cunning smile as he produced a business card. "don't be afraid to give me a call. I'd love to have the chance to work with the Wolf of Britannia."

Huh, so maybe not _everyone_ in the room was blindly loyal to Clovis. Either that, or Reid had had Clovis fooled until now. A quick glance out of the corner of his eye told him his brother was none too pleased with the revelation.

After that particular encounter, Clovis seemed to stick to his more fanatic followers. General Bartley was introduced twice. As Clovis' most trusted and loyal adviser, he supposed Clovis figured the man deserved meeting Lelouch twice. The General was unfailingly polite both times, despite the paperwork that had to have been handed to him earlier that same day. He doubted either Clovis or Bartley would be all that pleased with the way he'd taken a large number of the Area's most efficient devicers as his own, but since he was operating under a mandate from the Emperor, there was nothing they could do about it.

By the time Clovis had introduced him to everyone in the room and started on a second round, Lelouch was quite sure he'd had enough of schmoozing. It was all well and good to network with the rich and powerful, but it was quite a bit less effective when everyone he was supposed to talk to was already owned by someone else.

Besides, he was sure that he'd have to participate in more schmoozing than he could shake a stick at in the upcoming weeks. Schneizel had sent him off with a mile long list of people he was supposed to make contact with while he was in Area Eleven – allies, he'd been told. He and Edith had affectionately dubbed it 'The List' and he'd been avoiding making any mention of it since his arrival in the country.

Again, there wasn't much point in schmoozing with someone who was already taken. Even if all of these allies did form a favorable opinion of him after they'd met, it wouldn't change the fact that they were in Schneizel's pocket, not his. So he'd skip on the unpleasant assignment for now, and would make it up if his brother ever called him on it. He was a master at slacking and had honed the skill into an art form over the last seven years at Ashford. He was sure Schneizel would be surprised by some of his tactics at avoidance. As would Clovis in a moment.

He excused himself to the washroom to get out of a conversation with a Duke with majority shares in one of the Area's sakuradite mines and chuckled in amusement when Edith followed him. Obviously, the woman noticed that he wasn't actually going to the loo. Sometimes he thought she was psychic, or maybe he was just an open book to her – or maybe it was just that the conversation he'd just bowed out of was an overwhelmingly boring critique of the current stock market and hadn't been able to capture either of their attentions..

Either way, he signaled for her to stop and continued on his way. It would look suspicious if they both went missing. But if she remained behind, it would give the illusion that he was still in attendance to the party – which he hoped very soon he wouldn't be. The trick would work for a while anyway. Long enough to get away, he hoped.

He turned left after a quick stop at the bathrooms and headed down a corridor to the kitchen. He was relieved when he bumped into a server from the catering company. The boy was built a bit more muscular than he was, but they were about the same height.

"Hey," He said as the server attempted to bow to him whilst balancing a tray of champagne flutes. "Tell me, do you have your casual clothes here? We look about the same size and some oaf dumped his drink all over my jacket." He said, gesturing towards the wet spot he'd made on his jacket and shirt at the bathroom sink.

"Oh! Yes, of course, your highness. We were given a place to change in the staff quarters."

"Thank god. Lead the way, please." He gestured, feigning disgust at the stain.

The teen quickly abandoned his tray on a side table and led him down one of the many corridors of the building. If he'd thought the Aeries Villa was big, the Viceroy's Palace was positively massive. The estate served as both the administrative center of the Area as well as Clovis' home, but even taking that into account, Lelouch thought it was oversized.

He followed the boy who seemed to know vaguely where he was going to a typical changing room with lockers covering three of the four walls. "Uh, it's just jeans and a sweater, I'm afraid. Not really anything acceptable for returning to the party." The server said nervously as he handed Lelouch the clothes out of one of the lockers.

"They're fine." Lelouch assured him as he shrugged out of his jacket. He changed clothes quickly, heedless of the awkward server who had respectfully turned his back to grant him some privacy and was pleased to find that the clothes mostly fit. He had to cinch the belt in to it's smallest hole, but otherwise they weren't too bad.

"Now," Lelouch said calmly as he turned a penetrating stare on the boy, "How about a hat and sun glasses?"

"Uh . . . yeah?" The boy said hesitantly as he reached back to rummage in the locker. He produced a faded blue ball cap and a pair of dark shades, causing Lelouch to grin. He accepted the items and put them on, checking out his disguise in a nearby mirror (it was unlikely anyone would recognize him unless they got really close) before reaching into his pocket for the money clip he'd transferred there.

"You wont tell anyone about this." Lelouch ordered, holding up several hundred pound notes as he fixed the server with his most intimidating glare. "Even if the Viceroy himself asks you about me, you'll tell him nothing. Understand?"

The boy quailed under the look as he hesitatingly took the money Lelouch offered to him. No, between his fear of Lelouch and the hush money, the boy wouldn't say a word. He hoped.

In any case, he didn't stick around long enough to further converse with the boy, instead fishing out his cellphone (initially brought so he could have Edith call him to interrupt particularly loathsome conversations) and sending a text message to Edith.

_Edith, I've gone out. Run interception for me as long as you can. I'll leave my excuses to your discretion. _

_ L_

He turned off the phone before she could call him to demand an explanation and further clarification. By the time General Bartley got a call informing him of the terrorists' recent heist of their most precious research specimen, Lelouch vi Britannia was long gone.

* * *

AN:

Okay, so here's another one. This is the last chapter before I get sucked in to school and work. I'll still be updating, but most likely not as quickly. On another note, I've discovered that when I have to ride the bus for an hour and a half (only supposed to take 45 but because of the snow . . .) to show up at my class in the morning only for the professor to talk for 15 minutes before dismissing the class really pisses me off. I spent 3 hours on a stinky bus this morning and I didn't learn a thing in compensation. So, anyway, I decided to update this to make myself happy, or happier since I have to work tonight.

In any case, there are a few things I would like to address about your comments from the last chapter. The first being Area 2 (sigh). For those of you who pointed out that Canada couldn't possibly be Area Two because it was a British colony to begin with, etc, etc . . . you're absolutely right. In the real world, following reality's timeline, there is no way this could happen. Unless Canada was granted it's independence in the normal fashion after WW1 only to have it taken away again by Britannia years later. . . hmm, this solution just came to me so I haven't thought it through very thoroughly. I'm sure one of you will point out a flaw in the scenario. Anyway, that's not the point. The point is that the Code Geass Wiki website declared Canada as Area Two and I was just following along. I didn't really think about our history when I wrote it. Btw, they've also dubbed Mexico as Area 3. So basically, what I'm saying is that you should blame the Code Geass wiki site, not me.

However, it was really interesting to see how many of you knew your Canadian history. I'm assuming you were the Canadian readers though I think there were some people from elsewhere in there too.

Secondly, apparently I'm an idiot for not making Nunnally a 2D vapid character without any depth of emotion and having her doubt Lelouch's love. (Personally, I think I'm doing pretty good. In the over 1100 reviews I have now, this is only the second one I consider a flame.) Anyway, just let me justify myself since that particular reviewer signed in anonymously. Obviously, canonNunnally wouldn't ever feel such doubt. Canon Nunnally was never separated from Lelouch (at least not until she was kidnapped by V.V.) and so never needed to feel such doubt. Please keep in mind that she hasn't had any contact from her brother in half a year now. Anyone would begin to feel doubtful in such a situation, especially now that Lelouch is back in the local area and still refuses to contact her.

To further justify my characterization, I will draw you back to canon. In the Code Geass anime (sorry, I'm not familiar with any of the mangas) Nunnally admits herself that she's selfish when it comes to LElouch. Her body 'decides to have a fever' to get Lelouch's attention because he'd been spending too much time away. Also, I'm not going to write Nunnally as the innocently naive girl she presented herself as in canon. She is a daughter of the Emperor and she's been with Lelouch as her primary caretaker for years now. There's no way she's as simple as she appears to be. Most likely, in my opinion, is that because Lelouch tries so hard to make sure she doesn't suffer, Nunnally tries equally as hard to be the innocent kind of girl Lelouch wants her to be.

Let's not forget the Damocles incident. Nunnally knew what she was doing when she was asked to launch all those FLEIJA. She understood the plan, even if it was Schneizel who had come up with it. Still, she agree to it - agreed to play the martyr just like Lelouch. I doubt she was foolish enough to think she wouldn't be condemned for her actions.

So, in closing, my opinion is that Nunnally is just as skilled at wearing a mask as Lelouch. Behind the mask, however, there is the daughter of an Emperor and the sister of Zero. Besides, it's easier to deceive people if they underestimate you.

Also, to the review who asked why I didn't make Euphemia one of Nunnally's dreaded rivals for LElouch's brotherly affection, there hasn't been any media coverage of Lelouch's contact with Euphy and the media and the Student Council are her only sources of information.

Anyway, that's all I had to say for now. I hope you enjoyed this new chapter. I'm afraid that because so much is suddenly happening so quickly, there's going to be a bit of chronological overlap and backtracking. For example, in this chapter, Kallen's pov technically comes after Lelouch's, but I wanted to end it on Lelouch so . . . yeah. For the most part, I think you should be able to follow it. If not, please let me know and I'll fix it and go back to rigidly keeping things chronological (though I'm not sure how that will help for the overlaps).

Thanks for reading and reviewing. You're all wonderful and I hope you enjoyed this new chapter.

Allora


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Lelouch found it strange. It was only now that he was completely alone and making his way down the sidewalk towards Ashford (after hopping a train of course), that he realized he had hardly spent a waking moment alone in the last six months. Edith gave him alone time, but it wasn't true independence like this. She was always nearby and would come running if she even suspected he needed her. And on the base, he'd been surrounded by his fellow soldiers.

Right here, right now, no one knew where he was. It was liberating and he reveled in it, knowing it wouldn't last. But for now, he was on his way to Ashford to see if they couldn't cook him up a real welcome.

He knew how to get on and off campus secretly, so there wasn't too much worry about being recognized. And if Milly and the others weren't at the clubhouse, he could always call them and wait in his old suite. It would be perfect. Even on such short notice, he was sure they'd make time for him.

He didn't get even remotely close to Ashford, however, before he heard a voice he thought he knew amplified over a loudspeaker a few streets away. He paused, listening to the one-sided conversation as the sound of gunfire echoed off the nearby buildings.

"Surrender now and you'll be given a fair trial, you arrogant Elevens."

He was about ninety percent certain that that was Jeremiah Gottwald's voice. Glaring he reached into his pocket and turned his phone back on. There were no messages waiting for him, which meant no one had tried to contact him.

He called Edith and didn't even wait for her to ask about his disappearing act before demanding answers. "What the hell is going on?" He growled as he began making his way closer to the commotion. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure. The Viceroy and General Bartley suddenly left the party, stating urgent business." Edith said quickly. "But they didn't give an explanation of what's happened. What's going on, Lelouch? Are you safe?"

"Did Clovis ask you where I was or ask you to contact me?"

"No."

Lelouch growled in frustration. "Clovis has mobilized military units within the city. He's out of line." Lelouch grumbled. God damned terrorists just had to wait to attack until after he'd snuck away. If he'd been there, he'd have been the one in control. Lelouch was supposed to have supreme authority over anything dealing with the terrorists. "Go back to the house, Edith. There's no point in you waiting around the Viceroy's Palace."

"Lelouch! Are you safe? Where are you? I'll send a car to pick you up."

But he wasn't given a chance to respond because at that moment he came within view of the freeway and saw what all the fuss was about. He arrived just in time to see a rusty Glasgow burst out of the back of a speeding semi and shoot down two helicopters bearing the standard of Clovis' Royal Guard.

"Shit." Lelouch breathed, then snapped his phone shut and turned it off without another word. He did not want her calling back.

What the hell was going on? Since when had the terrorists had Knightmares? And what was their target? He'd heard rumors that the JLF were suspected of having Knightmare frames, but those were supposed to be customized, Japanese knockoff models, not Glasgows. None of the other groups were supposed to have enough resources or organization to possess Knightmares.

Was it Kenshiki?

No, probably not. If the Kenshiki had already moved their operations to Toyko, their first target would have been the Viceroy's Palace. And striking now would have been ideal since both himself and Clovis along with many prominent Britannians were in attendance there. He was almost tempted to call Edith back and ask her to find a news station, but decided against it when the truck that had been transporting the Glasgow barreled into what was once the old subway line not too far away.

A Knightmare he could do nothing about in his current state. He would have to trust to Lord Gottwald to take care of the Glasgow and hope he could manage it. The Eleven pilot was obviously very good – even from just the few minutes he'd been watching here he could tell. There was no way a normal pilot could make a Glasgow keep up with a Sutherland – but he was sure Gottwald was no amateur.

As for the truck driver however, now there was a situation he could deal with, as it looked like no one else was about to.

He reached for the gun he had strapped to the side of his calf, thankful that he'd decided to bring it even to Clovis' party. Ever since he'd declared war on the Kenshiki, he hadn't left the house without being armed and never without an escort until now.

He assumed the truck would have had to decrease it's speed once it had entered the subway tunnels which would hopefully give him a chance to close the distance. As far as Lelouch knew, the tunnels had been abandoned shortly after the invasion came to an end, so who knew what kind of state the terrorist's chosen route would be in.

Maybe going in alone wasn't the smartest plan, but he couldn't guarantee that any backup he called for would actually come and in the meantime the truck was getting away. Clovis obviously wanted to keep him out of whatever mess this was. That was the only explanation for his Royal Guard chasing terrorists down a busy freeway.

Of all the soldiers in Area Eleven, Clovis' Royal Guard were the only ones who were legally exempt from his orders. They weren't under his command and he couldn't make them fall in. They were Clovis' men and took their orders only from the Viceroy. It was questionable if even the Emperor would be able to countermand them.

And without an established force to back him up – those Knights he'd requested had probably yet to be notified of their change in command and Hector and the others were still playing nice with Cornelia in Area Eighteen – if Clovis really was trying to keep him out of it, there was no limit to the number of times he could be given bad information and misdirections.

So, no, going alone into the subway after a truck that was carrying at least one terrorist was probably not the safest. But unless he wanted to sit this one out – which he categorically refused to do – there weren't a lot of options. If he could get to where Clovis was, he could trump his brother and take command, but without holding Clovis in check when he did it, the likelihood of success was slim.

Clovis could be anywhere at the moment. He could still be at the Viceroy's Palace for all Lelouch knew and conducting this operation remotely, which would entail a forty-five minute commute back in the direction he'd just come from. No, he wasn't going to seek out Clovis without a plan. Even calling Edith at this point to track the Viceroy down was unlikely to be successful. Instead, he'd take out the source of the commotion (or one of them – and a much smaller one compared to the Glasgow rampaging down the freeway, in his opinion).

Providing, of course, that he could catch up with it on foot.

He was pretty sure he'd never been more thankful for all of the miles Harken had made him run until now. The subway was dark – pitch black – causing him to have to run blind the further he made his way from the entrance, but with one hand trailing against the wall at his left, he was able to make what he considered reasonable time.

He could hear the truck rumbling along down the tunnel ahead of him, the sound of the engine echoing and distant though he became aware after a time that he was gaining. As expected, the truck had had to slow it's speed considerably when entering the tunnel. The floor was littered with debris and garbage that had been collected there over the last seven years. Lelouch himself had found himself face first on the ground a handful of times after tripping blindly over objects he couldn't see. He thought one of them had been an abandoned shopping cart, but he wasn't entirely sure and he didn't bother trying to confirm if he was correct, though he did note that he thought his hand was bleeding from the encounter. It was too dark to tell for certain, however.

He panted slightly as he ran – surprised that he'd remained at least marginally in shape after the months away from Basic Training – and didn't attempt to mask the sound of his approach. His prey wouldn't be able to hear his footsteps over the sound of the truck's motor anyway so attempting to be stealthy now would just end up slowing him down. No, what he was aiming for was haste.

And it was with that single-minded thought running through his head – that he needed to _hurry_ – that he didn't even notice he was being approached until it was too late. His gun was knocked from his grasp and what felt distinctly like a fist collided with his face before he was roughly knocked off balance and sent crashing to the ground.

He wasn't even given the opportunity to fight back before he felt a weight settle over him, knees pinning his arms to the ground at his sides and a hand pressed firmly against his collarbone – restraining him but ready to strangle at a moment's notice. His sudden fear overwrote the pain the attack had caused.

"Where is it? Where's the poison gas?"

. . .

And Lelouch found himself laughing. Laughing because fate, it seemed, couldn't help but keep throwing them together today. Of all the people he'd thought to meet down in this tunnel, this soldier was one of the last.

"Suzaku Kururugi, I'd appreciate it if you got off of me." He said calmly and felt the entity above him shift in surprise before a gloved hand pulled the hat and disguising sunglasses (which he hadn't bothered to remove since he'd been running blind anyway and anonymity seemed more important) away from his face. Obviously, the soldier had night vision.

"Lelouch?" Suzaku asked before hastily standing up and pulling him to his feet. "Are you okay?What are you doing down here?"

"I'm fine, and I'd ask you the same thing, but you already let that one slip. Poison gas, huh? That's what this is about?" He mused as he dusted himself off.

"You weren't briefed?" Suzaku asked in surprise.

"No, Clovis is trying to hide this from me. Hence why I'm stumbling around blind through a subway tunnel instead of taking command. Tell me the orders you were given. No. First, I suppose we should do this officially . . ." He said before standing straight and looking at where he assumed his one time friend was. He wasn't exactly sure what he thought of Suzaku's enlistment, but right now he didn't really care either. He was a much needed asset that Lelouch was sorely missing and he was going to take advantage of it. "Suzaku Kururugi, I, Lelouch vi Britannia, request your service as a soldier of Britannia. Do you accept? Will you follow my orders?"

Suzaku sucked in a hiss of surprise before chuckling. "Yes, your highness." He said somewhat sarcastically.

"Good. Now find my gun that you so nicely kicked, I believe, out of my grasp and we'll be on our way." Lelouch ordered and then felt like a fool because he was forced to just stand there helplessly blind in the dark while Suzaku scoured the debris surrounding them.

"Here." Suzaku said and, Lelouch assumed, held out the weapon.

Lelouch opted for simply holding out his hand and making his friend place it in his hand instead of groping around for it in the dark. Once rearmed, he began turning his mind to logistics.

"You lead." Lelouch said before reaching out to grab Suzaku's wrist. "And move quickly."

"You know where the poison gas is?" Suzaku asked as they started off, playing an absurd game of follow the leader.

"I imagine it's in the truck I was following. I don't know why else it would require a Knightmare to protect it." Lelouch said as he concentrated on keeping up with Suzaku. "What were your orders? Tell me what's been happening. I was out of contact for a while."

"We received orders to search the subway tunnels for the terrorists. If we find the poison gas, we're supposed wait for the Royal Guard to come in and reclaim it." Suzaku explained while weaving a path for them through the debris of the tunnel.

"How many terrorists are there?"

"We don't know."

Lelouch frowned, dissatisfied. "How many soldiers were sent into the tunnels?" He asked again. That number should at least reflect somewhat just what kind of resistance Clovis was expecting.

"There were fifteen at my drop point. I'm not sure if there were other drops or not, though."

So. . . almost three squads had been sent into the tunnels to search for the terrorists. So then, odds were high there was more than just that one truck they were after. "I see. I suppose you should radio that corporal and tell him you've been requested for service elsewhere."

"Oh, he's not here. I'm not here with my regular squad. I was recruited specially for this mission." Suzaku said. "Because we're going into the ghettos, the Royal Guard requested Honorary Britannians."

Lelouch's steps faltered, pulling Suzaku to a momentary halt as sickening dread pooled in his stomach. "You mean everyone sent into the subways are Japanese?"

"Yeah. Are you okay?" Suzaku asked.

"Fine. It's nothing." He lied.

Well . . . it might be nothing. Lelouch might simply have been jumping to conclusions and paranoid. Just because the entire group Suzaku had been sent in with had all been Japanese didn't necessarily mean that Clovis would view them all as expendable and have them all quietly executed once this mission was over. Maybe he was just being a pessimist (only it was _so _like Lelouch's luck that he would finally be reunited with Suzaku just to have him die a day later). Maybe Clovis did really send them into the subways because they'd end up in the ghettos.

Maybe . . .

But he doubted it.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, keep going. We can't lose that truck." Lelouch ordered and followed along in silence for a while, listening to the rumble of the truck up ahead.

Would Clovis go so far as to execute his own soldiers? Yes. Lelouch knew that already. Those soldiers who had captured him that day so many months ago had been executed for assaulting him, so he knew that his brother felt no remorse for ordering the deaths of his men. But would Clovis execute his own soldiers just to keep a lid on this poison gas situation?

It was a bit extreme. Sure, if the public found out that their Viceroy had been developing chemical weapons in secret, his reputation would take a hit since he liked to present himself as benevolent. But it wasn't as though he'd used it on anyone (yet), so the information would probably have acted as a deterrent.

In fact, if Clovis did let it slip to the media that he had this kind of weapon, he was betting all of their problems with the Kenshiki would disappear. Of course, it would be like fighting terrorism with terrorism, but Lelouch doubted that the Kenshiki would risk the lives of thousands of Japanese just to pursue their vendetta against Clovis.

. . . Well, this line of thought had some potential. Not that he would ever actually use it, but the threat would make for a good bartering piece. Perhaps he'd use it as an ultimatum on the thirtieth (or more likely the first of October if Cornelia's continued silence on the subject of his subordinates was anything to go by) and see what happened.

Up ahead, the sounds from the truck were becoming noticeably louder now and they were drawing close. Lelouch heard a loud revving of the engine and spinning of tires and smirked. It seemed like the terrorist was stuck. The tunnel was also becoming somewhat lighter as he could now make out Suzaku's silhouette in front of him.

He and Suzaku slowed their approach, melting into the shadows next to the wall (which, of course, was easier for Suzaku as his combat armor was all black as opposed to Lelouch's orange sweater) as they crept forward. Up ahead, they could finally see the truck, it's headlights bathing the tunnel in a pallid, yellow light.

The tires spun again as they were watching and Lelouch noticed the truck had gotten itself stuck in a crack in the foundation (he was pretty sure he'd tripped in one of those earlier too), front tires sunk at least halfway into the hole.

The door opened and a man jumped out, his curses echoing down the tunnel towards them as he surveyed his situation. Lelouch didn't give him the chance to find a solution, however, and raised his gun.

"Lelouch!" Suzaku hissed in protest as he pulled the trigger. The driver collapsed, sliding down the side of the truck and leaving a bloody smear. "You didn't know for certain. What if he wasn't a terrorist."

"Suzaku, he was driving the same truck I personally witnessed a rogue Glasgow emerge from. Also, there's no reason for anyone else to be down here, especially not driving a truck. Look around. Does this look like a common thoroughfare to you?" Lelouch asked impatiently before cautiously approaching the truck. But it seemed the driver was alone.

He approached the downed terrorist and wasn't surprised to find him still alive and struggling to gasp for air around the hole in his chest. Lelouch had never been a crack shot, so the likelihood of him completely eliminating the terrorist with anything less than a lucky shot had been slim. The fact that he'd only ever shot someone once, and that it had taken the entire magazine to bring the man down (he'd ignore the fact that he'd been suffering from a concussion at the time), was a pretty good indication of his skill with a pistol. It was easier in a Knightmare because the console could calculate the trajectory in to solidly factual numbers.

Grimacing, Lelouch fired another shot. It had been unlikely that the man would have survived his wounds if he'd been left alone anyway.

"Lelouch!" Suzaku protested again, this time more loudly before he sighed in disappointment. "You've changed."

"You heard about what I did in Area Eighteen, didn't you, Suzaku? About those civilians?" He asked darkly as he glared at the seeping corpse below him. He was well aware of the rumors the Britannian newspapers were trying to suppress (probably at the behest of Schneizel).

"That was true?"

"Yes. That was true. I killed countless civilians in my raid on Qal'a Al Kuthban. So don't think putting this terrorist out of his misery is going to cause some kind of irremovable stain on my conscience. Think of it as a humanitarian act. He wouldn't have survived anyway." Lelouch said bitterly before stepping over the man's corpse and reaching into the truck to turn it off. No point in letting anyone else find the truck the same way they had. He left the lights running off the battery however because he was quite sick of running blind.

"You don't have to be so cold about it." Suzaku grumbled.

"We're soldiers." He said in response, as though it excused everything. In all honesty though, he'd had to force down his revulsion before pulling the trigger.

Glancing around the cab of the truck, he chuckled when he found an old school walkie-talkie taped to the dash with masking tape. And these were the high tech terrorists who had a Glasgow? He'd thought they'd have had better equipment.

He stuffed the device into the pocket of his hoodie, sure that it would come in handy in the near future before pushing open the adjoining door into the trailer.

. . . And there it was.

That giant orb of hoses and valves couldn't have been anything else but Clovis' precious poison gas. So he'd been right. Still, now it warranted the question of just what he wanted to do with it now that he'd found it.

Clovis was being naughty and he didn't really think he deserved to have his toy given back to him quite yet. Plus, now that Lelouch held this ace, there was no reason for Clovis to continue leading this military campaign. Lelouch would take command and destroy the terrorists at his leisure and this would turn into nothing more than a routine eradication rather than a recovery operation.

He felt an uncanny sense of trepidation as he approached the capsule, as though someone were watching him. It rose the hair on the back of his neck as he hefted his gun back up at the ready and glanced around the muted confines of the trailer.

There was no movement, no sound – just an eerie stillness that did nothing to set him at ease. Casting one last glance around the trailer he moved to the loading door closest to the capsule and hauled it open.

"Suzaku, come in here and see if you can help me move this." Lelouch ordered, half as an excuse for company and half because if he was going to take this poison gas as his own, he wasn't going to be able to use the truck to move it (as it was inexorably stuck and wouldn't be getting out any time soon).

"You found it." Suzaku said in surprise.

"Yes. And I'd like for you to not mention that we've found it to anyone." Lelouch grumbled as he backed away from the door to give Suzaku room to climb in and went back to examining the capsule.

"About that . . ." Suzaku hesitated.

"Yes?" Lelouch asked as he mused on the best way to move the thing. Obviously, the terrorists had moved it on to the truck with a forklift or a pallet jack or something of the sort. Another quick survey of the trailer revealed that whatever they had used hadn't been brought with them.

"The HUD in my helmet is running an auto-recognition software . . ." Suzaku explained.

Lelouch sighed. He'd worked with auto-recognition software at AKTP but had never been in a situation where it's use was required in the real world. "Meaning that the moment you saw it, notice was sent to Clovis' Royal Guard. Remove your helmet."

"Um, why?" Suzaku asked, but Lelouch was pleased that be began moving his helmet anyway.

"Because I'm not sure if I want to give such a potentially dangerous weapon back to Clovis." Lelouch said as he took the helmet from Suzaku and placed it face plate down on the floor of the trailer. But now that the Royal Guard had already been notified, that made stealing this thing much more difficult.

He pushed against it, careful to avoid any hoses or anything that looked important for the mechanics of the bomb, and found that it was surprisingly light for it's size. It was only a hundred and fifty pounds, give or take. So between the two of them, they ought to have been able to lift it . . . if it hadn't been such an awkward, unwieldy shape.

But that still didn't help him. Even if they found a way to carry it, removing it from the truck and the tunnels would take time. They'd have to move slowly and they'd be perpetually afraid of setting the thing off. Plus, the Royal Guard would be pursuing them and they wouldn't be so hindered. Add on top of all that, that Lelouch suspected somewhere in Suzaku's armor was a gps transmitter so they could keep tabs on the Elevens that had been sent into the subway and it equaled out to an impossible situation.

He couldn't steal it.

He cursed under his breath as he continued to examine the capsule. Obviously the gas was trapped inside the metal shell which was probably it's delivery system. If he could open it up somehow, it was possible he could collect whatever ingredients had been used to make the deadly gas from inside. But it was also extremely possible that he'd end up gassing himself and Suzaku along with anyone else in the subway tunnels or their immediate surroundings.

He wasn't quite feeling suicidal yet, despite the turn his life had taken since he'd been returned to the royal family. So he didn't really want to tempt it. But still, it wouldn't be the first time he'd risked his life.

"What would you use it for?" Suzaku asked.

"Don't be an idiot." Lelouch grumbled, picking up immediately on Suzaku's hesitance. "I'd never use it. But just think. Clovis is the one who's been developing this thing. Who do you think he wants to use it on? I suppose I understand why these terrorists decided to steal it."

"But still, it's his. I doubt he'll just give it to you and stealing it will probably piss him off."

"Suzaku, who would you rather had this thing? Me or Clovis?" Lelouch asked candidly, finally turning his full attention to his friend.

Suzaku hesitated. "I'm not sure."

Lelouch scowled in annoyance before turning away with a disgusted huff. "Well, thanks anyway for the vote of confidence." He said sarcastically as he searched for some kind of seam or access panel on the capsule.

But he hadn't even laid hands on it again when a high pitched hissing sound began emanating from the capsule and he found himself thrown to the ground by Suzaku for the second time that day (if his tailbone hadn't been bruised before, he was sure it was now) and Suzaku's gas mask shoved roughly into his face, even though it wasn't properly sealed.

At that moment, only two thoughts ran through his head. The first was 'Oh shit!' and the second was that the hand Suzaku was holding over his own nose and mouth would do nothing to protect him. Not to mention that both of their eyes were exposed and potential entry zones for the gas.

But it wasn't iconographic clouds of green vapor that emerged from the capsule. Instead it was green . . . hair?

Lelouch blinked as the form of a young woman slumped out of the cage of concave metal plates and collapse on the floor of the truck. What the hell?

He pushed the gas mask away from his face and glared at Suzaku. "This isn't poison gas, Suzaku." He pointed out quite obviously.

"We were told it was poison gas!" Suzaku argued, claiming ignorance. Not that Lelouch didn't believe him. He doubted Clovis would have been able to stir up quite as much of a fuss if he'd told his troops that the terrorists had stolen . . . a girl from him.

The girl in question didn't move. She laid completely immobile and for a moment he wondered if they hadn't been arguing over stealing a corpse. But then her chest rose and it was quite apparent that she was still breathing. She stared at him unblinkingly with amber eyes as he finally took stock of their current situation.

He was still being tackled by Suzaku, who had gone unsurprisingly slack in his shock, while a girl had just emerged from what was supposed to have been a poison gas canister (it obviously wasn't). Just the girl was enough to send him into a mental frenzy as he tried to figure out their situation, but in addition to all that, was the fact that the Royal Guard was currently moving in on them to collect the girl that this whole mess was all about.

Just what the hell was she?

Well, if anything, this made things easier though. She'd be easier to move than the capsule was at least. Which is when he noticed she was wearing something akin to a full body straight jacket.

He shoved Suzaku off of him and crawled towards her, relieved that she didn't panic or struggle. Whatever Clovis had been doing to her, he doubted it was nice if the fact that she had been crammed into that capsule was any indication. She didn't react at all except for her eyes tracking his movements.

"I'm Lelouch. I'm going to let you out of this." He said reassuringly before reaching for the first of the restraining buckles.

Still no reaction.

"Suzaku, help me with this. And quickly, before the Royal Guard get here." Lelouch ordered, fingers moving deftly from one buckle to the next.

"You're still going to steal it. . . er, her?" Suzaku asked.

"Until I figure out what exactly is going on." Lelouch nodded as he finished the last restraint on her arms. They fell limply at her sides and he carefully pulled her into a sitting position, leaning heavily against his shoulder.

"Can you walk?" Lelouch asked as Suzaku finished freeing her legs, but the girl gave no indication she'd even heard him let alone a favorable response.

Grumbling under his breath, he looped one of her arms over his shoulder and pushed himself to his feet. He found that she _could_ walk, if a little unsteadily, and helped her down out of the truck before jumping down himself. Suzaku followed, still seemingly at a loss of how to make sense of the situation – not that Lelouch was doing any better in that particular exercise either.

They began making their way back down the tunnel – there was air movement nearby so Lelouch figured there had to be an exit soon – stumbling blindly because Lelouch refused to let Suzaku put his helmet back on. If he was being tracked, it was likely from the helmet. If it wasn't, then they were in shit either way, unless Lelouch sent Suzaku away.

But he had no intention of doing that. Because even if he did send Suzaku away it would be nothing more than ordering his friend to go die in some dark corner. The Royal Guard already knew Suzaku had seen to capsule so if they found him away from it (or it's contents) they'd probably kill him as a traitor.

But they'd have to be lucky to be able to explain their way out of this anyway. He had absolutely no idea what the fuck was going on.

The girl didn't say anything, not even when a faint light appeared up ahead marking an exit (causing both Lelouch and Suzaku to sigh in relief). Granted, it was probably an exit in the ghettos and as he and the girl were quite obviously not Japanese it probably wouldn't be safe, but it was a way out of this chthonic hell. It was nice to be able to see where he was going again.

"There!" A voice said loudly behind them and Lelouch bit back the instinct to groan in frustration as a squad of nine men – who's silhouettes he could barely make out in the semi-blackness – began rushing forward.

Beside him, Suzaku saluted as they were confronted with Clovis' Royal Guard. Lelouch rolled his eyes and didn't react – neither did the girl, though he was coming to expect that from her. He wondered if she was brain dead.

"404, you're in direct violation for your orders. You were not to approach the target. Nor were you supposed to move her." One of the men sneered. Well, it seemed the Royal Guard were aware of the contents of the capsule.

"But we were told it was poison gas, sir." Suzaku tried to argue.

"You follow your orders, Private. Being an Honorary Britannian wont excuse your insubordination."

"This man is above your reproach." Lelouch said finally, unwilling to watch Suzaku reprimanded any further. "He is under my command and is following my orders."

He took a step forward to draw their attention to him and almost possessively supported the girl against his side. "Prince Lelouch vi Britannia?" One of them asked in surprise as they shared a nervous glance.

"Yes." Lelouch answered simply.

This situation was bound to get ugly. It was unlikely the guard would leave without the girl, but Lelouch wasn't willing to give her up either. Regardless of the fact that he didn't know what Clovis was using her for, he wasn't about to simply surrender her. But he was going to be pissed if she turned out to be some ex-lover of the Viceroy's. And not only for the blatant waste of resources.

After a long, awkward moment, one of the Royal Guard members finally reached for his radio. "Your highness, we've found the target."

"Good." Clovis sounded relieved as his voice echoed through the device loud enough for Lelouch to hear.

"But we've encountered a problem. The target . . . well, she's with Prince Lelouch."

"Lelouch? You mean Lelouch is _there_? _With her? Now?_" Clovis demanded panicked. "How did he get there so quickly? He's supposed to still be at his party."

Well, it seemed his brother hadn't noticed his absence. He'd been gone for at least an hour by the time he'd stumbled upon this disaster. But the panicky tone in his brother's voice had set Lelouch on edge. Clovis had always been rash when he was put under pressure.

"Yes, my prince." The Royal Guard answered.

For a long time there was no reply as both parties stared awkwardly at each other in the silence. Lelouch knew that trying to convince them to back off would be more than a waste of breath and the Royal Guard knew that they didn't have the authority to order him to do anything. They were at an impasse, or so Lelouch had thought.

"You had your orders. I expect you to see them through." Clovis said with a resigned sigh.

"But, Viceroy!" The Royal Guard's spokesman protested.

"No one is allowed to know about her. Especially not another member of the Imperial family. And most especially not Lelouch."

Lelouch felt his heart drop into the pit of his stomach as he rapidly realized just what orders Clovis had given to his Royal Guard. They were not at an impasse. Lelouch and all his vaunted 'authority' counted for nothing against nine armed men trying to kill him. His only assets were his gun and Suzaku's.

He subtly shifted the girl behind him so he wouldn't be using her as a human shield and noticed the way that Suzaku not-so-subtly moved so he was standing in front of him. Apparently, Suzaku thought shielding him with his body was a good idea, but it might have been more effective if he'd at least drawn his weapon so he could fight back.

"We're really sorry about this, your highness. We have orders to dispose of anyone who comes in contact with that girl." One of the guards explained.

"Your apologies are meaningless. If you kill me, you can be assured of only one thing. That I will be avenged. Clovis may have supreme authority in Area Eleven, but there are others who have more power and who have less love for him than I do. You have to realize that he's given you a death sentence. If you follow your orders, you will be executed for the murder of a prince. I assure you the Prime Minister will be able to see through any subterfuge Clovis can concoct." The threatened. Intimidation was his last recourse.

"But if we _don't _kill you, Clovis will have us executed too." The guard explained. "So, between a definite and a maybe, I'll go with the maybe." He said as he raised his gun.

"I _won't _let you hurt Lelouch." Suzaku said firmly before he was moving . . . like some kind of lethal circus acrobat. Lelouch had never seen Suzaku fight like this before. During the invasion, Suzaku had had all of the technique down, but none of the physical strength to put those moves effectively into use. And earlier that day Suzaku had been fighting purely defensively.

But this . . . this was Suzaku lashing out. Rage, maybe, or his desire to protect Lelouch, he wasn't sure, but Suzaku was striking back. And striking effectively. The first hit dropped the Royal Guard's spokesman and put Suzaku in the center of their formation.

After that, Lelouch lost track of the hits. His friend had turned into some kind of whirling dervish of punches and kicks, though none seemed to hit as hard as the first. The funny thing about throwing a martial artist into the center of a group of armed men, is that they don't particularly want to shoot for fear of missing and hitting one of their allies.

Suzaku managed to knock two more to the floor - one unconscious and one gasping for breath through a crushed larynx – whilst fending off the attacks of the others before one of them finally got over their fear and fired.

"Suzaku!" Lelouch cried in horror as his friend dropped to the ground and blood bloomed on the dirty concrete beneath him. A lot of blood. "You bastards!"

He raised his gun to retaliate, heedless of the fact that it was only him against six and that he should have been running for his life. Suzaku shouldn't have had to die for his sake. He shouldn't have protected Lelouch. No, Lelouch shouldn't have dragged him into this mess. He should have simply sent Suzaku on his way when they'd run into each other in the tunnels earlier.

He pulled the trigger and was satisfied when he got the man who had shot Suzaku in the throat, before he felt a firm grasp on his arm tugging him out of the way of an incoming bullet.

That girl!

That girl who had heretofore remained weak and shambling held his arm with surprising strength as she wordlessly pushed him behind her and took three bullets for him – two in the chest and one in the head.

"No!" He cried helplessly, catching her falling corpse as his world continuously spiraled out of control. He sank to his knees under her dead weight, staring in horror at her pale, blood-spattered face.

First Suzaku and now this girl. This girl who hadn't known him from Adam. Why had she done it? Why had she saved him? She probably hadn't even known who he was. So why the hell would she die for him?

And what the hell would happen now?

The Royal Guard's barrage came to a stunned halt as they realized they'd just killed the objective of their recovery operation. "God damn it." One of the remaining guards grumbled. "We were supposed to bring her back alive if we could, but we'll just tell Clovis that you killed her rather than let us have her."

They raised their weapons again and Lelouch knew for certain that he was dead. There was no one who was going to miraculously come to his aid in the knick of time. No one knew where he was. And even if someone did know, his allies in this country were surprisingly few.

He was going to die here. Die without accomplishing any of his goals. Without avenging his mother. Without killing his father. Without creating a better place for Nunnally.

_Nunnally!_

Who was going to take care of Nunnally? She'd be completely alone. There would be no one left on this earth who truly loved her. And who would protect her? Who would make sure she didn't get dragged back into the same hell he had been. Who?

No. No. He categorically refused. He couldn't die here. He _couldn't_. There had to be some way. Some loophole. Some way out. What did he have to barter with? How could he outsmart them? They couldn't hold the complete advantage. There had to be something they didn't expect. Some way, some how, he had to survive this. For Nunnally.

The girl's body spasmed in his arms and delicate fingers closed around his wrist. For a moment he was confused as he felt himself being dragged away from reality, almost like struggling to wake from a lingering dream. At least, he thought that situation, with Suzaku dead and the Royal Guard bearing down on him and some mysterious girl dead in his arms, was reality.

Maybe. But this new place felt familiar too, like an overwhelming sense of deja vu that sent his senses spiraling. Somehow, he knew that spacescape. He knew these confused images that continued to flash before his eyes. He knew those images of men and woman, could name them and tell stories about them. Rivalz. Nunnally. Milly. Hector. Nunnally. His father. Edith. Shirley. His mother. _Nunnally._

He laughed almost madly because he'd always thought it had been ridiculous. That one's life could flash before their eyes when they stood on the precipice of death. He'd never actually believed, but here was the proof. He was going to die.

"Do you want to live?" A voice echoed around him, seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time as his world faded all to white.

The answer was obvious. He wouldn't be freaking out right now if he didn't want to live. "Yes." He answered desperately.

"Then I propose a deal. I will grant you a power that will grant you a life like no other. The power of kings will condemn you to solitude but grant you a different life, a different providence. In return for this power, you must make my one wish come true. If you accept this contract, you accept it's conditions. Do we have a deal?"

Was this a joke? Some bone of false hope tossed to him by a malevolent deity hoping to utterly crush him? No, even if it was, he couldn't risk it. He would do anything right now to ensure his survival so he could go on protecting Nunnally.

A second before he answered a white-washed image of that girl from the capsule flashed before his eyes. She stared at him mutely, hand held out in offering, and he understood that this was a gift from her. Her last gasp was being devoted to him.

"Yes. I accept the terms of the contract." He said firmly as he reached for her hand, only to have the vision disappear and to find himself thrust back into reality.

Somehow, he knew instinctively what to do. The power she had granted him needed no instruction, the directions were engraved deeply into his mind. He carefully set the girl on the floor at his feet and stood.

"Well, at least you decided to die on your feet like a real man." One of the Royal Guard's smirked.

Lelouch didn't waste time bandying words with a dead man. Instead he let the power – _Geass,_ his subconscious whispered to him – flare magnificently in his left eye. "I, Lelouch vi Britannia, command all of you to die!" He ordered vengefully as a sigil shaped like a bird faintly overlapped his vision, like an afterimage caused by a camera flash.

The men didn't hesitate even for a moment before turning their guns on themselves with pleasure. But even this mass suicide wasn't enough to sate his need for vengeance. He finished off the two men Suzaku had knocked unconscious with his own gun before collapsing onto the floor next to the dead girl and burying his face in his hands.

He needed to think. This power was amazing, but he was sure it wasn't absolute. He needed a plan. Where he was going . . . what he was going to do . . . Clovis had to pay. All of this madness was his fault. Suzaku and that girl were dead because of Clovis.

The newspapers had had it wrong. He wasn't a god of victory. If he was a god of anything, it was vengeance. Clovis would pay. He would make Clovis despair his actions before he killed him. Suzaku . . . Clovis would have killed him either way. He should have been able to protect his friend better. If only the girl had given him this power sooner. If only . . .

But it was no use agonizing over what if's.

All he could do now was move forward. Avenge them. He needed to find Clovis and he needed to find a safe way to get there. The ghettos were no place for a Britannian, let alone a Britannian prince who had sworn to destroy all resistance in the country. Not to mention there would likely be an army of Clovis' soldiers between him and the Viceroy.

If Clovis raise the hue and cry for him, it was guaranteed that at least some of them would be willing to carry out his orders. Some of them would be willing to kill to appease the Viceroy, even if their victim was to be another prince.

He grimaced. This situation was complicated. He didn't have the benefit of anonymity at all and so he had to assume that everyone he met could be an enemy. He likely wouldn't find help from any of the Britannians or Elevens he came across . . .

No, that wasn't true. There was one man, at least, that would possibly lend him aid. He hoped. And he just so happened to have nine radios programmed with the Britannian forces' frequencies. The foggy outlines of a plan formed in his mind as he relieved the nearest corpse of it's radio and scrolled through the presets.

Here's to luck and the tattered remnants of loyalty.

* * *

An:

. . . So . . . how much do you love me for updating again so soon? Even I didn't expect to get this finished this quickly but the story kind of took on a life of it's own and pestered me into writing it in the scant hours of free time (which should have been devoted to nap time between the time I get home from school and have to go to work) I had available. I'd initially intended to write the next POV as part of this chapter as well, but Lelouch's pov ended up longer than I expected so it will have to start the next chapter.

So comments about last chapter . . .

Okay, about the whole Private 404 thing . . . I get that it's funny, but that's the number they had for him in canon. Honestly. I found the transcripts online and they referred to Suzaku as 404, so that's where that comes from. Though some of your comments were fairly amusing. :D

I'm glad so many of you enjoyed the party scene last chapter. I was a little iffy about it at first, but I'm glad it went over well.

Also, to my reviewer 'Beloved Nightmare', I believe I already stated this, but if you want a response from me, then you have to sign in. Also, my review responses are pretty sparse anyway. I generally only reply if your reviews are really excellent and you pose questions to me that actually take some thought to answer and aren't spoilers. Sorry, but I'd rather spend my time writing the next chapter than replying to reviews (and I'm sure most of you prefer that too). Not that I don't read them all and appreciate them.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It seems like a lot of things are happening and I can foresee the Shinjuku incident taking up several chapters yet. I'll definitely try not to simply paraphrase canon when it comes to dialog because I know that annoys me when I read fanfiction, but some lines will inevitably be the same, I think. Apologies in advance.

Please read and review. I'm off now to vegetate for a couple hours while playing Oblivion before I start the next chapter. I've got 3 days off work (seriously, this never happens!) and over a weekend too, so I'll see how far I get into the next chapter before I have to get back to the grind of work and school. Thanks for reading!

Allora


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Jeremiah Gottwald had been on his way to Prince Lelouch's welcoming party – late, but _someone_ had to take care of the Tokyo Base in the General's absence and he was next in line, therefore the task was dumped on him – when he'd received an irate phone call from Bartley. The good General wanted to know just how in the hell terrorists had stolen Prince Clovis' precious Code-R project when everyone who knew about it was supposed to be dead.

Jeremiah was at a loss.

All of those damned terrorists should have been dead. He'd systematically swept that warehouse from top to bottom and mercilessly executed anyone he'd come across. And of course he'd made sure that all possible exits were covered. No one had escaped that warehouse alive.

So how then?

A second party? But why wouldn't they have been present at the general briefing? Unless they'd been briefed in advance. But why? What had they been doing when the others had been dying under his unit's gunfire.

Jeremiah had always prided himself on the excellence of his command. Simply spoken, he was a perfectionist. So when something went wrong, he took it as a personal affront. When something went _this_ wrong, he guaranteed to set things straight.

He didn't even bother changing out of his flashy tux before heading back to the base where his squad members were still waiting to mobilize – the carrier already loaded and ready to go. Efficiency was one of the things he'd drilled into his squad and it was just one of the things that made them amongst the best in Area Eleven.

"Where are they?" He asked Villetta brusquely as he strode onto the carrier and approved the vessel for take off.

"The terrorists are headed west along the freeway. Just one truck, as far as we're aware, but we can't simply destroy it. If we hit the poison gas, we'll end up killing countless Britannian civilians in the Settlement." She answered quickly.

"So we have to force them to surrender." Jeremiah growled as he strapped himself into his Sutherland via an access point in the hull of the carrier. He'd be ready for a drop at a moment's notice.

"Yes. Though it's unlikely they'll comply." Villetta answered via the radio from her own machine.

"Of course not. They're Elevens."

Once again, he cursed the damnable pride of the native inhabitants of this land. Few of the armed resistance members of this nation had surrendered to Britannia since the invasion. The more likely scenario was that they'd fight to the death. Or they'd set up an ambush and try to take their oppressors with them in a flashy suicide attack. And with a poison gas bomb at their disposable, such an approach would be deadly.

Vaguely, he wondered just how airtight his Sutherland was.

It didn't take long for them to rendezvous with a squad of Prince Clovis' Royal Guard who were tracking the runaway semi and firing indiscriminately on the vehicle below.

"Idiots." Villetta hissed into her radio.

"Well if Clovis chose his Royal Guards for their intelligence rather than their blind loyalty, this wouldn't have been a problem in the first place." Kewell said, needlessly adding his two cents. They all knew that he'd applied to join the Royal Guard multiple times and had failed to make the cut. Not for a lack of skill, but rather due to personality compatibility.

But Jeremiah ignored him, already making contact with the Royal Guard and wresting command from them. Clovis' personal guard they might be, but Jeremiah was second in command only to Bartley (and, he supposed, Prince Lelouch now) and this was clearly a military matter – not a matter of the Viceroy's health.

Furthermore, it was a matter dealing with terrorists. He wondered just what Prince Lelouch was up to by letting the Royal Guard run amok of the situation, but it wasn't his place to ask. He'd simply do his job and make sure this time that all of Kouzuki's damnable little band of terrorists were dead.

"Surrender now and you'll be given a fair trial, you arrogant Elevens." He called. Honestly, the gall of these miscreants was astounding. Rising up against Britannia was bad enough, but using the distraction the Kenshiki Faction was causing to their own advantage was worse.

It hadn't been made public, but a large number of the soldiers from the Tokyo Base had been reassigned to the Osaka garrison last week to help bolster their defense against the Kenshiki. Tokyo was running on the bare minimum and even Jeremiah's squad had been scheduled to deploy to Osaka until Prince Lelouch had made his appearance.

Jeremiah hated to admit it, but this terrorist attack couldn't have come at a worse time.

He reinforced that thought a moment later when a refurbished Glasgow broke it's way out of the truck and took down the nearest of the Royal Guard's military helicopters.

"Damn it. I'll deal with this cretin. The rest of you take the transport and get ahead of the truck. Shut down all exits to the freeway and force that truck to stop." Jeremiah ordered as he triggered the release mechanism and sent his Sutherland plummeting to the earth.

He had to admit that the pilot was good. The fact that the Glasgow had been able to evade his first attack was a testament to their reflex speed. That they survived his second attack was nothing short of miraculous. Obviously, he was dealing with an ace.

Jeremiah was not a fool. He knew he was a good Knightmare pilot, but he also knew he was not an ace. It was only a slim percentage of Britannia's Knights who could claim that title and they usually ended up finding themselves in the service of one member of royalty or another instead of fighting on the front lines.

In an even fight, he had a sneaking suspicion that he'd have had no chance against this particular pilot. Luckily, it wasn't an even fight.

He continued to attack relentlessly, using the Sutherland's superior speed to pressure the slower rogue model until defense was it's only option. He had this fight. He'd taken the Glasgow's arm in his second attack and the strike seemed to have damaged the shoulder-mounted slash harken on that side as well.

So not only was he faster, but the Glasgow was working with only half of it's arsenal. He fired indiscriminately with his KMF rifle and watched, vaguely impressed, as the pilot struggled to make the Glasgow evade. It was almost entertaining, like toying with an insect before killing it.

"Lord Jeremiah." Villetta said through the radio just as the Glasgow decided to go on the offensive.

"What is it?" He growled as he launched his slash harkens, hoping to take out the arrogant upstart.

"We've lost the truck." She answered.

"What do you mean you lost the truck? You were supposed to be covering all the exits." He demanded harshly, jumping back from the Glasgow's suddenly fierce onslaught. He'd never seen any Knightmare move so gracefully before, let alone a Glasgow.

His Sutherland slammed into something – the bridge? - as he tried to counter the attack and failed. Both the Glasgow's stun tonfa and it's remaining slash harken made contact with his machine (but in non-lethal areas for some reason) and pushed him head first over the side.

He cursed loudly and colorfully to himself for letting himself get distracted as he released his harkens into the underside of the bridge and halted his free fall. One of the first things recruits learned in Knightmare training was how to recover from a fall, so if the Glasgow pilot thought this was enough to get rid of him, they were going to be unpleasantly surprised in a moment.

"We were covering all known roads, but it turned into the old subway line. The tunnel's too small to accommodate Knightmares. Should we proceed on foot?" Villetta asked.

"No. The Royal Guard is deploying Expendables into the tunnels as we speak." He answered as he hardly spared a glance at the memo he'd just been sent from the helicopters still circling above him. "Take the others and find out where that tunnel ends. Don't let the truck get past you again. Cover all of the exits. Requisition more men from the Knightmare Police if you have to since they're nearby."

"What about you, sir?" She asked.

"I've still got some garbage to take care of." He growled as he pulled himself back up onto the bridge's surface and spied the retreating form of the Glasgow rushing down the freeway away from him.

Oh no, he wasn't going to let the bastard get away. Not after humiliating him like that by pushing him off the bridge. He was going to take that machine apart piece by piece. And only then would he kill the pilot for daring to stand against Prince Clovis and, by extension, the Britannian Empire.

He raced after the Glasgow, steadily gaining inch by inch over the miles as they wove through bewildered traffic and, occasionally, brushed vehicles out of the way. The Glasgow seemed to be taking more care than he was, but he wasn't going to complain because it was letting him catch up more quickly.

When he finally got within range, he hefted his KMF rifle and began firing again. The Glasgow was considerably less careful with the civilian vehicles after that, as it dodged the lethal rounds and lost more speed and more ground to his Sutherland.

By the time he got within harken range, the Glasgow had given up on flight and turned around, firing a harken at him that he easily dodged. A single harken was easy to evade, it was when multiple harkens were fired at the same time that it became more difficult. He demonstrated the difference by firing both of his slash harkens at the Glasgow – one taking the machine's archaic 'head' completely off while the other was brushed aside by a stun tonfa.

Well at least he'd destroyed it's factspheres. It would be running half blind from now on, relying only on it's cockpit mounted cameras. He would use that to his benefit as he knew they only faced forward. All sense of what was behind the Glasgow was now lost.

He grinned ferally as he moved in on the derelict machine and released his stun tonfas. The pilot had severely underestimated him if they thought he was shoddy at close range combat. Knights of Britannia were trained to excel in all fields of Knightmare combat.

He would show this arrogant Eleven the true might of the Knightmare Corps.

The Glasgow managed to block one of his attacks with it's tonfa, but the Glasgow only had one arm and Jeremiah had two. His second tonfa drove into the machine's hip joint, damaging the mobility of it's left leg.

He'd said he was going to take the machine apart piece by piece and that was exactly what he intended to do.

The Glasgow pushed away, balancing impressively on it's undamaged leg as it attempted to put distance between them. It fired it's slash harken at his Sutherland, aiming for the cockpit in a vain attempt to take him out, but he brushed the projectile away with one of his tonfas and closed the distance again – this time completely ready to immobilize the unit.

"Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald, this is Lelouch vi Britannia. My life has been put in peril and I request your service and protection as a Knight of Britannia. Do you accept?"

He cut off his charge in surprise and put space between himself and the badly damaged Glasgow. "Your highness! Where are you? I'll be right there." He gasped in surprise.

"Put yourself into my service first." The prince ordered through the radio, causing Jeremiah to feel a trickle of dread. Something had to be wrong for the prince to refuse aid immediately.

"Of course, your highness. I will protect you with my life." He promised, recalling oaths he'd sworn to the boy's mother years ago – to protect the vi Britannia line from any threat.

"Then meet me where the old subway tunnel comes out in Shinjuku." Prince Lelouch ordered.

"Sir, that's near where I am now." Villetta suggested and Jeremiah realized the request had been shared with the rest of his squad mates.

"No." The prince said firmly. "I don't need your subordinates, Gottwald. I requested you."

He felt a little pride at being singled out by the prince. Apparently, the teen hadn't forgotten his loyalty to the vi Britannia family. He would be sure not to let the prince down. This time, he wouldn't fail. Both for the memory of Empress Marianne and for the sake of the young prince himself.

"I understand, your highness. Villetta, I've been requested for service elsewhere. I leave the command of this squad in your capable hands." He said calmly before – much as he hated to do it – he turned his back on the damaged Glasgow and took off at full speed towards the location the prince had mentioned on the map.

If Prince Lelouch was in danger, there was no time to waste. Even the precious few minutes it would take to completely dispose of the pesky pilot could put Prince Lelouch at needless risk. Instead, he sent the last coordinates of the rogue Knightmare to Villetta and trusted to his squad to finish cleaning up this mess.

* * *

Lelouch's mind was racing as he waited in the mouth of the subway for his escort to arrive. A hundred and fifty meters behind him in the dark tunnel lay the bodies of the boy he'd once considered his closest friend in the world, a girl who had granted him a godlike power, and nine members of the Royal Guard.

Lelouch had seen a lot of death in the seventeen short years of his life. He'd been having occasional nightmares about corpses since he was ten years old. But those corpses had never been people that he'd known or cared about.

The only person's body that he'd seen that he'd actually loved had been his mother's. And even then, he hadn't seen her face. Not then, when she'd been covered in blood and collapsed over Nunnally. But seeing Suzaku like that . . . seeing the slackness of his face and the graying pallor of his skin and all of that blood painting the ground red all around him . . .

He'd vomited twice, leaving a mucussy puddle of half-digested hors d'ouvers and expensive champagne on the concrete, before he'd been left dry heaving. He couldn't. . .

Until that day, he'd always suspected that Suzaku was dead. That some bastard Britannian soldier had killed him during the invasion and that he'd been shoved into an unmarked grave like so many others. But today, hope had been rekindled. Suzaku wasn't dead – hadn't been dead.

All that time he'd been despairing in vain only to have to watch with his own eyes as his friend was shot downright in front of him. He should have been nicer to him. He recalled with disgust that, instead of a happy reunion, Lelouch had accused Suzaku of being a terrorist and proceeded to argue with and insult him.

It should have been a happy reunion. He should have simply been overjoyed to see his friend had survived, instead of angry that Suzaku hadn't done what he'd expected. He'd never regret his words more. He wished he could take them back and just tell Suzaku that he was glad he'd been alive.

But it was too late for that now.

Too late, and once again all he was left with was regrets and revenge. But this time he'd make sure it didn't years to avenge the fallen. His retribution would be swift and merciless.

He heard the familiar whine of landspinners arrive in the ruins of the above ground station. He'd checked it out earlier to confirm his location before calling Gottwald. He didn't, however, move from his location in the shadows, unwilling to risk to chance that it was someone else up there in a Knightmare.

One of Gottwald's subordinates had been suspiciously eager to find him – for a member of the Purist Faction, that is – and it had sounded like the woman was closer to him than Gottwald was. So he wasn't about to go running into the open at the first sign of aid. Not in his current situation.

"Your highness? I'm at the exit but I don't see you. Are you alright?" Gottwald asked.

"I'm still in the tunnel. Come down here." Lelouch ordered, knowing that the dimensions of the tunnel were too small for a Sutherland to fit. It was the only reason he'd decided to stay in the dark down there. If Gottwald had been given orders from Clovis – which he hadn't heard whilst monitoring the communications from all nine of the radios in the tunnel set to a different channel – then he'd be dead if he revealed himself to a Knightmare. At least with the man unmounted, Lelouch stood a chance in hell of taking him down.

And if he had to, he'd use it. That power. That Geass that that girl had given him. He didn't know anything about it, so he was wary of using it, but he would if he had to in order to survive.

He heard hurried footsteps a moment later and tightened his grip on his gun. "Stop there." Lelouch ordered the second the man came into view, dressed in a tux of all things. He raised his gun as he continued to address the man, still hidden in the shadows as much as he could. "Tell me what your orders were."

"We were ordered to force the terrorists to surrender and to recover the poison gas at all costs. I also took it upon myself to pursue a rogue Knightmare." Jeremiah answered, his tone obviously confused.

"Poison gas?" Lelouch asked. Had only the Royal Guard been made away of the true contents of the capsule then? He'd thought the poison gas story had only been fed to the Honorary Britannians, but no, he supposed it made sense for only a select few to know. If Clovis was willing to murder his own brother to keep that girl a secret, he doubted she'd be common knowledge to the rest of the military.

"Yes, your highness. I was sent to eliminate the terrorists who had been receiving leaked information about the project months ago, but apparently I missed a few in the clean up." Gottwald answered.

"I see." Lelouch mused as he stepped out of the shadows, his gun never diverging from it's target at the center of the man's chest. It seemed the Jeremiah Gottwald was clueless to the true nature of this fiasco, but that didn't make him any less dangerous. He still remembered Clovis boastfully declaring Gottwald as one of his most trusted and efficient subordinates.

Gottwald sucked in a hiss of surprise and took a step towards him before noticing the gun trained on him. "Are you injured, your highness? You're covered in blood."

He remained mute, barely sparing a glance at the state of his borrowed attire, trying to determine whether or not the concern was genuine. Gottwald frowned at him, eyes straying to the gun. "What happened to you?" He asked warily.

Lelouch ignored the question. "I've reconsidered that offer you made to me all those months ago, Gottwald. You offered to swear yourself to me, didn't you?"

Gottwald's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Uh, yes, your highness." He hesitated.

"Then do so." Lelouch ordered. "Forsake Clovis and swear yourself to my service. If you had any love for my mother, or if you have any hope for your redemption, you will take me as your liege."

Maybe he was laying it on a bit thick, but he really wanted to bind Gottwald to him as firmly as he could without using Geass. He had no idea what the long term effects of his power were, and a man like Gottwald would be useful even after this incident, provided they both survived, so he'd rather not risk damaging him. Especially before he could be made useful in this scenario.

Gottwald stared at him mutely for a moment. The fact that he was being held at gunpoint was probably a factor, but after a few seconds of silence, Gottwald sank to his knee and crossed his arm over his chest in fealty and obeisance.

"My prince, please allow me to serve you. As sword or shield, in the protection of your life and the pursuit of your goals. Let your whims become my purpose and your will become my law." Gottwald said solemnly.

"And Clovis?" Lelouch demanded.

"Forsaken, my prince, even though I'll be branded a traitor." The Margrave answered immediately, without even the slightest hint of hesitation.

Lelouch sighed in relief, letting the gun fall to his side as he slumped against the wall and shock and fatigue caught up with him. It was like half of the burden he'd been stressing over had just been removed. He wasn't completely alone. He had an ally.

An ally he had stolen from underneath Clovis. And the man who would play the part of the source of the Viceroy's despair. It was not enough to simply steal the man's loyalty. No, not by a long shot.

"Prince Lelouch!" Gottwald exclaimed as he rushed to Lelouch's side and began prodding the bloodiest parts of his clothing.

"It's not my blood." Lelouch said, batting the man's hands away.

"What happened to you?" Gottwald asked softly.

"Let's just say that if things go badly, you won't be the first person to die for me today." He said bitterly before stooping to pick up the armful of stolen radios he'd had arrayed around him. He was headed towards the stairs and Gottwald's Knightmare with his newly appointed subordinate hovering worriedly at his shoulder, when one of the radios cradled at his chest crackled to life.

"Iverson! Report! Did you get him? Is Lelouch dead?"

Lelouch froze, turning warily to meet Jeremiah's gaze. They both knew that voice. This was the true test. The man had switched sides so quickly it was hard to know just _how_ loyal he could be. He prepared to use his Geass power, just in case.

But the man had gone rigid, staring at Lelouch in shock, then pity. He didn't move to fulfill the orders Clovis had obviously given his Royal Guard. Instead, he took a step back and held his hands up in a gesture of peace.

"Clovis! So that's what happened." Gottwald said softly. "I suspected that you'd somehow lost faith in the military's loyalty, but I never expected this. My prince, I've sworn myself to you, and I swore to your mother that I would protect the vi Britannia line. I will never harm you, this I swear. My oaths to the vi Britannias have always taken precedence over any other duty."

Lelouch frowned, studying the man for any trace of deception, but found none. In fact, he seemed almost painfully earnest. "I have no choice but to trust you for now. Just know that I'll be watching for the knife aimed at my back."

"As will I, my prince. And I swear I will stop it." Gottwald promised.

He smiled slightly and continued on his way up to the Knightmare. It felt strange having someone declare this kind of blind loyalty to him. Everyone else who had sworn themselves to him were his friends and squad mates first. This man owed him nothing. Hell, he didn't even particularly like the man, but he'd still dropped everything at a single word from Lelouch.

It was empowering. A type of control that was dizzying and distinctly different from the absolute obedience his Geass power granted him. It was _his_ power. The unique combination of authority that stemmed from his heritage and his reputation.

"Iverson! Report!" The radio demanded again.

Lelouch shifted the armful of radios he had commandeered and found the one that Clovis was shrieking into. "That man is dead." He said coldly.

Clovis gasped into the radio, "Lel-Lelouch?"

"Let me carry those for you." Gottwald suggested, gesturing towards the radios, but Lelouch shook his head as he stuffed the one relaying with Clovis back into the pile. He had nothing else to say to the Viceroy.

"You'll need to pilot." He said as he gestured for the man to precede him into the Knightmare. He climbed in after and immediately deposited the radios on the floor before reaching over Gottwald's shoulder to reach the console controls, bringing up a display of all of the Britannian forces over an outdated map of the area.

"I see." He murmured, brushing his fingers over the formations of dots on the screen before finally landing on a large one indicative of a G-1 mobile command center hidden at the back. Their IFF transmitter was both a blessing and a curse. Clovis was bound to notice one of his units breaking formation and coming after him. By the same token, if they turned the IFF off, they were likely to get shot by their own forces as suspected terrorists. They had to know that the terrorists had at least one Knightmare by now.

What he needed was a diversion.

As if by divine providence, one of the radio's crackled to life in the confines of the cockpit.

"Kallen? Are you guys alright?"

"Ohgi! You guys got out okay? How's that dumb shit Tamaki?"

Lelouch frowned at the pile of radios on the floor – that didn't sound like the kind of language he'd expect from a Britannian soldier – then he remembered the terrorist radio he'd stuffed in his pocket and pulled it out.

"Tamaki?" Gottwald grumbled under his breath. "So I missed him. Should have checked the bodies more carefully."

"He's still alive. We're both still alive, for the moment along with all the others. But that's likely to change soon. We're getting the shit kicked out of us here at the train depot. How's Nagata? Did you guys get the gas away?" The man named Ohgi inquired.

"We were separated. I told him to get into the old subway tunnels. I think he made it. He should be coming out in Shinjuku any time now if he didn't run into trouble. I'm not sure if the tunnel will have radio reception though."

"You mean you had to launch the Glasgow?"

"Yeah. They were probably going to hit the gas with all the shooting they were doing if I didn't." Kallen said. "It's in pretty rough shape. Some asshole Britannian did quite a number on it with his Sutherland before running off."

"I was fighting a girl?" Gottwald demanded incredulously. Lelouch smirked at the disgust in the man's voice but was similarly surprised. Statistically speaking, woman were less likely to participate in armed dissent than men were.

"Can you move it?"

"Yeah, it still moves, but not very quickly. I'm hiding in an old warehouse on the outskirts of the ghetto to keep it out of sight at the moment. I'll come to the train depot to back you up."

Lelouch pointed towards the train depot on his map and wordlessly gestured for Gottwald to begin making their way there.

"Lord Jeremiah!" A voice said loudly over the internal speakers of the cockpit, drowning out Ohgi's reply to the suggestion.

"Villetta? What are you doing?" Gottwald demanded as he turned the machine to face a quickly approaching unit.

"It's Kewell, sir. He usurped my command and went after the Glasgow with the others." The woman answered quickly.

"You mean your the only one with a scrap of honest loyalty in my entire squad?" The pilot demanded harshly.

"It's seems that way, sir. I ordered the Knight Police to watch the exits and came back to assist you in case the snake decided to take advantage of the confusion." Villetta explained.

"Seems today is ripe with betrayal." Lelouch muttered. "Order that woman to give me her Knightmare. This will work better if I have two Knightmares anyway."

The demand didn't go over very well.

"But . . . but, your highness, how am I supposed to fight the terrorists without my Knightmare?" Villetta demanded.

"I'm sure you're quite capable with your sidearm." Lelouch said, unable to let his suspicion of the woman die. "It wasn't a request, it was an order. No questions. Or do I have to formally proclaim every little demand I have like Clovis does? Lelouch vi Britannia commands you to surrender your Knightmare. Now."

The woman hesitated for a moment before sighing loudly. "Yes, your highness." She said as she released her cockpit and lowered herself to the ground.

"You'll come out with me." Lelouch ordered softly as he pulled the cockpit release.

"Villetta would never -"

"I didn't think Clovis would either." Lelouch said, cutting him off. "You'll come out with me."

"Of course." Gottwald said sympathetically before leading the way out of the machine to the altogether uneventful transfer of the activation key and code.

They left Villetta standing in the run down ruins of the subway station, radioing for a pick up, as Lelouch familiarized himself with the personalized settings the woman had configured and began making his way towards the train depot where the terrorists were rendezvousing. He needed a distraction to get close to Clovis and the terrorists had so kindly interrupted his thought processes and volunteered.

"Before you say anything, Lord Gottwald, yes, I fully appreciate the irony of the upcoming situation." Lelouch said into his radio as he fingered the terrorist's old school walkie-talkie thoughtfully.

This situation had long since ceased being about terrorists and poison gas. This was a struggle for supremacy between two children of the Imperial family. Lelouch fully intended to follow out the Emperor's orders and show his treacherous half-brother just what a true prince of Britannia was capable of. And he'd use whatever pieces he could get his hands on to do it.

"It's my place to follow you, you highness, not to question your judgment." Gottwald replied confidently.

"Good, because this is probably going to get weird." Lelouch said.

They were almost to the train depot when Clovis decided to make his next move. It wasn't one Lelouch had been expecting, nor one he had even considered. Clovis had always liked to present a benevolent face and this move was anything but.

"As Third Prince of the Empire and Viceroy of Area Eleven, I, Clovis la Britannia, order you to destroy Shinjuku ghetto. Use extreme prejudice and leave no one alive."

Was this supposed to be revenge? Lelouch had killed his men so Clovis would kill . . . everyone? No. The Wolf of Britannia didn't care about civilian casualties, so why would Clovis think this would stall him?

Ah, right, he'd let that mask – the ruthless Wolf of Britannia – fall after his petty verbal victory. Clovis knew that he hadn't changed that much. That he hadn't become that ruthless. The Wolf of Britannia might not have cared about civilian casualties, but Lelouch did.

He grimaced, knowing that right now, everywhere around him, innocent Japanese were reliving the horrors of the invasion. Civilians. Innocent civilians who had done nothing wrong, they'd just been caught living in the wrong neighborhood when his demented brother decided to go on a power trip.

Attempting to assassinate him was bad enough, but sanctioning the wholesale slaughter of an entire community was absolutely inexcusable. It was monstrous. There weren't enough words in the human language to justify such a massacre.

Clovis couldn't possibly have hoped to actually kill him using such a ploy, could he? Even using extreme prejudice, and even if he hadn't met up with Gottwald and had been stranded on foot, Lelouch would have been unlikely to let himself be seen by the Britannian forces. He hadn't survived the invasion of Japan by being careless.

No, that couldn't possible have been Clovis' motivation for doing this. Something else then? Was he simply trying to get a rise out of him. Lelouch cursed himself because he knew it was working. He was angry. He needed to do something to stop this.

He wisely picked up one of the radios he'd taken with him instead of using the traceable one installed in the Knightmare. "This is Lelouch vi Britannia, Chief of Internal Defense. In the name of the Emperor, I order you all to cease fire and withdraw immediately."

It was the only card he could pull. However incompetent Clovis was, he still outranked Lelouch. He was both closer to the throne and in a higher civic office. It was only by claiming the Emperor's will that he could possibly trump his half-brother.

"Disregard Prince Lelouch vi Britannia. Furthermore, he has been stripped of his position as Chief of Internal Defense." Clovis said immediately. "Destroy Shinjuku!"

Ah, this was a far more harrowing display of Clovis' authority than the stupid party he had hosted earlier that day. The party that many of the guests were probably still attending despite the fact that the host and guest of honor were currently striving to kill each other in a completely different part of the city.

Stripping him of his position would also serve to discredit him in the eyes of the soldiers participating in this massacre. God damn Clovis to hell and back. The office of the Chief of Internal Defense had been created by them the other day. It did nothing to lessen his authority to act from the Emperor, but it had shown solidarity between himself and his brother.

Obviously that solidarity was fake.

Growling in frustration he let the radio fall to the floor of the cockpit, rattling around with the others, as he continued on course for the train depot. Continuing to try to persuade the forces in the area would likely just devolve into petty bickering between himself and Clovis over a highly public open channel.

"What's our next course of action?" Gottwald asked. "Do we . . . try to blend in?"

"No." Lelouch snarled. No, even to protect his current anonymity he wouldn't participate in the slaughter of civilians. "There, see that building coming up on your left? I think it's an old parkade. We're going up there."

"Yes, my prince." Gottwald replied, expertly piloting his Knightmare through the wreckage of an old building to reach Lelouch's intended target. They made their way up to the top floor and looked down onto the battle ensuing below them.

From this vantage he could see about a dozen armed Elevens taking cover interspersed between the trains of the train depot. They were lucky they were only dealing with infantry troops. If they'd been dealing with Knightmares, just a single machine would likely have been enough to completely destroy them.

Damn these terrorists and their shoddy equipment. Did they only have the one Knightmare, then? A Knightmare that, judging from the conversation earlier, Gottwald had left as little more than mobile scrap.

He cast his gaze over the train yard and the multitude of parked train cars waiting for loading or unloading and frowned. He knew that one of these tracks supplied the Tokyo Base. He also knew that he'd ordered the shipment of three dozen new Sutherlands to equip his anti-terrorist militia's arsenal before he'd even left Pendragon.

They ought to have been arriving any day now.

Pulling out his cellphone, he turned it back on and found that he had a dozen messages all from the same number. He called Edith back. She answered with a relieved sigh.

"Lelouch."

"I don't have much time to talk. Check the delivery date on those Sutherlands I ordered. When do they come in?" He ordered quickly.

"Are you alright?" She asked, but he could tell from the background noise that she was quickly moving to a new location, no doubt to find the information he'd requested.

"I'm fine. Completely unharmed. Have you been watching the news?" Lelouch asked.

"Yes. There's no mention of the military being mobilized, however."

"No, I doubted there would be. He's trying to keep this quiet."

"Ah, I found the tracking number. They were supposed to come in yesterday but were delayed. I'm not sure where they are now, but they haven't been delivered to the base yet." She answered.

"Thank you very much, Edith. Also, I'd like for you to lock down the house. No one goes in or out, and put the security team on alert." He ordered. It wasn't extremely likely, but there was a slim possibility that Clovis would target his home in retaliation. He'd protect them as well as he could from his current location.

"Alright. Are you sure you're okay? Where are you? I can send a team to get you."

"No. I'm fine. Keep everyone at the house." Lelouch commanded. "There's still things I need to do here."

He hung up the phone and examined his map closer. If his Sutherlands were in the train depot, they'd either been on the tracks leading towards the base, or the track towards Kyoto where he'd ordered them from.

"Gottwald, check the contents of the trains on the fifth track in from the west." Lelouch ordered.

"Yes, sir." Gottwald answered and immediately sent his Sutherland into a free fall towards the ground, landing roughly below before racing off towards the specified train.

The terrorists had finally taken note of the presence of Knightmares and had quickly hidden themselves from view. Not that that would have saved them if he'd been gunning for their deaths.

"Looks like industrial equipment." Gottwald answered a moment later.

"Then check the track eight to your right." Lelouch ordered.

He knew he'd hit the jackpot when he heard Gottwald's startled intake of breath. "You're going to give the bastards Sutherlands?" Jeremiah demanded.

"I told you it would get weird. Get back here. I want you with me for this just in case." Lelouch replied before hefting up the walkie-talkie and pressing the button. "Listen up! If you want to win, you'll follow my orders."

"What? Who are you?" A voice demanded gruffly. "How did you get this frequency?"

"My name is of little consequence, though if you must call me something, you may call me L.L." Lelouch replied with a smirk. They had to be desperate by now and any bone of hope would be appealing. They'd be easy to manipulate. "And if you must know, I picked this walkie-talkie up from an empty truck in the subway."

"An _empty_ truck?" A voice demanded and he recognized it as the girl he'd heard earlier. The pilot of that Glasgow.

"Yes. Well there was a dead guy nearby, but the trailer was empty." Lelouch prodded, and allowed them to digest the information. Without the hope that the 'poison gas' was getting away safely, they had only two options. Either give up conpletely, or try to take it back.

"You said we can win?" The first voice asked after a moment of silence.

"If you follow my orders without hesitation, definitely." He said confidently.

"Hold on!" Another voice interrupted. "How do we know we can trust this guy? We don't know a thing about him. For all we know, he could be one of them trying to lead us into a trap."

"I doubt the Britannians would need to resort to such methods to take you out." Lelouch said. "I don't care who you people are or what it is you're doing. What I do care about is the fact that the Viceroy has just ordered the extermination of all life in Shinjuku. This is you people's fault, so you'd better do something to fix it before we all die." Lelouch pressed. They were being more stubborn than he'd expected.

There was a long moment of silence as, he suspected, those who were grouped together discussed the situation privately. "Fine . . . L.L. Tell us what we need to do."

Lelouch smirked. "Excellent. Then let me direct your attention to the contents of the train on track thirteen. I hacked into the shipping database and happened to find some goodies." He lied. "I'll cover your retreat to the train. By the way, the two stolen Sutherlands on the parking garage are myself and my friend. I'd appreciate if you didn't shoot at us the second you're properly armed."

"Properly . . . armed?" One of the terrorists asked in alarm as Lelouch gestured for Gottwald to follow his lead and laid down a barrage into the advancing formation of Britannian soldiers. A one-sided massacre.

He felt bad for firing on his own troops. Most likely, they weren't being deliberately insubordinate, but he'd given orders for all soldiers to cease fire and retreat almost fifteen minutes ago. They'd had plenty of time to disengage and follow his orders. Instead, they had chosen to align themselves with Clovis and Clovis had made himself Lelouch's enemy.

He just hoped to hell that no one ever found out about this.

* * *

AN:

Well, I discovered that it's possible to write an entire chapter in a day if I don't have any other distractions, am really motivated to write, know exactly where I want it to go, and get to check all of your wonderful reviews whilst writing it. I technically finished this last night, but I didn't get to editing it before I went to bed. So here it is now instead.

Also, to all of you who read this thing in it's entirety in one go, I salute your endurance. That's right folks, with this chapter we have crested the 300 page mark (and that of course doesn't include any of the authors notes).

Oh, and I'll put your fears at rest now, since many of your reviews were wondering if I was just going to be regurgitating a slightly different canon to you - the answer is no. Some events will be the same (or rather similar) because Lelouch had no control over them. But eventually it will completely diverge from canon. Once again, I will ask you to be patient with me.

Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. I love each and every one of them (even if many of you were malevolently pleased by my favorite character Susaku's fall). I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much - or more!

Allora


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Kallen didn't know who the hell this L.L. person was, but she didn't think he was particularly trustworthy either. The thought was further solidified when she'd limped her Glasgow into the train depot and had seen the two Sutherlands looming above them.

They were the same coloring as the one she'd fought earlier - no, one of them _was_ the unit she'd fought earlier. She could make out the superficial damages she'd inflicted on the machine during their fight. Had it been L.L. that had saved her then by calling the pilot away?

She had been fully prepared to die in that last charge of the Sutherland's before it had been called away. That didn't, of course, mean that she hadn't been intending to take the bastard with her when she went. She'd been planning on using the Glasgow's remaining arm to trap the enemy Knightmare before igniting her own Yggdrasil drive.

It wasn't exactly the way she'd always dreamed of dying, but at least she would have taken the bastard out.

But none of that had been necessary because the Sutherland had retreated before it's final charge. And now here it was being piloted by someone who was actually _helping _them. And helping them a lot.

She'd flinched the first instant she'd seen the group of Sutherlands emerging from between the trains, and had been prepared to flee. But then one of them actually waved at her.

"Well, what do you think of my new ride, Kallen?" Tamaki boasted, setting the Knightmare into a superman pose.

Tamaki . . . was in a Sutherland . . .

Was this what L.L. had meant when he'd said they were going to be properly armed? Knightmares? This was absolutely incredible.

"I don't think we should be using our real names." She said gruffly instead of responding to his gloating. "L.L.'s obviously not using his."

"I agree." L.L. said calmly. "You're the pilot of the Glasgow, aren't you?"

"Yeah, that's me." She said warily.

"Is your entire group assembled now?" He asked. "Everyone's here?"

"Yeah. If Nagata's dead . . . then this is all of us." She answered

"Tch. Not sure what the hell you were thinking when you planned this little escapade, but you should have devoted more attention to your escape. Woman in the Glasgow, transfer to a Sutherland. I saw your fight earlier, so I know you're a decent pilot when you're not stuck in a pile of crap." L.L. ordered disdainfully.

"Hey, none of these have IFF's installed in them." Ohgi said hesitantly.

"Of course not. You're stealing them before they've had a chance to reach the Britannian base." L.L. explained exasperatedly. "Besides, without the IFFs the Britannians can't track your movements."

"Yes, but we can't see them either." Inoue pointed out.

"Which is precisely why we're helping you from stolen Knightmares. Our IFF's are still engaged and we can see where the enemy are. You'll have to trust me and follow my orders without question." L.L. explained.

"Just how did you manage to steal those Knightmares anyway?" Kallen asked suspiciously. She knew that all Knightmares required not only the activation key but an activation code that only the pilots knew as well. It was impossible to just _steal_ a Knightmare from the Britannians unless it was already running. The Sutherlands from the train depot must have been an exception because they hadn't been fully programmed yet.

"How suspicious of you, Q-1." L.L. replied.

"Q-1?" She asked.

"Well, you didn't want to be referred to by your real name, right? So that is what I'm going to call you." L.L. said smugly.

"You didn't answer my question."

"You're wasting time while countless people are dying as a direct result of your actions."

She glared at the Sutherlands above her, unsure which one had the mouthy upstart in it, before pulling her cockpit release and crawling out.

Piloting a Sutherland, she soon found out, was like going from Ohgi's rusted scrap of a car to the Stadtfeld family's favorite Rolls Royce. Everything was so much cleaner and streamline – more efficient and faster. If she'd been piloting this machine earlier, that Britannian bastard wouldn't have had a snowball's chance in hell of beating her.

She familiarized herself with the controls – almost the same, but evolved. "Is Q-1 your best pilot?" L.L. asked.

"Yeah." Ohgi answered.

"Okay, who's your second best pilot?"

"That'd be me." Tamaki boasted. "Tamaki Shinichiro. I don't care if you know my name. In fact, you'd better remember it."

There was a long silence as Kallen received the impression that the two stolen Sutherlands were conversing privately before L.L. replied. "Who's your third best pilot?"

Kallen chuckled in amusement at the snub as Yoshida spoke up. "Me." He said, raising the arm of his Knightmare.

"Good. You'll be N-1." L.L. explained. "You'll also be forming the rear guard with Q-1."

"You're putting our best pilots at the back?" Ohgi demanded.

"Listen, you obviously wouldn't be in this mess if the finer points of strategy were your specialty." L.L. said disdainfully. "This plan requires discipline. You need to follow my orders even in the face of imminent death. If you can't do that, this won't work and we'll most likely all end up dead along with everyone else in this ghetto."

Kallen grimaced and wished she could suggest that Tamaki be left behind. If they needed discipline, it was unlikely Tamaki would be able to comply. However, no one spoke up about that particular dilemma and there were already too few of them to begin with.

"Alright. We'll do as you say." Ohgi sighed.

"Good. We're going to need Q-1 and N-1 at the back to keep open a line of retreat." L.L. explained.

"Retreat? I thought you said we were going to win!" Tamaki said loudly.

There was a long moment of silence before L.L. spoke. "Is he _always_ like this?"

"Pretty much." Kallen sighed.

They were damned lucky that Tamaki didn't have more sway over the tactical planning portion of their operations. Ohgi was the first to admit that he wasn't as great of a leader as Naoto had been, but he at least understood the concept of playing it safe and keeping an escape route open. If Tamaki couldn't understand that, he was even more of an idiot than she'd originally thought.

* * *

Jeremiah watched his new lord via the video link their two Sutherlands were sharing with rapt fascination. The boy was an enigma – a master at creating alternate personas. He was currently in the process of subtly convincing the terrorists that he was a concerned local.

It was by no means obvious, but because Jeremiah could see him as he spoke and had met him before, he could easily pick the deliberate hints out. It was in the more loose, casual vocabulary he was using and the repeated attempts at identifying himself with the terrorists. Lelouch used 'us' and 'we' to conglomerate himself in with the local Eleven population and it was working. The terrorists had handed him the reigns of their operation almost pathetically quickly.

It seemed that no matter what mask his prince chose to wear, he was charismatic.

"That girl's going to be a problem." Prince Lelouch said, scowling slightly as he stopped broadcasting to the terrorists and dropped the facade. Jeremiah had to wonder if this was the real Lelouch vi Britannia he was watching right now, or if he'd simply slipped on another mask.

If he had, it wasn't a persona he wanted to get better acquainted with. While the prince's face was, for the most part, impassive, his eyes had taken on a darker hue that belayed his internal fury. Not that Jeremiah could blame him for being furious. His own brother had just attempted to murder him, so his anger was understandable.

He was, at once, both concerned for and disgusted by Clovis. The Viceroy's actions towards his brother were inexcusable and Jeremiah couldn't forgive the fact that if the boy hadn't had an almost divine luck (he still hadn't told Jeremiah how he'd managed to escape being slaughtered by the Royal Guard), the last of the vi Britannia line would have been extinguished.

It rattled him to think of how close it must have been.

But at the same time, he had generally like Clovis before now. The man was cheerful and courteous and had relied on Jeremiah's strength for seven years. He'd carved himself a neat little niche in the Viceroy's shadow and so his sudden switch of loyalties was a little disappointing. All of those years of devoted service gone in a heartbeat. But what he had gained would be so much better – service to Lady Marianne's only remaining child.

"The one from the Glasgow?" He asked needlessly. So far, from what he'd heard, there were only two female voices with the terrorists and one of them was quite a bit less outspoken than the pilot he had fought.

"Yes. She's already too suspicious." Prince Lelouch mused, resting his chin in his hand as he examined the displays in front of him. Again, Jeremiah couldn't help but notice the confidence that seemed to emanate from the young prince. He wore it like a second skin and just looking at the prince's cool countenance was enough to put Jeremiah more at ease.

When he'd first come upon the prince down in that subway tunnel, there had been a palpable nervous tension around him. But that was understandable, now that he knew the situation. Prince Lelouch had taken a huge gamble by reaching out for him. If Jeremiah's loyalty had been tethered more firmly to Clovis – rather than using the Viceroy as a placeholder for his once-thought-to-be-lost vi Britannia master – the boy would have been in serious trouble. Though he supposed that was what the gun had been for.

Still, Jeremiah had a lot more experience in combat situations and he was a lot bigger than the boy. If he'd moved quickly enough, he would have easily been able to take the boy down. Just thinking about that vulnerability made him want to protect the prince even more.

But now that vulnerability was all but nonexistent. His prince was in his element it seemed. Either that, or he just felt more safe ensconced inside an eight ton war machine. Either way, Jeremiah was happy for the change. He didn't want to see that kind of fear in the boy's eyes again.

"I could take care of her for you." He offered eagerly. He certainly wouldn't mind finishing their fight.

Prince Lelouch shook his head. "She's still useful to me. All this means is that I'll have to change the plan. I doubt they'll let me lead them remotely. We'll have to go down there and lead their little band of misfits personally." He said before sighing. "This will make it more difficult to double cross them."

Jeremiah blinked in surprise. He hadn't been sure what to make of his prince's sudden camaraderie with the terrorists, but he hadn't been about to question it either. After everything that had happened - the subtle hints from their conversation months ago, the information that Clovis had let slip and the news of the Viceroy's attempted assassination – Jeremiah wouldn't have been surprised if he'd lost faith in Britannia completely.

"You look surprised, Gottwald." Lelouch noted, quirking an eyebrow in interest. "You didn't really think that I'd joined with these miscreants, did you? These people are just pawns on my board that will help me get closer to Clovis. Don't forget that I've been sent here to put an end to terrorism. If I can clean up two problems at the same time, why wouldn't I? These people are nothing to me."

Jeremiah smiled slightly at the boy's pragmatic way of thinking. The terrorists were nothing more than disposable tools he'd recruited to his arsenal. A moment later, he wondered if he fell into the same category. It would be difficult for the prince to forget that he had once sworn loyalty to Clovis, and if Clovis was his enemy . . .

No. He forced himself not to brood on it. He would prove his worth to Prince Lelouch and become the best subordinate he could be. He would make himself an asset to the prince, rather than a pawn.

"I understand, your highness. I apologize for coming to the wrong conclusion." He said.

"Don't apologize." Prince Lelouch said with a small smirk. "I find it . . . _interesting_ that you would think such a thing and still follow me."

Jeremiah recognized the trap for what it was. The prince still didn't trust him, but he would work on that. Maybe there was nothing he could do at the moment, but he swore that he'd never give the prince a reason to doubt him. He'd become Prince Lelouch's most loyal subordinate and eventually earn the boy's trust.

"I swore myself to you, my prince. I'll follow you anywhere." Jeremiah pledged.

Prince Lelouch chuckled. "Then follow me down there." He said, nodding towards the train depot where the terrorists were familiarizing themselves with the Sutherland controls. "But first, I'm going to damage these machines. Damned Purist Faction having to differentiate themselves from the masses with a color scheme."

Before Jeremiah could ask the prince what he meant, Lelouch's Knightmare had grabbed him by the shoulders. There was a moment of screeching metal being torn away from it's fasteners before his Sutherland's burgundy shoulder joint guards came away in the other Knightmare's hands. It would leave the arms vulnerable to attack and possible dismemberment, but it would also keep suspicion down. It would be unfortunate if Clovis was made aware of their betrayal too soon.

"Do mine." Prince Lelouch ordered, gesturing towards his similarly colored shoulder guards. Jeremiah obliged before following his prince out of the parkade and into the train depot.

There were a dozen Knightmares arrayed in front of them, all moving with varying degrees of grace. Jeremiah was actually surprised to see how well some of them were piloting. It was obvious they'd had some practice before . . . somehow. He wondered if they'd all taken turns in the Glasgow or if they had more decrepit Knightmare frames squirreled away somewhere.

"We're going to be assaulting Viceroy Clovis' mobile command center. If you do what I say, when I say it, I don't see why we can't be successful." Prince Lelouch said to the terrorists via the walkie-talkie he'd picked up somewhere on his travels. "Taking out the Viceroy is likely the only way to stop this madness."

So then . . . that was really it. Lelouch intended to kill his brother? Not that Clovis had left him many other options. And even bundling him up and sending him back to the homeland was unlikely to solve the problem. Jeremiah didn't know exactly what had caused Clovis to decide assassinating Lelouch was a good idea, but if he was left alive it was likely he would try again.

Clovis had forced Lelouch's hand.

* * *

The first thing he noticed, through a hazy kind of muffled reality that returned to him was the rapid, rhythmic beating of his heart. It wasn't soothing. In fact, it was rather frightening that his heart was working so hard when all he was doing was laying there. The next thing he noticed were voices nearby.

"Aha! See, Cecile, I told you it would work. He's waking up." A voice said jovially somewhere nearby.

"I didn't say it wouldn't work, I said you shouldn't do it. For God's sake Lloyd, the boy was clinically dead for two and a half minutes. He needs to be taken to a hospital, not forced into consciousness." Another voice argued, presumably Cecile.

Suzaku blinked as his eyes slowly adjusted to the light above him and he tried to remember what he'd been doing last. He'd been . . . dead?

"What good would a hospital do him?" The voice belonging to Lloyd asked. "I repaired him, didn't I? Stop worrying."

"He's _not _a machine."

"On the contrary, my dear Cecile. The human body is a particularly wondrous machine. Why, even my Lancelot's revolutionary new core was originally inspired by the capillary system."

"I _know,_ Lloyd. I helped you build it." Cecile said, annoyance and exasperation lacing her voice.

"Exactly. I have a completely comprehensive knowledge of the human body and how it works. Besides, you can't feel anything, can you, Private Kururugi?" The voice belonging to Lloyd said smugly as the face of a bespectacled man suddenly loomed over him with a wide grin. "You're not brain dead, are you? I'll admit, it was close to the limit of cell degradation of the brain before we could get your heart to restart. Do you understand me or am I talking to a vegetable here?"

"Lloyd!" Cecile scolded and pushed the man away, her face replacing his, but bearing a kindly smile rather than a maniacal grin. "I'm sorry about him. He has no manners at all. How are you feeling? Can you speak? Between you and me, if you dropped off back to sleep right now, it would probably be for the best." She said confidentially.

Suzaku thought that might have been a good idea. If he'd been _dead_ he'd obviously been badly wounded. Therefore, rest was probably essential for his speedy recovery. However, his heart was still hammering in his ears and none of these new revelations – about being brought back from the dead by a man who treated him like a machine – were doing anything to calm it down. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath and tried to force it to slow down.

"Oh no you don't! I didn't just Frankenstein you back together out of the goodness of my heart, you know." Lloyd protested as he forced himself back into looming over Suzaku's face.

"Lloyd!"

"You saw his record, Cecile. You saw those numbers for the simulators. He's perfect for us!" Lloyd exclaimed as though he were picking out a new car.

"Yes, but not today." The woman said firmly.

"But, Cecile!" Lloyd whined, surprisingly childishly. "How many chances do you think we're going to have like this? Rumor has it that Prince Lelouch is even more close-knit that Clovis. Why, he's not letting the Viceroy keep even a smidgen of authority over the men he's transferring to Osaka, so what do you think the likelihood of him letting us tag along for operations is?"

Prince Lelouch . . . Clovis . . .

He knew those names. He knew . . . something. Something important. It was there – right there! - in the niggling darkness of his mind. Like the fuzzy edge of a shadow, he just needed to reach for it and drag it into the light. Lelouch . . . Clovis . . .

_"Suzaku Kururugi, I, Lelouch vi Britannia, request your service as a soldier of Britannia. Do you accept? Will you follow my orders?"_

Lelouch!

_"You're such a fool."_

Lelouch.

_"I swear . . . I swear, Suzaku, so help me, I will one day . . . obliterate Britannia!"_

Lelouch . . .

_"No one is allowed to know about her. Especially not another member of the Imperial family. And most especially not Lelouch."_

_ . . ._Viceroy Clovis.

"What happened to -" He choked, his mouth was incredibly dry and his tongue felt like it was about three times it's regular size.

"Here." Cecile said kindly and held a paper cup full of water up to his lips. "Slowly, don't strain yourself."

"What . . ." He tried again after his mouth felt less like a dessert, then hesitated. No, that probably wasn't the smartest question to ask if Clovis was trying to kill (or had already killed) Lelouch. He had no idea who's side these people were on or what orders had been recently given. Hell, he didn't even know how long he had been out for. "When you found me . . . was there anyone else where you found me?"

"You mean in the tunnel? Oh yeah, it was a regular blood bath down there." Lloyd said airily. "You were the only survivor though. Cecile made me bring you back here instead of going to take a peek at the poison gas the Viceroy lost. Nine members of the Royal Guard, and they're supposed to be the elites. The terrorists really had a field day, hmm? Of course, there was blood suggesting that they managed to take one of the Elevens down, but the body was gone and really, one for nine? Those aren't good odds. It's kind of embarrassing."

The only survivor . . . blood indicative of another body . . . a body that was missing . . .

Well, of course, they wouldn't want to just leave the body of a prince lying around, would they? What had happened to that girl then? Had she run off? Or did he have it the wrong way around? If the Viceroy was willing to kill Lelouch just to keep her existence a secret, they wouldn't be likely to leave her body just lying around either. Or had they both been killed and taken away? And if that were the case, who had killed the Royal Guard?

What the hell had happened down there?

"Is it over?" He asked.

"The fighting? No. Last we heard, the terrorists had managed to get their hands on some Sutherlands and were mowing a pretty steady path this way. Why? Do you want to go back out there?" Lloyd asked, grinning gleefully.

"I said no, Lloyd." Cecile said firmly.

Lloyd ignored her, instead holding up a white and gold Knightmare activation key. "Do you want to go back out there, Private Kururugi?"

"You mean . . . in a Knightmare?" Suzaku asked, bewildered. An Honorary Britannian didn't stand a chance in hell of getting into the Knightmare Corps.

"Mmhmm." The man said, his grin growing even wider. "We're in need of a pilot for our seventh generation prototype Knightmare. And since you're not in any pain," He said, a single index finger slowly moving to poke him where a mass of bandages enveloped his torso, "you seem like you'll be able to pilot it."

"No." Cecile said angrily, grabbing Lloyd by the ear and dragging him away from Suzaku's bed. "Absolutely not. Not today and that's final."

"Alright! Alright!" Lloyd protested, holding up his hands in mock surrender.

Suzaku struggled to push himself into a sitting position. The man was right. Whatever they'd done to him, he wasn't in any pain at all. He just felt . . . sort of numb. Like there was a thick blanket thrown over all of his nerve endings. And since he wasn't dead (anymore) or dying, he had to find Lelouch. He had to figure out what had happened after he'd blacked out. He didn't remember dying . . . he barely remembered any of the events of the day. But he remembered that girl and what had happened in the subway tunnel with the Royal Guard up to a point. And he remembered Lelouch.

Lelouch was in danger and needed him.

"Please." He begged. "Please let me pilot your Knightmare."

Lloyd pulled himself out of Cecile's grasp and turned around slowly with a Cheshire grin on his face. "Oh?" He asked before tossing the key to Suzaku.

Suzaku caught it, surprised at his reaction speed. He'd assumed that because his nerves were numb, his reflexes would be slowed, but that didn't seem to be the case. Not that he cared so long as it worked.

"Thank you." He said sincerely.

"Oh no, thank _you_!" Lloyd said excitedly. "Cecile, go prep the Lancelot. I'll go grab him the manual to glance over."

"I don't approve of this. Field stimulants aren't supposed to be used like this. For God's sake, the boy's still half dead!"

Field stimulants? Well, he supposed that explained the alarming lack of pain. He just hoped it didn't wear off before he could find Lelouch . . . or Lelouch's body.

"He needs to be taken to a hospital to be properly stabilized. Not forced into an experimental Knightmare."

"Come now, he's volunteering. I haven't forced him into anything!" Lloyd protested as the argument continued.

"Miss Cecile," Suzaku said placatingly as he carefully got to his feet – no vertigo, no nausea, just a slight darkening of his vision for a second. "I will go to hospital. Right after this is cleared up. I promise. Please let me do this."

She pursed her lips and for a moment it looked like she was struggling with herself before she just sighed and turned away. "Fine. I'll got get the Lancelot ready."

Lloyd cackled as she left the room. "You, my boy, are wonderful! I'll go get the manual and a flight suit."

Suzaku watched him disappear through the door, lab coat fluttering in his wake. He wasn't exactly sure what to make of these two, but they'd saved his life and hadn't made a single derogatory comment about his ethnicity yet. He thought that maybe they were genuinely kind. Well, at least Miss Cecile seemed like she was just genuinely kind. Lloyd seemed to only want to put up with him so he could pilot this experimental Knightmare.

He frowned and wondered just how likely the machine was to blow up. Was that why they wanted an Eleven like himself to pilot it?

He could admit that he'd enjoyed the Knightmare simulation training he'd gone through as a part of his Basic Training. It had reminded him somewhat of the video games he'd used to play as a kid. And he'd always found the tasks they'd been assigned in the simulators rather easy. He knew his scores were high, but no one was ever going to make an Eleven a Knight so it didn't really matter. It was too much of a liability.

But apparently Lloyd didn't care about that.

Suzaku took advantage of his sudden solitude to take a peek underneath the bandages. It wasn't a pretty sight, but the bullet wound had been cleaned and neatly stitched shut. He'd seen a lot of bullet wounds in his life, granted most of them had been on corpses (though apparently he'd been a corpse not too long ago), but all in all this one didn't look that bad. He'd been lucky. It didn't seem the projectile had hit anything vital inside. Or if it had, he couldn't feel it.

Either way, it worked for him so long as he could go find Lelouch.

Lloyd returned a few minutes later, flapping a manual several inches thick at him with one hand while holding out a white and gold flight suit. Apparently, they'd decided on a color scheme to match the activation key.

"Well, Kururugi, put that on and it will be time for you to meet my beloved Lancelot." He chimed gleefully. Withholding the manual because it seemed it was less important than the matching attire.

He did as he was told then had the manual shoved in his face the moment he was properly dressed and was expected, he assumed, to access the information via osmosis because Lloyd didn't give him even so much as half a minute to open up the book.

"This way, Kururugi." Lloyd ordered.

Suzaku followed him out of what he soon found out was something akin to an RV and flipped open the manual as he walked. The Lancelot. He'd heard Lloyd mention the name a few times already. Actually, the man seemed slightly obsessed with it.

He skimmed over the manual, skipping over large excerpts of highly technical mumbo jumbo and equations. He didn't really care about how or why it worked. All he wanted to know was _that_ it worked and what he needed to do to make it do so.

He had things he needed to do and using this Knightmare would be the quickest way to do them. He had to find Lelouch. He had to make sure Lelouch was still alive. And if he wasn't . . . If he wasn't, then what? What could he do? Avenge him? Impossible. Prince Clovis was untouchable to someone like him and even if he were, Suzaku wouldn't hurt him.

An eye for an eye, an ear for an ear? That wasn't going to solve anything. And it wouldn't bring Lelouch back either. So . . . what if Lelouch was dead? What would he do? Granted, they weren't exactly close any more and one of the last conversations they'd had had been an argument, but it was still _Lelouch. _Beneath all the insane shit that had happened over the last seven years, he was sure that the same boy he'd first become friends with was there.

And if Lelouch had died – no, if Lelouch had been murdered – he wasn't exactly sure how he would react. Regardless, he needed to determine if that was the case or not. There was no point in planning for an eventuality that might not even come to pass. That wasn't Suzaku's style. He'd react when it was necessary, but not before. He wasn't going to work himself up into a panic over a maybe.

Because _maybe_ Lelouch was still alive.

He didn't really see how it was possible, but it could be true. Maybe, despite the odds against him, Lelouch had managed to get out of there. He would hope that was the case, and if so, he needed to go back to the scene and try to find out where Lelouch had gone from there.

Lelouch was his top priority right now.

"And here it is!" Lloyd said, throwing his arms out to behold the Knightmare. "The Z-01 Lancelot."

Suzaku had never seen a Knightmare like that before. From his brief glance at the manual, the controls had looked similar to a Sutherland's – which is what he had learned on. But this machine in front of him looked nothing like a Sutherland. It was sleeker, and slighter of build. The slash harkens were in different locations and it looked like two swords were attached to it's back.

"Huh." He said unintelligently as he stared up at the monster of a machine.

"Huh? _Huh?_ That's all you have to say? This, Kururugi, it the very pinnacle of Knightmare technology. The first seventh generation Knightmare. The Advanced Special Envoy Engineering Corps' masterpiece. A marvel of modern engineering! Say something more deserving!"

"Uh . . . it's nice?" Suzaku said hesitantly. Yes, this man was certainly obsessed.

"Nice? Nice!" Lloyd repeated in much the same fashion he'd said 'huh' a moment ago.

"Lloyd, while I certainly don't approve of the actions you're about to take," Cecile said, her voice taking on a deceptively threatening tone behind the smile she was wearing, "I realize that I have no choice in the matter. However, if you don't stop pestering the boy about his reaction, I'll be forced to teach you proper etiquette again. Do keep in mind that little over an hour ago, his heart stopped beating and any undue stress should be avoided."

"Alright, just climb on up there, Kururugi." Lloyd said, changing tacts quickly but without acknowledging his subordinate.

Already? He'd barely even begun going through the manual and he was only at the beginning of the section on the Maser Vibration Sword.

Suzaku hesitated and glanced at the woman who was typing quickly into a nearby computer. "Um . . . Miss Cecile . . . just how badly was I hurt?" He asked, figuring he'd get a straighter answer out of her than he would from Lloyd.

"It was nothing!" Lloyd said quickly. "Nothing to worry about. You're completely fixed. I just had to repair a hull breach an top up your fluid levels."

A hull breach? His fluid levels? So what did that mean exactly? Blood transfusions? Where had the man even found blood in a place like this? This was quite clearly not a hospital. For a horrifying moment he wondered if the man hadn't improvised with something like liquid sakuradite, before dismissing the thought as ridiculous.

"You bled out, Suzaku." Cecile said frankly as she pinned him with her gaze. "Your heart stopped beating due to blood loss and you died before Lloyd and I could stem the flow."

He grimaced. Blood loss. That would have taken a while, wouldn't it? Lelouch wouldn't have just left him there to die like that, would he? Not if he'd been able to help. Not if he'd survived. Unless he'd been running for his life at the time.

He had to make sure. He had to find out.

"I see." He said distractedly before turning and climbing up into the Lancelot's cockpit – still pleasantly numb to the pain he was sure such a move should be causing him.

The Lancelot's controls were much like a Sutherland's, but more refined and evolved. There were more buttons, and he realized after a moment's examination that he only knew what roughly three quarter of them did. He just hoped to hell that the controls for the weapons he was already familiar with were in the same places.

Lloyd climbed up into the cockpit after he was settled in and handed Suzaku an earpiece which, he noted with a barely suppressed eye roll, matched the flight suit, activation key and . . . well the Knightmare itself.

"Now, Suzaku," Lloyd said as he conspiratorially glanced over his shoulder to see if Cecile was watching them before reaching into his pocket and holding up a slender auto-injector and a roll of masking tape. "If you begin to feel any pain at all, you should inject yourself with another stimulant." He said as he proceeded to tape the highly effective painkiller to an easily accessible spot on the console. "The one that's in you now should still last for a while, but who knows how long the fighting will last for. And don't tell Cecile. These things are expensive and generally not wasted on Honorary Britannians."

Suzaku was about ninety percent sure that that wasn't the reason why Cecile didn't want him using the field stimulants. Even if the things _were_ expensive – which he already knew, along with the official policy not to use them on Elevens – he was sure it was the detrimental effects to his health that the woman was worried about.

"Right." Suzaku nodded.

"What are you two whispering about up there?" Cecile called, causing Lloyd to jump guiltily.

"Nothing! Nothing, my darling Cecile. I was just telling Kururugi about the ejection system." Lloyd said hastily.

"There _isn't _an ejection system." Cecile said nonplussed.

"Which is exactly what I was telling him!" Lloyd said airily over his shoulder before turning back to Suzaku and saying more quietly, "Right. Due to budget shortages, we have yet to complete the ejection system. So keep that in mind and it would be greatly appreciated it you could bring back my baby in one piece."

Suzaku nodded again causing the man to smile maniacally before clambering back down to the ground. So . . . he was in a one of a kind Knightmare frame with no ejection system running only on the adrenaline the field stimulant he'd been given had surged into his system. And he was supposed to . . . do what exactly?

No, he knew what he had to do. Whatever his orders were, they would have to wait. Lelouch came first. He'd risk a court martial to see if Lelouch was okay. After all, he'd already died. It wasn't like his day could get any worse.

He grimaced at the thought of his death again. It unnerved him and he was still stuck as to whether he should categorize himself more along the lines of a zombie or a guardian angel. Either way, the fact remained that he should have passed on and maybe – hopefully, possibly – his actions would have been enough to make amends for his past transgressions.

No, who was he trying to kid? That was probably the reason why he'd been sent back. Either he was so guilty that even the dead didn't want him, or he'd been given another chance to make amends.

He shook the thoughts away. They served no purpose and it didn't matter in the long run anyway. The fact remained he'd been sent back, and that he was possibly the only one capable of helping Lelouch right now. He forced himself to focus as the machine went through it's start up dialog and all of the systems were given the green light.

He slammed down on the throttle the second all systems were clear and felt the gut-wrenching drag of his inertia acting against the momentum of the machine as the Knightmare sped away. It was _fast!_ Way faster than the Sutherland simulations had been and it seemed to move easier too. He barely had to touch the controls for it to respond.

He brought up his map as he sped down the rubble strewn street and Lloyd cackled madly in his ear, trying to gauge where it was that he and Lelouch had been planning on coming up from the subway. He found what he was looking for a moment later and adjusted his course.

"Suzaku . . . the terrorists are currently to the west of your position." Cecile said after a moment.

"I know." He said softly.

"Don't you dare steal my Knightmare, Private Kururugi!" Lloyd shouted.

"I'm not going to. But this is important. I was . . . there was someone important with me when I was shot." Suzaku tried to explain.

"Well then, they're dead. I already told you everyone else in the tunnel was dead." Lloyd snapped. "We didn't send you out there in the Lancelot to just do as you please. We're after combat data!"

"I'm sorry." Suzaku grumbled as he turned a corner, before reigning in the Knightmare to a halt in horror as he watched a squad of infantry soldiers indiscriminately mow down a group of women who had been fleeing before them. "What? What are they doing?"

"Oh, that." Lloyd said disdainfully, witnessing the scene via a video link to the Lancelot. "About an hour and a half ago Prince Clovis ordered the purge of Shinjuku. All of the Elevens were ordered to be eliminated. Of course, a few minutes later Prince Lelouch got on the horn and ordered the complete withdrawal of all Britannian forces from the Shinjuku area. Which then caused Prince Clovis to strip Prince Lelouch of his position and countermand him. I think they're having a bit of a tiff."

A bit of a tiff? Clovis had tried to kill Lelouch! Honestly, Lelouch had to have the most fucked up family in the history of the world. Extortion and murder seemed to be the norm. Although, he thought bitterly, murder wasn't exactly foreign in his own family either.

But if Lelouch had heard about the purge – which had definitely happened after Suzaku had been shot – then it meant that he'd gotten out of the subway somehow. That he'd survived.

Hopefully he'd gone on to find a good place to hide until all this was over. Lelouch had always excelled at the game hide-and-go-seek whenever he'd deigned to play it with Suzaku (usually only after Nunnally had guilted him into it by stating that just because she couldn't play her favorite game anymore didn't mean he shouldn't). And it was only because of Lelouch's prolific imagination when it came to finding unconventional hiding places that they'd escaped the invasion unscathed.

Suzaku hesitated, watching with disgust as one of the soldiers toed one of the bodies on the concrete before sending another bullet into it for good measure. If he could get at the terrorists, and if the Lancelot was as good as Lloyd made it out to be . . . if he could put a swift and final end to the terrorists, there wouldn't be any reason for the purge to continue.

He struggled with himself for a moment. Lelouch was important to him but hundreds of people were dying. Hundreds had probably already died if the order had come down an hour and a half ago. Shit. But it was more than that too. He'd said he would follow Lelouch's orders and Lelouch had ordered a withdrawal. Going after the terrorists was deliberately disobeying orders.

"Sorry, Lelouch." He muttered under his breath as he turned the Lancelot around and made a beeline towards where a number of IFF signals on his screen had just come up 'Lost'.

He didn't like being asked to choose between saving the life of his oldest friend and saving the lives of countless innocent civilians, but that was exactly what he was being asked to do. And in the end, he just couldn't be selfish enough to put Lelouch first.

* * *

AN:

Alright, first just let me say . . . well there's two things I want to say first and I have to decide which one I want to address first. Ah, I know.

1.1 - First just let me say that I realize the medical stuff in Suzaku's pov was a bit sketchy so don't tear me apart for it. Obviously, in the real world if someone is revived after dying from blood loss, they're not going to be up and walking around an hour later. I trump this dilemma by playing the AU card (which consequently acts as a cheat card and lets me do anything I want!). I will further justify this by pointing out that Code Geass happens in the future (hurrah for 2017 or 2018 or whatever) and that Britannian medical science is supposed to be the most advanced in the world (frick, they're making cyborgs!). However, you are all free to point out that Lloyd Asplund isn't exactly a doctor and that I'm stretching the limits of the realism I have professed to so religiously want to adhere to. I apologize but it was necessary for the sake of the plot. It just seemed less lame to me that he should be wounded rather than Suzaku's watch being conveniently located wherever a bullet managed to hit him.

1.2 First just let me say that, to all of you who wished Suzaku was really really dead - I'm so sorry. To all of those who complimented my kohones for killing off my favorite character - your praise was undeserved. I apologize again for deceiving you. I will point out that you readers are about 50-50 on loving/hating Suzaku. Therefore, using a simple math that will most likely be wrong, I estimate that I will only receive 34 reviews for this chapter, because chapter 37 received 68 reviews (the highest one yet, even beating out Lelouch's combat debut in Area Eighteen - you guys are awesome!) and I imagine a fair number of you are pissed. Please don't flame me just to letting Suzaku live - within the realm of Code Geass, I believe that fate plays a significant role and Suzaku's fate hasn't quite been met yet.

Well, now that my opening comments are out of the way, along with my demented math, I would just like to say that I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It seemed like it took me a long time to write it. Who knew, but somehow working and going to school makes it seem like there's twice as many days in a week. So to me it felt like it had been about a week since I'd last updated and so I pushed myself and slapped Suzaku into submission (he didn't want to cooperate after he got to the part of examining his wound) and got this sucker finished. And then I realized that it had actually only been three days. Go figure.

There was something else I wanted to say but I don't really remember what at the moment given that it's 3 am and I think I'm coming down with strep throat or something along those lines. It mustn't have been important.

AS always, thanks for reading and your reviews are much appreciated.

Allora


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Kallen didn't like L.L. She found him insufferably arrogant and snide. Sure, he was helping them, but he could have done it without the superiority complex, in her opinion. But just because she didn't like him, didn't mean she didn't respect him – maybe just a little. Whoever he was, he was a genius.

With only just over a dozen Knightmares, they'd managed to take out more than twice that many enemies using a series of quick, flyby ambushes and had covered more than half the distance between the train depot and Viceroy Clovis' command center. It didn't hurt that L.L. and his friend knew how to pilot Knightmares too. In fact, they knew how to pilot them very well.

She wondered what resistance group they belonged to. At first, she'd thought maybe the JLF had decided to step in and that L.L. might have been the legendary Colonel Tohdoh. But Colonel Tohdoh had to be almost forty and L.L.'s voice sounded young, so that blew that theory out of the water.

Still, she kind of wanted to find out who he was. If only so that after all this was over she could thank him. He'd turned what had quickly been becoming a complete disaster into a possible victory. No, it _would _be a victory. L.L. had all but promised them a win.

While she didn't like his personality, she did trust that he was trying to put an end to the massacre the Viceroy had sanctioned. And the way he planned to do that . . .

Taking out the Viceroy was an ambitious plan. One they had never dreamed was even possible. Everyone knew that wherever the Viceroy happened to be was generally the most well guarded place in the country, especially after all this business with the Kenshiki started.

The thought of actually taking the man out – and if they were lucky they'd get Prince Lelouch too – was intensely gratifying. She could just imagine them up there in the G-1, watching impassively as hundreds of civilians were indiscriminately mowed down by Britannia's mindless soldiers. She didn't doubt for a second that Prince Lelouch was involved in this somehow. He was, after all, in charge of dealing with terrorism in Area Eleven. He was probably watching the events unfold with the same dreadfully bored expression he'd worn in most of their classes at Ashford.

Her fingers tightened around the controls. It still pissed her off to think that she'd been going to school with him for years without knowing who he was. And that one of her classmates was capable of such wonton slaughter.

But now wasn't the time to think about that. Looming in the distance, she could finally see the shape of the G-1 mobile command center. She could also see the thick line of Knightmares planted firmly between them and their target.

There was no way they could hope to beat this many Knightmares at once and there was no way they would be able to punch a hole through their line. But even if they did somehow manage to, there was no way they wouldn't be pursued.

L.L. had to have seen this. Or were all of these Knightmares operating with their IFF's disengaged? No, that would have been reckless. Without their IFF's they'd have no way of knowing who was on who's side. It would turn into a free for all.

L.L. had to have been aware that all of these Knightmares were waiting for them. But he wasn't _doing_ anything about it. He had pulled up short just out of firing range and the rest of her resistance group had crowded up behind him, as though waiting for him to perform a miracle.

Which is exactly what they would need if they hoped to come out of this alive.

"Stick to the formation we discussed earlier." L.L. snapped in annoyance over the radio. "If we bunch together like this we're all just going to die."

Right. Formation. She was the rear guard with Yoshida. She grimaced and hung back, noting that Yoshida followed her lead. She really wasn't comfortable with this. It felt far to much like she was hiding behind all the others and she didn't see how she was going to be able to be much help from here.

But even as she watched helplessly from the back, the Britannian line began advancing and . . . elongating. What had once been four solid straight lines of Knightmares became a two Knightmare deep crescent, and then a half-circle.

Shit.

They were being surrounded. Had L.L. known that they'd try to flank them? He'd have to have. It would be the reason why he'd put their two best pilots at the back, to prevent a complete enclosure. But just what the hell was he thinking?

And he still wasn't reacting. Not until the Britannians began to close in on them.

"Fight like your lives depend on it." L.L. said calmly over the radio.

"You son of a bitch!" Tamaki shouted over the radio, but L.L. didn't reply as he was already engaged in firing his KMF rifle at one of the advancing Britannian Sutherlands.

"Fucking hell." Kallen muttered under her breath as she raced to cut off one of the Knightmares closing in behind her. This was insane.

Just how did L.L. hope to win this? They were going to all wind up dead. Even if she and Yoshida could prevent them from being completely surrounded, there was no way they'd be able to take this many Knightmares down. They were hopelessly outnumbered and outclassed. These were all fully trained Knights. Sure, while she may have been able to stand par with them, she knew most of the others couldn't.

"We should fall back." She called as she successfully dispatched her current opponent by turning it's cockpit into Swiss cheese with her KMF rifle.

"You've lost faith in me already, Q-1?" L.L. asked tauntingly.

"We're going to be annihilated by these guys!" She snarled in response.

"Things are proceeding according to plan. Hold your position." L.L. ordered.

Of course, it would have been nice if he'd fully apprised them of the plan beforehand. Just how the hell was this going according to plan? The others were all fighting basically back-to-back in a large outward facing circle, but it wouldn't be long before one of them was forced to eject (or were actually killed) and then the whole formation would crumble in on itself. The only thing they had going for them was that the Britannians were avoiding their rifles for fear of causing friendly fire.

But she was distracted from her furious musings and the next Sutherland that had decided to engage her when Yoshida shouted a surprised "Incoming!"

Dodging the harken fired at her before snatching the connective wire out of the air, she dragged her opponent towards her and fired a round point blank into the cockpit before turning around in time to see Yoshida get his ass kicked. A white Knightmare seemed to have come out of nowhere (she was a hundred percent certain it hadn't been part of the lines they'd faced off against) and swept Yoshida's Sutherland's legs out from underneath him before sending not two, but four, slash harkens into the stolen machine, forcing Yoshida to eject.

The white Knightmare turned quickly to face her and she grimaced. She'd never seen anything like it before. It wasn't a Sutherland, nor was it one of the newer, close-combat modified Gloucesters. This was something totally different. And she wondered L.L. hadn't taken it into account.

It leaped towards her, a distinctly human-like move, and she was forced to give up ground. She'd never seen a Knightmare move like this. The pilot was making it move like the Knightmare was part of his own body. And obviously the pilot was trained in hand to hand combat as it hadn't even bothered to release any of the arsenal strapped to it's back when it had taken out Yoshida.

But all that meant was that she had to shoot it. She raised her KMF rifle and opened fire, sending a continuous barrage directly at it's cockpit. Only for every single one of her bullets to be deflects by . . . a shield? Something. All she knew was that they didn't hit and that a second later the white Knightmare was closing the space between them again.

"God damned Britannians!" She snarled as she let the rifle drop and extended her stun tonfas. If it was bullet proof, then she had no choice. She charged forward and released her slash harkens, scoring a glancing blow on the white Knightmare's shoulder before it's foot slammed into her Sutherland's head, damaging her factsphere. That was twice today and it was seriously pissing her off.

But she didn't need it to fight this bastard. She'd take his fancy machine out even without the help from her factspheres. She wasn't going to let anyone beat her.

* * *

"Any ideas?" Lelouch asked, half watching the strange new Knightmare that had arrived to accelerate his plans while he fired his rifle into an approaching Sutherland before Gottwald finished it off with his slash harkens. The man really was a commendable pilot. Maybe not an ace, but he was probably damned close. And, of course, Lelouch was no slouch either.

"No, your highness. Possibly an experimental new frame, but I've never seen it before. Seems like it's piloted by an ace." Gottwald answered before leveling his rifle at a Sutherland that had begun encroaching on Lelouch's left and firing.

"We'll have to take advantage of the situation." Lelouch said. "Look, even Clovis' forces are wary of getting too close to it. That's our opening."

"It's too close to that new frame. If it attacks us -"

"Then we'll counterattack. But for now Q-1 is keeping it pleasantly occupied. We need to go before it beats her. We don't want to still be here when this turns into a rout." Lelouch said firmly. "Now, Gottwald."

"I understand." His subordinate said as they turned their machines in tandem and broke the feeble formation they'd been keeping to charge towards the weakened line near the white Knightmare.

"We're initiating Phase Two of the plan. Hold your position." Lelouch said into the walkie-talkie as he fired his harkens into an opposing Knightmare and forced the pilot to eject, but not before he caught an enemy harken in his vulnerable shoulder joint and lost his Sutherland's left arm. When he could, he'd been avoiding the cockpits, but he was also well aware that Clovis' forces wouldn't extend the same courtesy so he didn't go unduly out of his way to spare them.

"What? What's Phase Two?" One of the terrorists demanded. Lelouch smirked slightly as Gottwald dispatched their last opponent and they punched a hole through the line long enough to break through the encirclement and flee into the surrounding ruins. Clovis' men quickly moved to close in the gap and keep any more of their targets from escaping while a pair of machine's were sent after the apparently panicking duo. Now that Clovis' men were expecting the terrorists to attempt to flee, it would be more difficult for them to break through.

"I've got these." Gottwald said confidently as soon as they were out of sight of the encirclement and turned back to engage them.

"You God damned son of a bitch! You're abandoning us like this? You set us up!" The terrorist named Tamaki shouted loudly.

Lelouch winced at the noise and flicked the walkie-talkie off before calling Gottwald back. "Face your machine forty-two degrees from North and eject." He ordered before following his own directions and pulling the eject mechanism just as one of their pursuers closed in on him and crushed his factsphere with a slash harken.

Yes, things were going precisely as he'd planned. No, they were going even better. He didn't know where that white Knightmare had come from, but it had proven to be most helpful in keeping Q-1 occupied as they executed their betrayal. He'd deliberately put her in the most pressured position in hopes of keeping her busy. If at all possible, he'd wanted to avoid having to fight her to get out of the trap he had sprung for them.

If his calculations were correct – which he'd checked and double checked before they'd even begun their assault – he and Gottwald would be landing somewhere just behind the G-1. And since the majority of Clovis' remaining forces were being used to hem in the terrorists and there were ejected cockpits coming down all over the place, it was unlikely they would be noticed.

"You're quite brilliant, your highness." Gottwald said as they slowly descent towards the earth only a few dozen meters away from where he'd calculated.

"Clovis always hated tactics and military history." Lelouch said, remembering his tutors forever despairing the stubborn disinterest of the Empire's Third Prince. "It's why he was always so terrible at chess."

He grimaced, remembering friendly chess matches in which Clovis had always been hopelessly outmatched. Clovis played chess like Shirley – deliberately straight forward and blatant. There was nothing deceptive about it at all. Every move was inherently shallow and easy to predict.

And then he remembered the bloodless pallor of Suzaku's face he'd been able to make out in the semi-darkness and the girl who had thrown her life away trying to protect him rather than letting herself be captured again and any thoughts of hesitance or regret were forgotten and replaced with cold fury.

"He'll never beat me."

They landed a few moments later and Lelouch pulled his gun out from where he'd stashed it under the seat and quickly reloaded it with Villetta Nu's emergency ammo supply. Gottwald was waiting for him when he emerged from the cockpit, but he said nothing.

No doubt Lelouch made quite the sight to behold – blood soaked and determined to commit murder – but he didn't care. Gottwald had to understand by now what had to happen next. And if the man was willing to help him take up arms against his own comrades simply because Lelouch told him to, he was at least semi-confident that Gottwald wasn't about to turn on him.

And if he did, Lelouch was ready to use the Geass on him in a heartbeat. But he still made Gottwald precede him as they slipped into a scarcely guarded maintenance entrance below the starboard hangar. The guard, unfortunately, didn't make it. Lelouch wasn't going to take any chances that Clovis had alerted his guards to his potential arrival and he certainly wasn't going to use his Geass in front of Gottwald if it could be avoided . . . yet.

"Do you know where you're going, your highness?" Gottwald asked quietly after a few minutes of silently following him further into the bowels of the G-1 instead of up onto the level Clovis was most likely conducting this disaster from.

"Yes." Lelouch answered simply. Granted, he'd never actually used a G-1 before, but in AKTP they'd had to practice deploying from one so he knew the general layout of the massive vehicle and was sure that he'd find what he was looking for somewhere on this level.

He struck pay dirt a few minutes of diligent searching later as they came across a large, neatly labeled breaker box tucked into a dim corner of a room full of what looked like spare parts. Grinning, he stole the fuses from all of the breakers on the command level, successfully plunging Clovis and his command staff into a dark, technology-void silence.

"He's going to know we're here now." Gottwald noted behind him, to which Lelouch shrugged.

"I'm sure he's figured it out by now anyway. If he has any brains left he'll have realized that I'm the only one in the area that could have possibly turned that rabble into a semi-efficient fighting force."

Maybe that was arrogance on his part. However, if Clovis couldn't figure out where he'd turn next – or if he thought he'd simply let the matter drop – after being stripped of his official position (at least as far as the common soldiers in Shinjuku were concerned) and discredited, his half-brother didn't deserve his position. Especially considering that only minutes after Clovis had pulled the rug out from underneath his feet, the terrorists had suddenly rallied and managed to push the Britannian forces back all the way to the G-1.

"Besides," Lelouch said darkly, "it will give him the opportunity to fear for his life this time."

Gottwald hesitated. "Are you -"

"Don't try to change my mind." Lelouch said sharply. He'd decided already. Even if Suzaku and that girl hadn't been shot, the liquidation of Shinjuku and the attempt on his life were enough to force his hand.

The man pursed his lips for a moment before continuing. "Have you considered the consequences, my prince?"

"Yes." Lelouch answered before turning away.

Oh yes, he certainly had considered the consequences when he'd first sworn vengeance while he'd been waiting in the mouth of that subway tunnel for Gottwald to arrive. And not the least of his concerns had been just how in the hell he was going to get away with murder. If the Emperor ever found out, he'd likely be executed. He didn't particularly like the solution he'd come up with to that particular problem, but it would most likely get him out scott free.

"I see." Gottwald said. "Then I won't say another word."

Lelouch glanced over his shoulder as he made his way to his next destination. So that was it then? That was all the effort the man was going to expend pleading for Clovis' life? Did he really not care? Or was he just biding his time hoping to catch Lelouch unawares?

Lelouch glanced at the gun still clutched loosely in Gottwald's hand after using it on the guard before nodding his head and gesturing for Gottwald to get in front of him. He'd been careless for a moment there, but the man hadn't taken advantage of it. Though, granted, he was pretty sure Gottwald could take him down at any given moment – whether he started his assault head on or from behind.

So was he hoping to take Lelouch down in front of Clovis in order to gain bonus points with the Viceroy? Or was the man actually loyal to him, despite Lelouch's dislike for him and blatant opportunism in forcing the man to swear himself to him at gunpoint?

He still wasn't sure what to make of Jeremiah Gottwald. Maybe it was just because he was a prince and therefore always expected to be the one in control, but he honestly couldn't comprehend the satisfaction the man received from swearing his loyalty to Lelouch (or anyone, for that matter). Lelouch thrived on being the one in control, and even when he wasn't, or when he knew he was being used (take Schneizel, for example) he still retained his independence.

He had never sworn to serve someone else's goals without thought to his own agenda. The only person he came close to swearing loyalty to was Nunnally – but that relationship was completely different. She was his sister and he'd do anything for her, but she wasn't the type of person to use that devotion for her own gain.

However, just because the concept was foreign to him, didn't mean he wasn't about to accept it. There were many things he could do with a willing servant who cared only about the fulfillment of Lelouch's goals. Of course, if the man ever found out how Lelouch intended to use him, he doubted Gottwald would be quite so eager to serve him.

"We need to hurry. Civilians are still being murdered needlessly." Lelouch grumbled as he directed Gottwald towards a maintenance stairway.

"They're only Elevens." Gottwald said reassuringly.

Lelouch's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing in criticism, despite the pang of furious guilt it brought by reminding him of Suzaku. He wasn't about to alienate his only asset at the moment with a fruitless debate over the morality of racial discrimination. Even if he did manage to stamp out the archaically twisted ideas that had been ingrained in his head since childhood, it wouldn't change anything in their current situation. It would likely just waste more time.

They found a room on the floor directly below the command level which acted as a security center. Unfortunately another man had to die. Gottwald displayed just how helpless Lelouch would actually be if he decided to turn on him by dispatching of the man barehanded and dragging the body into an unoccupied corner of the room.

Lelouch didn't waste any time before sitting down at the console and opening up various program files to corrupt the system's processes, along with erasing anything and everything saved in it's memory banks. He noticed Gottwald staring at him perplexedly out of the corner of his eye a few minutes later.

"Whatever you want to say, just say it." Lelouch grumbled, not even glancing away from the computer's multiple screens as his fingers flew over the keyboard.

"You seem very adept at this." Gottwald noted.

Lelouch shrugged. "Learning my way around computers was beneficial to providing a source of income before I returned to the homeland. In Britannia, all online gambling websites prohibit play by minors and check the date of birth against the citizenship number used to register the bank account they're linked to. Of course, all of my papers were forgeries, but they still had me down as born in 1999. It was easier to modify the site's registration programming than getting new papers." He explained monotonously.

Gottwald stared at him appalled. "Gambling? But surely the Ashfords -"

"The Ashfords were kind enough to let me stay with them and I will always care for them more than any of the Emperor's venomous brood." Lelouch said sharply. "So I wasn't going to burden them with my presence any more than necessary. Besides, it was more enjoyable than the alternative. I don't think I'm the type to work at the nearest fast food joint."

Between the cost of living, Nunnally's medical bills, and the security involved in keeping their identities a secret, Lelouch had known they were a significant drain on the Ashford family's financials. Which was why he'd decided to begin making reparations to the family when he'd turned fourteen.

Though, of course, Reuben had never actually spent any of the money he'd given him. In fact, Lelouch suspected the man had put the funds into a trust to be used on the Lamperouges at a later date for expensive things like college and weddings.

"But the Emperor wouldn't have left you completely without support. You were still a child of the Imperial family." Gottwald protested.

"Let me free you from the delusions you seem to be laboring under." Lelouch said, turning the chair slightly to pin the man with his gaze. "Nunnally and I were exiled. The Emperor didn't give a damn about us. We were useless to him – just a boy that was too mouthy for his own good and a girl that was blinded and crippled. Without the protection our mother had afforded to us, we were helpless and sent to Japan as political hostages.

"I arrived at the Ashfords' after watching the place where we had been staying leveled to the ground in an air raid. Luckily, I was outside at the time." Lelouch glared. "Do you understand? We were never supposed to get out of the invasion alive."

It was a risk telling him this, but he'd already hinted at the deceptively dark secrets the Imperial family hid and if the man was going to be following him, he was going to have to drop the blind support for their 'gloriously compassionate Emperor'. Which, Lelouch was pleased to see, he had. Instead, Gottwald's face had paled and he was staring at Lelouch in abject horror.

"But if that is the case, they why were you welcomed back to the Imperial family?" The man asked hesitantly.

"I would hardly say I was welcomed." Lelouch grumbled as he turned back to the computer and resumed typing. "I'm being tested, that's all. I was more than useless as a mouthy ten year old. Now, I can be used. That's the only reason I'm still alive. Or do you think I willingly got married and joined the military at seventeen?"

Gottwald didn't reply to the bitter question, no doubt just realizing how very out of control over his own life Lelouch was. Sure, Lelouch could take command of almost any current situation, but he was helpless to decide which way his life moved in general. Against the Emperor, he was still woefully outmatched.

Not that that situation wouldn't change, but he didn't intend to fill Gottwald in on his future plans. It might take years before he and Schneizel were ready to act and until that time, he had to keep his head down as much as possible.

He finished wreaking havoc on the G-1's security systems a minute later and pushed himself away from the desk, turning towards the door. "The stage is set. It's time to play out the final scene."

"Prince Lelouch," Jeremiah said seriously, causing Lelouch to pause, "are you afraid of me? Afraid that I'll betray you like everyone else has?"

Lelouch turned back and glared at the man. Betrayal didn't frighten him anymore. He'd experienced it so many times by now that the taste was familiar. But he wasn't immune to it yet and it did enrage him. "If you do, all it means is that you'll be joining Clovis in death." He said coldly.

"I intend to survive today." Gottwald replied firmly. "And I intend to see that you survive as well."

If two of the variables in an equation were known, it was easy to come out with the third. Someone was going to die. If it wasn't Lelouch or Gottwald, then there was only one other component to the equation.

He didn't make Gottwald precede him out of the room this time. "Then it looks like you have no choice but to follow me." He called over his shoulder, unsurprised to find the man only a pace behind him.

* * *

Suzaku was having a rough time. The field stimulants may have granted him the illusion of regular reaction speed, but he _knew_ he could go faster. If he were at a hundred percent, he'd have already mowed through all of these terrorists. But as it was, he was caught up on his second opponent.

Sure, the pilot was good, but he should have been winning. He was in a state-of-the-art Knightmare. He ought to have been cutting through these Sutherlands like melted butter. Instead, he was stuck in a stalemate.

He grimaced as he was forced to deflect the Sutherland's stun tonfa with the Lancelot's Blaze Luminous shields. They were certainly handy, but he was using them far more often than he was pleased with. Not that Lloyd seemed to care.

The engineer was still cackling madly in Suzaku's ear, exclaiming over the data. "Look at the numbers, Cecile! He's still scoring the highest of all the pilots we've tested and he's high on painkillers and half dead! I can't wait to get him to a hospital so we can run the tests when he's in mint condition!"

He wasn't exactly sure if he liked Lloyd.

But the scientist had given him the chance to make a difference. A chance that would likely never have been granted to him otherwise. A chance that he wasn't about to waste. If he could prove himself, if he could put these terrorists down and stop the purge and keep the Lancelot in one piece while he was doing it, it would take him one step closer to his ultimate goal along with saving countless lives.

He couldn't afford to fight fair. He reached for the MVS', trying to recall the first few factoids he'd glanced at in the manual.

"Suzaku, we've never field tested the MVS's." Cecile said softly in his ear.

"Oh don't be such a party pooper, Cecile. Let the boy use them. I want to see." Lloyd interjected.

"What do you mean you've never field tested them? Why would you give them to me if I wasn't allowed to use them?" He grumbled under his breath. So not only was he in a Knightmare without an ejection system (the very system that Knightmares had originally been designed around) but he was carrying around a pair of swords that may or may not blow up in his hands.

"Well this is technically the first field test for the Lancelot as well. All of the other tests were completed by hooking the Lancelot up to a simulator." Cecile explained. "But we never input the data for the MVS' into the simulator because it would have taken more time than Lloyd wanted to devote to it."

"Don't make it sound like I was being lazy, Cecile. The MVS' are perfect. They'll work like a charm. Spending hours upon hours inputting the necessary data into the simulator would have been a waste of time that was better spent fine tuning the interface. Go ahead and use them." Lloyd said confidently.

Not that Suzaku was given much of a choice when the Sutherland leaped up and drove it's stun tonfa straight towards the Lancelot's head. Not that it would have been much of a problem since the factspheres were mounted on the chest, but he drew the weapons to counter instinctively.

The stun tonfa slid along the length of the blade and met at the hilt, causing Suzaku to frown. They were supposed to be sharper than this. They were also supposed to be vibrating. And they weren't. Damn Lloyd and his overconfidence to hell and back.

"Hmm, that's odd." Lloyd said nonplussed. "I was sure I fixed that problem. Well, Kururugi, just go about as you were before. It looks like the MVS' won't be useable after all."

Suzaku really wanted to say something biting in return, and seriously contemplated letting out a litany of Japanese curses at the man, but he thought better of it. The man had saved his life – even if it was only so he could use Suzaku like a toy to play with – and it would be just Suzaku's luck if the man turned out to understand the Japanese language.

Not to mention that Lloyd was a Britannian. The man may have been nice(ish) to him so far, but he'd learned from experience just how quickly the tables could be turned the second an Eleven stepped out of line. It wasn't that he actually distrusted all Britannians – hell, Lelouch was living proof that they weren't all bad – but they had all (or most) been indoctrinated with an national ideology that set them at the top of the food chain.

"Right." He grit his teeth as the Sutherland used it's greater weight to push him back before kicking the Lancelot's chest and firing it's slash harkens. He knocked one off course with an instinctive flail of his arm, catching the deadly projectile with the useless MVS. The other, he only managed to partially deflect, the harken barely knicking the hilt of his other sword before continuing on to lodge in the Lancelot's arm instead of the cockpit, taking it off just below the elbow joint.

"I said bring it back in one piece!" Lloyd exclaimed.

"Lloyd!" Cecile scolded.

"I'm trying, sir." Suzaku replied, again biting back a few choice words as he recovered the Lancelot's balance. But catching a glimpse of red in the confusion, he let one slip. "Shit." He breathed, deliberately putting space between himself and the enemy Sutherland to give him the time to confirm if what he thought he'd seen was right.

Glancing down, he found that it was. The front of the sterling white flight suit he'd been forced into was stained crimson-black where he'd been wounded earlier. His eyes widened in fear because it looked like a lot of blood and he still couldn't _feel_ anything.

"Are you alright, Suzaku?" Cecile asked softly.

No, he wanted to say. He was anything but alright. But he wasn't given the chance to respond because the Sutherland decided to use the opportunity to open fire on him with it's KMF rifle. He activated the Blaze Luminous to deflect the bullets as the Sutherland charged at him with a stun tonfa in one hand and it's still firing rifle in the other.

He dodged the blow from the tonfa before knocking the rifle out of the Sutherland's grasp with one of his slash harkens. He was particularly pleased when he managed to take off the Sutherland's arm with it to level the playing field a bit.

"Miss Cecile." He said, as calmly as he could, trying to keep the fear from his voice. "I've accidentally reopened my wound."

When he'd first found out the extent of his injuries and had decided to pilot this Knightmare anyway, he'd thought that he wouldn't be afraid of dying again. After all, he'd already died once so anything from that point on would have just been a bonus. However, as he caught another glimpse of the slick crimson puddle forming in his lap, he realized that he didn't _want_ to die again.

He may have once thought that him dying was an adequate repayment of the debt he owed his father's specter, but that obviously wasn't the case. He was pitiful. He was afraid to die even though he knew he deserved it. Still, he'd never be able to prove himself if he acted like a coward.

Maybe it wasn't that he was afraid to die. Maybe he was just afraid to die meaninglessly. He thought that he would die if it meant freeing Japan – as if that deal would ever be made – but he didn't want to die here and now without ever accomplishing anything. Or maybe . . . deep down, he really was just a coward and would keep pushing back the date of a justifiable death.

"Fall back, Suzaku!" Cecile ordered in a panic. "Disengage and fall back."

He ignored her as he closed the distance with the Sutherland and began beating on it's cockpit with the still inactive MVS, trying to force an ejection. All Knightmares (or at least the ones with a properly installed ejection system) would auto-eject if the cockpit sustained too much damage.

He wasn't going to let his fear rule him. He'd decided he was going to try to take down the terrorists and that was exactly what he was going to do.

"That's a sword, Kururugi! Not a bludgeon!" Lloyd cried in horror.

Grimacing, Suzaku tossed the inactive weapon aside and instead tried to plunge the Lancelot's hand straight into the connective joint between the cockpit and the rest of the frame. But he ended up with a slash harken in the Lancelot's chest for his trouble, the deadly projectile biting a path almost all the way into the cockpit.

"Damn it." He hissed under his breath, backing off and sending three slash harkens at the Sutherland. He could feel himself beginning to panic now and with the increased heart rate and the quick panting of breath, he knew he was just making himself bleed faster.

He was beginning to get dizzy and he knew he wouldn't be able to last much longer, but this pilot was good. Every attempt he'd made to force them to eject had failed. He wasn't particularly enamored with the idea of killing any more people than he already had, but he thought it was probably a good time to stop playing nice and trying just to disable.

Kill or be killed.

The pilot of the Sutherland was obviously not just attempting to disable the Lancelot. If the experimental Knightmare's armor hadn't been so good, he was sure that harken to the cockpit would have killed him. If he didn't end this soon he was liable to wind up dead again and he doubted his luck was good enough to end up revived twice on the same day.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, forcibly calming his heart and regulating his breathing. Behind his opponent he could see that the majority of the rest of the terrorists had ejected. There were only three left, standing back to back hoping to hold out against the onslaught of the Britannian army's greater numbers. If he could take out this pilot, it would all be over quickly.

The Lancelot didn't have stun tonfa's installed. He supposed the MVS' were supposed to be their replacement. Of course, if the MVS' had worked, this fight would have been over already and he'd have been seeing about getting stitched back together again by now. So without the use of a like weapon, he was forced to fight barehanded with only his slash harkens for backup (one of which had been taken with the arm the Sutherland had stolen from him, and another which had been bent at some point in the altercation and didn't exactly fly straight anymore).

But the Sutherland only had one tonfa and two harkens too – so technically he was at an advantage when it came to pure arsenal by one slightly damaged harken. That coupled with the Lancelot's superior speed ought to have been enough to guarantee a victory. He was betting that against any other pilot it would have been. He was also betting that if he wasn't currently trying to hold his insides . . . well, inside, even this pilot would have been hard pressed to beat him.

He was about to charge for the kill when a booming voice emanated not only from the speakers in the cockpit and the earpiece he was wearing, but from the loudspeakers on the G-1 command center in the distance as well.

"This is Viceroy Clovis la Britannia, Third Prince of the Holy Britannian Empire. I command all military personnel to cease fire and withdraw from the Shinjuku area at once. I repeat, cease fire and withdraw."

"Hmm, looks like Prince Lelouch won their little argument." Lloyd said unhappily in his ear. "Ah well, that's enough for today. Come on back here so we can take you to the hospital. Cecile's a little upset that you're hurt."

Suzaku swallowed nervously as he backed off from the Sutherland which had also suddenly ceased moving. No doubt the terrorists were wondering just what the hell was going on. So was Suzaku, to a certain degree. But not for the same reason.

If Lelouch had 'won' his argument with the Viceroy, it meant he wasn't hiding somewhere safely waiting for this all to be over. There was a lot of ground between the subway where they'd run into the Royal Guard and the G-1 command center. Had Lelouch somehow managed to make his way across it despite the firefight going on between the terrorists and the Britannian military and the purge of Shinjuku's civilians? Would he have been so stupid?

Groaning he began making his retreat, keeping an eye on the terrorists as he did so. He knew the answer. Lelouch had never been able to let a situation simply develop on it's own without prodding it. If he didn't like how something was going, he'd change it. And even despite the crimes Lelouch had commit in Area Eighteen, Suzaku doubted that his childhood friend would have accepted the purge of Shinjuku.

So what had he done? Taken off on foot through chaos and murder to go argue with his brother who had tried to kill him? That had to be the stupidest thing he could possibly have done, but he couldn't see how else Lelouch could have made the Viceroy to stop. Unless he'd taken the girl hostage and bargained her return for Shinjuku (providing she was still alive and it had been someone else's blood in the subway tunnel)?

That was a cold move to make, but he couldn't completely convince himself that Lelouch wouldn't do it. The girl didn't mean anything to Lelouch, after all. He'd only wanted to steal her to keep Clovis from taking her back. Childish selfishness and petty revenge.

Suzaku wasn't sure which scenario he preferred.

* * *

AN:

Thanks for reading and reviewing the last chapter. As expected you all proved my math skills need some work and gave me 71 reviews at the last count, which makes chapter 38 the most reviewed chapter yet. Though, granted, about half of them were people pointing out the discrepancy between the Gregorian and Britannian calendar. I find it interesting that I get so many reviews about things I mention in the authors notes instead of in the story. Still, I appreciate them all immensely and thank you for pointing that out to me. I'd never really caught the whole A.T.B thing instead of Anno Domini.

Anyway, for all of those who were hoping to see the showdown between Lelouch and Clovis this chapter, sorry but it's coming up next chapter. I just felt that Lelouch and Jeremiah needed a little bonding time first before committing murder.

Special thanks for this chapter go to Howard Ren for the impromptu tactics lesson he gave me (complete with a multicolored layout of an ancient battle made in Paint) via email. You were a great help. Also, big thanks to WDCain for his(her?) much needed praise and encouragement that came at the exact right moment and inspired me to get back to writing this instead of wasting the rest of the day sulking and playing Sims 3. Thanks so much.

And thanks to all of the rest of you who read and reviewed and who will continue to read and review even after my own dissatisfaction with the last chapter. You're all wonderful.

Allora


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Lelouch crept slowly through the darkened corridor, Gottwald shadowing his every move. They had yet to meet any resistance, which was surprising since Clovis had to know that the G-1 had been breached. There wasn't really another viable excuse for the massive power failures on the command level.

He'd been checking around corners with a CD he'd stolen from the security room but was growing more concerned with every step. There should have been patrols going by. There should also have been concerned engineers and staff officers trying to get the command level back up and running. But there was nothing and yet another corridor was left eerily empty before them.

He paused briefly next to a window, glancing out at the battle still raging below. He was surprised to find that Q-1 was still up and fighting against that white Knightmare. She'd lasted longer than he'd thought she would. But so had the others. About half of their original little troupe were still holding on and fighting desperately for their lives at the center of the teeming mass of Clovis' soldiers. They'd been completely surrounded as he'd intended, though the line was still weakest next to that white frame.

He had been hoping Clovis' forces would be able to completely destroy them, or at least make sure they didn't end up making off with any of his Sutherlands, but he wasn't going to hold off his plans until the terrorists were dead. Even if they did survive and escape with the six Sutherlands that were left intact, he could easily crush them at a later date. They may have been adequate pilots, but their leader was anything but a tactical genius.

"They're doing well." Gottwald noted quietly in surprise.

"It doesn't matter." Lelouch replied before turning away and continuing down the corridor. "They ceased to be my concern the moment we broke through the encirclement."

Gottwald smirked slightly before nodding his head to Lelouch in acquiescence.

They met no resistance, nor even caught sight of another person, until they reached the corridor hosting the door to Clovis' command room. It was heavily guarded. Okay, no, that was an understatement. It seemed like instead of sending out parties to search for the intruders, Clovis had decided to consolidate all of his people into one area.

It was annoying.

Lelouch would have liked to credit Clovis with successfully anticipating and foisting his plans, but he knew his half-brother wasn't that clever. Likely it was a coincidence that the most burdensome route Clovis could have taken was the one the Viceroy had chosen to take.

There was no way he and Gottwald would be able to take that many people down without getting shot to hell and back first. Gottwald might have been good, but Lelouch was pretty sure he wasn't _that_ good. There had to be about fifty soldiers bunched up in the corridor ahead of them and there was only one entrance to the room Clovis was in. He noticed with some amusement that General Bartley was amongst the crowd with a worried expression on his face – no doubt he'd been thoroughly disgraced for the way Lelouch had been able to turn things with the terrorists around.

If he hadn't been worried about keeping things relatively quiet, he might have wished he had a couple grenades. But mass murder on this scale would only draw more attention to what he was about to do.

It looked like he didn't have a choice but to use the newest weapon in his arsenal (inadequately tested as it was). He glanced warily at Gottwald for a moment, biting the inside of his lip as he considered his options. He wasn't particularly sure if he was comfortable with his new power. To be completely honest with himself, a part of him was a little afraid of it. It was just so . . . unnatural. But to deal with Clovis he would certainly use it – and with glee – even despite not knowing the consequences of it's use.

Would Clovis have told his protectors just _who_ he was expecting to invade the G-1? Would he have given all of these soldiers the order to kill him on sight?

No. That was reckless. If too many people knew his secret it would only open him up to the possibility of betrayal. Unless Clovis also had the girl's power and had ordered them to be loyal to him?But if that were the case, wouldn't Gottwald also have been under the command (or was he?). He glanced suspiciously at his subordinate who was waiting quietly next to him, crouched against the wall with his gun held in his hand and his tie pulled loose around his neck.

He doubted it. If Clovis did have the power, he hadn't used it on Gottwald. And if Gottwald was one of Clovis' self-proclaimed most loyal vassals it meant they'd been working closely together for a while. He would have had plenty of opportunities to use it.

But what were the chances that he did have the power and was just prudent in it's use? No, that wasn't likely. Clovis wasn't subtle like that. Clovis liked to move in the open then cover his tracks afterward. If he'd had a power like Geass, he'd use it and find petty delight in turning the world into his play thing.

So then it was most likely that Clovis didn't possess the Geass power. For whatever reason, the girl hadn't found him worthy of it (probably because he'd kept her in that capsule). It worked in Lelouch's favor. Clovis may have had the loyalty of most of the men in Area Eleven, but there was only so much that loyalty could do.

Even the Royal Guard who had trapped him in the subway tunnel had recoiled at first from the task they'd been ordered to do. It was unlikely that Clovis would be able to find fifty men willing to murder a prince of the Imperial family and even if he did, it was even more unlikely that he'd be able to get away with it. With that many witnesses, word was bound to get around eventually. And even if he did have them all quietly executed, someone was bound to eventually put the puzzle pieces together.

The men guarding Clovis' door had likely been told to keep on the lookout for intruders. They had likely not been told that said intruder was Lelouch vi Britannia, Eleventh Prince of the Empire. Bartley was probably the only one who would follow Clovis' orders without question and he was situated towards to middle of the group and would have to aim around his allies to get at Lelouch. And all Lelouch needed was the moment of hesitance his appearance would create.

How willing was he to bet his life on it?

He was about ninety percent certain that he had read the situation correctly. There was about a ten percent chance that Clovis was either more clever than Lelouch had ever given him credit for or that he had something else up his sleeve. After all, if that girl could exist, what else could?

Before today, he'd have never believed that a power to make anyone follow any order was even possible without long sessions of hypnosis and psychological conditioning. He'd have never believed in Geass. But now that he did, it had left his world a little shaken. If such foundational truths as humanity's free will could be altered and made into something petty and malleable in his hands, what else was possible?

No, if Clovis had had so much power, he would have used it. Clovis was ambitious after all. He wouldn't have been content to simply sit back and play the foolishly whimsical Viceroy of a problem Area if he could have more. He knew his brother that much at least.

Clovis and Schneizel were alike in their ambitions, which was, no doubt, one of the reasons they held such blatant dislike for each other. Clovis and Lelouch might have been friendly rivals when they'd been children, but Clovis and Schneizel had always disdained of each other's existence. If the word wasn't so strong, he'd have said they hated each other. He knew for a fact that Schneizel wouldn't spend a moment of real grief over Clovis' upcoming demise.

"The plan?" Gottwald breathed quietly to keep their presence undetected.

Right. It was time to test his theory.

He stuffed the disc he'd been using as a mirror into his pocket before standing up straight and running a hand through his hair. He wondered if he'd be easily recognizable in his current state. Well, he'd be easily recognizable as a Britannian at least and most of the men were probably expecting Elevens. It should be easy enough to distinguish in the half-light coming from the row of windows lining he hall.

He didn't apprise Gottwald of the action he was about to take. It was now or never. A true test of loyalty. He was going to be leaving his back wide open to the man who had sworn himself to him. He took one last deep breath before letting it out slowly and calmly stepping out into the center of the corridor.

The soldiers startled at the movement and raised their weapons but didn't fire. Gottwald surged forward to take the fore just in case, but Lelouch threw his arm out to hold him back. He, admittedly, didn't know a lot about his Geass, but he did know that he needed to make eye contact for it. He didn't want to catch Gottwald in his field of vision.

Gottwald took the silent hint and held back, but it didn't stop the man from placing a firm grip on his shoulder – ready to pull him out of harm's way at a moment's notice. It was mildly reassuring to know that the man thought nothing of using himself as a human shield for Lelouch's sake.

He let the power flare in his eye, that same sigil afterimage etching over his view of reality. "I am Lelouch vi Britannia. I'm taking over command here. I order you all to disperse immediately and forget you ever saw us here."

There was a lull for a second and Lelouch panickingly wondered if it hadn't worked - if there was some kind of restriction on it only letting him use it once per day or something of the sort. But then he was met with a mass of salutes and firm but toneless "Yes, Sir!"'s. Even General Bartley didn't hesitate in the salute, despite the fact that the man technically outranked him.

The soldiers marched off with all of the rigid formality one would expect on a parade ground, but with their faces slack and vacant. Lelouch watched them in fascination for a moment, curious at the change. So then the Geass completely overrode their reaction to the orders they were given?

Somehow, he'd expected to see the men looking horrified as they were trapped within their own suddenly possessed bodies. But that didn't seem to be the case. He'd never used the Geass except to kill those members of the Royal Guard, and at the time he hadn't been focusing so much on their emotional reaction to being ordered to kill themselves so much as he'd been trying to gauge if they'd actually do it.

"How did you -" Gottwald attempted to ask with an audible hint of fear or awe in his voice, but Lelouch cut him off with a silent gesture to follow as he strode confidently to the door towards Clovis' sanctuary.

It was ridiculous, he knew. He'd just single-handedly usurped the command of some of Clovis' closest subordinates without even so much as a threat. But Gottwald would understand soon – he'd gain a clarity of the situation – for a few moments at least.

The door was unlocked. Lelouch eyed it warily as he slowly turned the doorknob. Either this was a sign of Clovis' massive overconfidence, or it was a trap. Somehow he didn't think Clovis had been given enough time to come up with a suitable trap to hurt or kill him. Unless he had left the battlefield completely and had left those men at the door to act as his decoy, but in which case, it just meant he'd have to put off Clovis' murder for another day and try to hammer out a case fire on his own.

He pushed open the door and stepped back, just in case someone was waiting on the other side to shoot him.

"I told you not to disturb me. I need to think." Clovis' voice snapped, tinged with annoyance in the semi-darkeness.

"About me, perhaps, brother?" Lelouch asked, smirking as he entered the room.

"L-Lelouch?" Clovis gaped at him. "How did you get in here?"

"I have my ways." Lelouch said carefully as he pulled a radio out of his pocket and held it out to his half-brother. It was already programmed to broadcast on all Britannian military channels in the Shinjuku area. He used his Geass – not because he didn't think he could force his brother to comply using simple negotiation, but because it was faster and people were dying in the meantime. "You will order the complete cease fire and withdrawal of all Britannian forces from Shinjuku."

A part of him wanted to add a second command of forcing his brother to throw himself off the top of the G-1 in shame over his actions, but he refrained. Clovis had always been spoiled, he'd never suffered even half of what Lelouch had. In these last moments, he wanted to crush that naive hope (that there was still a way out!) that he'd seen in Clovis' eyes.

He watched closely, examining the effects of the Geass as Clovis followed his command. Clovis' face was devoid of emotion, eyes glazed and unresponsive as the words fell from his lips, monotone repetition of Lelouch's order.

"This is Viceroy Clovis la Britannia, Third Prince of the Holy Britannian Empire. I command all military personnel to cease fire and withdraw from the Shinjuku area at once. I repeat, cease fire and withdraw."

He felt Gottwald shift nervously beside him, drawing Clovis' gaze as he fell out of the trance. "Jeremiah? What are you doing here?" He asked before glancing down in confusion at the radio in his hand.

Interesting. It appeared Clovis had no memory of the Geass being using on him. Lelouch grinned ferally and took the radio back before turning it off and removing the battery. If he was wrong and Clovis suddenly decided to rescind his orders, at least this would make it more difficult and he'd have time to put the Viceroy under the Geass power again.

"Yes, Gottwald. What _are_ you doing here?" Lelouch asked, his grin growing ever wider. Maybe he was like a malicious cat playing with a helpless mouse before he killed it, but he thought he might deserve it after the hell Clovis had put him through. He was uncomfortably aware of the crustiness of his clothing thanks to the blood and gore from that girl dying in his arms.

Gottwald hesitated, not understanding the game. "You asked me to come with you, my prince."

Clovis' eyes widen and comprehension dawned. "You didn't."

"I assure you, he did. You're a fool, Clovis." Lelouch said darkly. "I implore you to think of one time – just one – that you have ever beaten me at anything."

He could see now, the panic that had settled in over his treacherous half-brother's countenance. Lelouch was not normally a cruel person, nor did he particularly revel in causing others pain or discomfort. However, he was enjoying this. Some darkly wounded piece of him that he'd hidden deep within his psyche wanted to get even.

Because Clovis had had the life that had been stolen from Lelouch seven years ago. He had professed to care for Lelouch, claimed to have searched desperately for signs of his survival. And then at the first inconvenience, he'd attempted to have Lelouch murdered in a darkened subway tunnel.

There was something profoundly unfair about it all. Why should he be the one to be betrayed at every possible turn?

"Lelouch! It wasn't . . . I had to. If anyone ever found out about her I'd be disinherited!" Clovis protested and Lelouch's emotions turned a little colder . . . a little darker.

So, Clovis had been willing to sacrifice him for the sake of the throne? The throne that he would most likely never come to, even if Schneizel and Odysseus were out of the way. That information did nothing to justify his brother's actions.

"Disinherited?" Lelouch asked with mocking smile. "You never thought of what the consequence of killing me would be, did you? Do you know what the punishment is? The punishment for attempting to assassinate a member of the Imperial family?"

"Lelouch . . ." Clovis hissed. He was mildly amused when Clovis actually recoiled from him in fear at the dark look he was giving him.

"It's immediate execution." He answered matter of factly. "Though I am curious. . . you'd be disinherited? While I admit, it would probably raise a few eyebrows if anyone back home found out that you had a penchant for sticking pretty young women into capsules and doing God know what with them, it probably wouldn't get you disinherited. Or," He said, turning suddenly serious. "are you suggesting that there was something unique about her?"

Clovis' eyes widened, knowing that he'd given himself away and been backed into a corner. Lelouch was too smart for him – he should have never have attempted to try to talk his way out of this mess. Lelouch would probably have been kinder if Clovis hadn't had the gall to try to justify his actions. If he'd been unapologetic, he probably would have just got it over with quickly.

"Judging by the fact that you haven't used it on me yet, I'm judging that she didn't share her power with you." Lelouch said a moment later.

"Share?" Clovis asked bewildered, before his eyes widened in terror. "Y-you mean it was transferable? She made you like her?"

Lelouch arched an eyebrow. "And here I assumed that you already knew that, which is why you'd been keeping her. I thought you'd been attempting to also gain this power. Did you know that, in the end, she decided she'd rather die than be recaptured? And in those last fleeting seconds of her life, she gave it to me. If it hadn't been for your foolish attempt to assassinate me, she's still be alive and I'd be without this Geass."

Clovis just stared at him, mute with fear as he stared wide-eyed as his blood soaked younger brother. It was quite beyond Lelouch how the girl had even managed to be captured in the first place, though he supposed if she'd been blindfolded and immediately stuck into that sensory deprivation capsule, she wouldn't have had the chance to use the Geass power to free herself.

"Do you know what your first mistake was?" Lelouch voiced the familiar question, adopting the same tone he'd often used after completely annihilating Clovis in a chess match when they were children.

Clovis' eyes narrowed slightly at the mockery but answered nonetheless. "I imagine it was trying to kill you."

Lelouch shook his head slightly. "No, it was trying to keep this whole fiasco from me in the first place. If you'd alerted Edith of the situation and had her try to track me down when you'd first heard news of the terrorists making off with that girl, all of this could have been avoided.

"It is my duty, an Imperial mandate, to deal with any and all terrorist activities in Area Eleven. You went over my head and tried to sneak around behind my back. That was your first mistake. What did you think I would do when I found out?"

"I didn't intend for you to find out." Clovis growled, some of the fear disappearing from his countenance.

Lelouch sighed. "You really are a fool. You really didn't plan for any other eventuality, did you? You just expected everything to go your way, like a spoiled child. But what else should I have expected from a pure blooded Britannian prince?"

"You're a prince too." Clovis protested. "And you can't kill me, Lelouch. You said yourself, the punishment . . ."

He trailed off when Lelouch smiled serenely at him. "Don't forget how I spent the last seven years, Clovis. But yes, I am a prince. Unlike you, however, I tend to think all of my options through before acting. I've made plans to cover my tracks, though I am curious. Who would you rather killed you? The brother you betrayed or one of your most loyal subordinates who has betrayed you?"

Beside him, Gottwald sucked in a sudden hiss of surprise. He finally, no doubt, understood just why his presence was so important to this meeting. Or at least, he understood part of the reason. He wasn't sure if he ever planned on filling the man in on the whole story.

"You wouldn't!" Clovis exclaimed. "You'd betray him so openly?"

"Of course not." Lelouch said reassuringly. "Say, Clovis . . . did you want to see it?" He asked, the innocent facade fading slowly to cold, emotionless contempt. "Did you want to see the power that that girl gave me? Do you want to witness Geass firsthand?"

"Lelouch!"

But the Eleventh Prince of Britannia had already turned to pin Jeremiah Gottwald with his gaze. The man looked . . . somewhat fearful and confused. But that was to be expected. Neither he nor Clovis had really explained the circumstances of their falling out, but Gottwald had to know he was about to experience something unusual. A moment later the expression changed to simple determination and he could read the silent sentiment in the man's gaze. Even without the Geass . . .

"Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald," He said as the red bird sigil flared across his vision and he threw out an arm in tribute to the dramatics Clovis had always loved, "Lelouch vi Britannia commands you . . ."

* * *

Jeremiah blinked and glanced around his surroundings. He was in an abandoned corridor on the G-1. On the command level, he noted, but he had no recollection of how he'd got there or why he was currently standing out in the hall. The last thing he remembered was leaving the security room a level below after Prince Lelouch had told him he didn't have a choice but to follow him.

. . . Where was Prince Lelouch?

Panic seized him as he glanced around the hall. Where had the prince gone? And why couldn't he remember? Had he . . . hit his head in the earlier commotion? Did he have a concussion? Or had he passed out for some reason and the prince had abandoned him? Okay, the concussion was the most likely scenario, but worrying about it didn't take precedence over trying to find the young vi Britannia prince.

Prince Lelouch had been on the warpath – determined to murder Clovis for his treachery. His sudden disappearance didn't bode well. How could he have been so careless as to let the boy out of his sight?

Wherever he was now, he couldn't have gone far. This was the command level and it was most likely where Clovis was hiding himself away. He just needed to get a better bearing on his surroundings – but he found that wasn't really necessary.

He'd come back to consciousness just outside of Clovis' command center. Prince Lelouch must have been just beyond that door. But that brought up another problem.

If he'd been left out in the corridor, did that mean he was supposed to stay out there? The Imperial family was known to be a bit touchy about their privacy when it came to family matters – just take the secret of Prince Lelouch's exile for example. Was he not meant to intrude?

But . . . he had no idea if Prince Lelouch was alright or not.

Clovis . . . he'd more or less come to accept the fact that his previous liege was a dead man. It wasn't Clovis that he was concerned about anymore. God, if Empress Marianne's only surviving son died on what was supposed to be his watch, he'd never be able to forgive himself.

No, he decided, he couldn't risk it. If Prince Lelouch wanted to punish him later for intruding, he'd gladly take any retribution the boy could think of so long as her knew the prince was okay.

He'd just worked up the courage to barge in there when the door opened slowly and Prince Lelouch emerged looking . . . well, rattled was an understatement. The expression on the boy's face terrified him, not because it was intimidating but because it was so very _unlike_ the prince he'd seen in the past.

He looked shaken and vulnerable and weak – not an ounce of the boy's confidence or charisma shone through. And Jeremiah knew, finally and firmly, that this was the true face of the Eleventh Prince of Britannia. Granted it was distraught, but he knew now that every other face the boy had ever worn had just been a disguise.

Killing Clovis – and indeed he knew Clovis had to be dead because he could see the bloody sprawled corpse of his former lord through the opened door – had obviously affected the boy more than he'd expected.

At least that was what he'd thought until his prince had staggered and slumped against the wall, leaving a bright, bloody smear in his wake.

"Prince Lelouch!" He exclaimed, rushing forward to catch the boy as he began to sink towards the ground.

Prince Lelouch was pale and trembling and Jeremiah noticed the first glaring indicators of shock setting in as his prince's teeth began to chatter and his pupils began to dilate.

" . . . Gottwald . . ." Lelouch said weakly as one quivering hand curled weakly into the lapels of Jeremiah's jacket and he felt blood flowing freely over the hand supporting the boy's back. That wound most certainly hadn't been there before. Had that bastard shot Prince Lelouch in the back? " . . . mistaken, I think. . . shouldn't have . . . given that order . . . It missed."

Missed? What had missed?

"Clovis is dead." He said reassuringly, no longer able to feel even a glimmer of remorse for the Third Prince. Not after seeing what he'd done to Lelouch.

Prince Lelouch nodded weakly. ". . . weren't supposed to kill me too . . . too close . . . to my heart." He hissed then audibly cried out in pain as Jeremiah lifted him up.

He sounded like he thought he was dying. Well, Jeremiah wasn't all that certain that he wasn't. Prince Lelouch was right, the wound was close to his heart. And, judging from the lack of a new bloodstain on the front of the Prince's already stained sweater, the bullet was still lodged inside of him. He needed to get the boy medical attention _now._

He knew that there was medical support watching over the fight with the terrorists, but he wasn't sure if they were still in the area. Prince Lelouch had seemed concerned with forcing a withdrawal from the area and he might have forced Clovis to do so during the period that he couldn't quite recall.

For the first time, he damned their preparations of completely disabling the command level. It was a technological dead zone and he knew he wouldn't be able to get help from here. Forcing down his panic, he took off down the corridor and tried not to think about just how slight and fragile the Wolf of Britannia really was.

He was already on the next floor down before he ran into someone. A pair of junior communication officers were grumbling together about the power outage on the command level and trying to determine if they had any more fuses anywhere. They broke off their discussion in horror as he came around the corner and they recognized him.

His face was fairly well known amongst the soldiers of Area Eleven seeing as he was the third in the chain of command. However, he doubted any of them had seen him looking quite so flustered before, or in a tux, or carrying a possibly dying Imperial prince for that matter. Prince Lelouch, for his part, looked like he'd slipped off into unconsciousness.

"You!" Jeremiah barked. "Call for medical assistance right now!"

One of them raced off to follow his orders as Jeremiah sank carefully to the ground and laid the prince on his side before he swiftly pulled off his jacket and tried to stem the flow of his blood.

"That . . . that's Prince Lelouch!" The remaining soldier said in surprise. "What happened?"

Ah, and only now did he realize the mess his prince had left for him. How exactly was he supposed to explain this? He obviously couldn't say that Prince Lelouch had gone to the G-1 hoping to kill the Viceroy. Nor could he say that the princes had most likely ended up shooting each other. He was going to need a scapegoat.

. . . Alright, so maybe Prince Lelouch hadn't left him as high and dry as he'd first suspected. Understanding bloomed in his consciousness as he realized just how thoroughly his prince had thought things over. No doubt he'd always intended to escape unpunished.

"Some of the terrorists managed to infiltrate the G-1. The Viceroy is dead. Prince Lelouch is critically injured. Go find a first aid kit now."

"No way." The soldier breathed in disbelief, before reigning in control of himself and snapping a salute. "Yes, sir!" He said before running away in search of the first aid kit.

Jeremiah glanced back down at Prince Lelouch's pale face. It was almost scary thinking about how brilliant the boy was. He didn't doubt for a second that the prince had always intended to blame the terrorists for Clovis' murder. It would have garnered him all the support he could have wanted from the local military to initiate a witch hunt for the terrorists without interference.

But now that Prince Lelouch had been injured – and was possible barely hanging onto life – the people of Area Eleven would be crying out for blood. If he survived – and he had to believe that the boy was going to survive – the witch hunt would be even larger. The death of one prince was bad enough, but the almost loss of two would be devastating.

Shit. He was going to have to find those damned terrorists. The same damned terrorists that had eluded him for months. But if he didn't find them, he was going to have a riot on his hands. Someone had to pay for this and he would be damned if it was Prince Lelouch.

He felt eyes on him a few minutes later and glanced down to meet his lord's violet gaze. The prince made a small, painful sound that might have been a chuckle. "You weren't . . . his then . . . even at the end."

Jeremiah opened his mouth to ask him what he meant – the prince had been uttering nonsense ever since he'd found him coming out of the Viceroy's command center (no doubt from the pain) – but was interrupted when first the man he'd sent for a first aid kit returned and then his companion a few minutes later with a full emergency medical crew with him. Prince Lelouch seemed to drift off back into unconsciousness as the paramedics began to check his vitals and load him onto a gurney.

Jeremiah watched, knowing full well that they were better equipped to help the prince than he was, as he mused over the boy's words. Even at the end? He hadn't been there at the end. He'd been unconscious in the hall for some reason. Unless Prince Lelouch had been referring to his own end?

"Is he going to be alright?" He demanded from one of the paramedics.

The only reply he got was an uneasy shrug before they began rushing the prince away. Needless to say, it did nothing to put Jeremiah at ease.

* * *

AN: Well I hope you all enjoyed that. It's a slightly shorter chapter because I wanted to leave you all in suspense (I honestly considered leaving off at Lelouch's POV, but then decided against it because you all knew that I was going to use Jeremiah like this anyway) and also because I figure I can get away with it since I only updated the last chapter yesterday.

Anyway, there was something I wanted to discuss but I can't really remember it at the moment (this is becoming a habit). And I've decided I won't discus the Geass order Lelouch gave Jeremiah until I've heard your thoughts on it and the situation unfolds a bit more.

Also, in the process of writing this chapter (I think this was the thing I was trying to remember a moment ago) I really wondered why Lelouch had never been afraid that Clovis had Geass. I mean, he had C.C. and Lelouch obviously knew that. So then I attempted to think of just how a Geass would manifest itself in Clovis. I really have no idea, but I'm curious about all of your thoughts since not much is known about Clovis' character in canon. Consequently, this idea made me think of another story I might possibly write in the distant future after Dauntless is done (providing that I'm not sick of the Code Geass fandom by then). But if any of you want to write it instead, I'm sure it would be an interesting read. I don't think I've ever seen a story in which Clovis had Geass.

So, in closing, I hope you don't hate me for wounding Lelouch. Also, to all of those who hated Suzaku's medical miracle, I will attempt to make Lelouch's more realistic. Part of me thinks I'm subconsciously venting my frustrations on these characters which is why they're getting shot up left and right now. -.- I'll try to reign myself in in the future so you don't kill me.

Don't forget to review. I appreciate them immensely!

Allora


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Milly was on a date with Rivalz and had just been deciding which late night movie they wanted to watch when she got the call from her grandfather. Her grandfather had received a call from a man named Gottwald who was, apparently, one of Lelouch's subordinates.

"He tried not to worry me," Her grandfather said calmly, "But you could tell he was pretty close to panicking himself. It's surprising he thought to call us, though. But I don't care what anyone will think of it, that boy deserves to have people who love him there when he wakes up. If he wakes up. I'm heading to the hospital now. Make that boyfriend of yours get you there soon too."

"Yes, Grandpa. We'll be there soon." Milly said, already dragging Rivalz out of the cinema by the sleeve of his jacket.

Of course, Rivalz quickly ceased resisting when she told him that Lelouch had been shot and was currently in surgery to have a bullet and a broken off piece of his scapula removed from a collision course with his heart. In fact, it quickly turned into Rivalz pulling her towards the parking lot as she struggled to keep up in her high heels.

"Hurry up, Milly!" Rivalz said worriedly as he gunned the bike to life and waited impatiently for her to settle herself in the side cart. She thought about sending him an annoyed scowl but then changed her mind when she saw the panicky expression on his face.

"Hey." She said authoritatively as she grabbed his hand to keep him from throwing the bike into gear the second her ass hit the seat. "Calm down a little. He's still in surgery so we won't be able to see him for a while yet anyway. Just make sure we get there in one piece."

Rivalz took a deep breath then let it out slowly before sending her an appreciative smile. "Yeah, I'll get us there in one piece. Are you ready?"

Milly smiled slightly and nodded in acquiescence. She knew that Rivalz had been a bit down since Lelouch had returned to the country and hadn't bothered contacting him. Heck, everyone had been a bit down. Even Nunnally had remained ignored – though Milly assumed it was for her own safety. After all, Lelouch had basically come back to Area Eleven to throw down the gauntlet with all the terrorists in the country.

When she thought of it that way, it wasn't exactly surprising that he'd been shot. Certainly not preferable, but not exactly surprising.

If anyone ever found out about Nunnally – Lelouch's hugest weakness – everything he'd been working for these last few months would go up in smoke. So she could kind of understand why he was keeping away. Still, that was no excuse not to call her. Or any of them for that matter.

Even if Lelouch was a prince now, he was still their friend. He'd proven that by inviting them to his wedding and if he thought he could just shirk them so easily he was going to be in for a world of disappointment when he woke up.

She refused to even consider the possibility that he wouldn't wake up.

She texted Shirley and Nina on the way and told them to get their butts over to the hospital ASAP. Then she hesitated over Sayoko's number. It would be a problem if Nunnally suddenly showed up at the hospital where Lelouch had been admitted. If anyone put it together, and she just knew Nunnally would rush in distraught and demand to know where Lelouch was, it was likely that both of the vi Britannia's lives would end up in danger.

But still, Lelouch was Nunnally's brother and she didn't have the right to keep this kind of information from her. Frowning, she decided a call was in order rather than a simple text message. Stuffing the phone's speaker into the helmet next to her ear and crouching down to minimize the wind noise, she called Sayoko.

"Mistress Milly," The Japanese woman answered on the second ring.

"Sayoko, there's a bit of a situation. I don't want Nunnally to panic, but I still think she needs to know." Milly began. She felt kind of bad for dumping this on her former nanny but then shrugged it off. Sayoko had always been the next best person to Lelouch for taking care of Nunnally. It was why she'd been hired by the Lamperouges despite already having employment with the Ashfords.

Not that the formality of the transfer was necessary, in her opinion. Whether they liked to call themselves Lamperouges or vi Britannias or Ashfords, they were family as far as she was concerned. And they would do anything they had to to make sure their family was safe and happy.

So she explained the situation to Sayoko with as many details as she knew at the moment and trusted to the woman to keep the situation under control. Because somehow over the years, Sayoko had also been drawn into their unconventional sort-of family as much as it was possible and had become Nunnally's mother-figure (even despite the constant politeness and carefulness of both parties to keep within their ascribed roles).

"I understand, Mistress Milly. I will . . . attend to the situation as delicately as possible. If you would please keep us in the loop, I'm sure Mistress Nunnally would appreciate it." Sayoko said diplomatically.

"I will. I'm headed to the hospital now. I'll let you guys know as soon as I know more." She promised before hanging up. She just hoped Nunnally didn't throw a tantrum at not being able to visit Lelouch in person. It had been years since she'd seen one of Nunnally's legendary tantrums, but they had left a pretty big scar on her memories (along with many of Milly's favorite childhood toys).

They arrived at the hospital to find her grandfather still in the lobby arguing with a receptionist.

"Listen, we're his family, you nitwit." Reuben said furiously. "I practically raised that boy and I demand that you tell me where you're keeping him."

"Funny, you don't look like royalty to me." The receptionist said snidely, sending an appraising eye over Reuben's slightly worn favorite coat.

Milly scowled at the woman as she joined the little commotion. Much as she would have liked to claw the woman's face out for being such a bitch, she refrained. "Did he call you on your cellphone, Grandpa?" She asked as she dragged the principal away from the catty receptionist.

"Yes, I was out taking a walk around the campus when he called." Her grandfather nodded.

She rolled her eyes. Genius though her grandfather was as the man to create and design the first Knightmare, it was sometimes hard to remember that he came from a different era. And while the man rarely went anywhere without his cellphone, he'd never used it as more than he would a regular phone. Therefore to use options like caller id rarely occurred to him.

She took the phone from him and quickly scrolled through to the last incoming call before connecting to the number. It rang half a ring before a very tired, but tense voice sounded on the other end. "Hello?"

"Is this Mr. Gottwald?" She asked.

"Who is this?"

"I'm Milly Ashford. You called my grandfather earlier. We're in the lobby but the receptionist won't tell us where Lelouch is." She said briskly.

"Good." The man said, "I told them not to. Hold on and I'll go down there and retrieve you myself."

She frowned at the phone when it disconnected without even so much as a farewell, but didn't think much more of it because Nina's mom dropped Nina and Shirley off a moment later and she was struck trying to quietly explain in the middle of a hospital lobby just what had happened to Lelouch. Somehow, everyone seemed to think that she knew the most.

It was ten minutes before a man emerged from the elevator in a slightly bloodstained white shirt and black dress pants with a tie barely knotted around his neck. The man looked exhausted and worried and slightly on edge as he glanced around the lobby before pinning his gaze on her.

"You're Miss Ashford?" He asked, to which she nodded mutely. "I'm Jeremiah Gottwald." He introduced before casting his gaze over the group of people that were huddled around her. "You're all Ashfords?"

"No, but we're all Lulu's friends." Shirley said somewhat hastily, unwilling to be left behind. "I'm Shirley Fennette. This is Nina Einstein. And that's Rivalz Cardemonte."

The man rubbed a hand over his forehead, as though trying to massage away a tension headache, before nodding. "Only Ashfords will be allowed in the room until he regains consciousness. He just got out of surgery so it will probably be a few hours before he comes to. The rest of you can stay in a waiting room on the eighth floor. His assistant is already there."

Jeremiah Gottwald led them to the elevator, forcing two patrons to vacate the car so the entire vi Britannia group could travel together without worrying about eavesdroppers.

"Is the boy going to be alright?" Reuben asked, voicing the question they were all wondering.

Gottwald's eyes narrowed as he continued examining the blank plating of the elevator's door. "My prince won't die this easily."

Beside her, Rivalz let out a relieved chuckle. "Well he always was stubborn. I'm sure we don't need to worry. He doesn't like to be beaten by anyone."

Gottwald's lips twitched into the barest resemblance of a smirk at the comment before nodding as the elevator doors opened.

Milly was surprised (though she really wasn't sure why she should be) to find the floor filled with armed guards. Obviously, Gottwald was taking Lelouch's safety very seriously. She was glad to see it – though she was somewhat less glad then they confiscated her cellphone and nail file as they searched her for weapons.

"He's in here." Gottwald told the Ashfords, pointing to a door with four gun toting men standing in front of it after directing the others to the waiting room. "And now, if you'll excuse me, I've been left with the reins of this pitiful country and must get back to it."

Milly blinked. "You're in charge? What about the Viceroy?" She asked before he could turn away.

The man's gaze darkened into something slightly terrifying (made all the more terrifying by the bloodstains on his shirt). "Prince Clovis was killed in the same attack and General Bartley is to be arrested for dereliction of duty and sent back to the homeland for court martial when we find him. Until Prince Lelouch is well enough to take over the post or until a new Viceroy is selected by the Emperor, I am the next highest military officer in the country and have temporarily taken the title Acting Consul."

As though to confirm this fact, the man's cellphone began ringing shrilly from his pocket and he answered it with a scowl, deliberately ignoring the dirty look the woman at the nursing station gave him.

"Gottwald . . . you found him? Where? . . . . Wandering?" The man asked brusquely before nodding his head to her and heading down the corridor. "Arrest him and bring him in. I'm going to string him up for this mess."

"It's not our concern, Milly." Her grandfather said softly before opening the door to Lelouch's hospital room. He was right. As terrifying as it was that the terrorists had actually managed to kill Prince Clovis in the same attack that had wounded Lelouch, she wasn't there to worry about the Viceroy.

Milly closed her eyes and took a deep breath before following, mentally preparing herself for the worst – for tubes and hoses and bloody stitches and bandages. But Lelouch looked in relatively good condition considering how close to dying he'd come.

He was pale and there were dark bags under his eyes, but the only tubes in sight were a single IV connected to his arm and a catheter, and the only wire connected to him was to a heart monitor that beeped slowly and steadily in the background. He was . . . stable.

She let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding before crossing the room slowly to stand next to his bed. Her grandfather had already taken up residence in the uncomfortable looking chair next to the bed, pulling a worn novel out of the pocket of his coat. It seemed that now that the man knew Lelouch was at least marginally out of danger, he was able to settle in for the long wait until Lelouch woke up.

Milly was less reassured.

She touched his hand, cold as always (Lelouch had always had bad circulation) and tried to gauge if it was a normal cold or a more death-like cold. She shook the thoughts firmly out of her head and examined his face instead. She played with his bangs (shorter than she remembered them) because she knew he'd always hated it when they were little.

Maybe she was just trying to annoy him into wakefulness, or maybe she was trying to convince herself that this was still the Lelouch that she considered her brother and friend. But just how well did she know him anymore anyway?

She'd always known that having to go back would change him. Additionally, she knew that war changed anyone. But some of the rumors she'd been hearing – unlike newspapers, the internet is significantly more difficult to censor – about the thing's he'd done in Area Eighteen, made her wonder.

Lelouch had always had his faults. He was petty, vain, vengeful and hated not being the one in control. But he was also intrinsically kind and generous and believed in treating people fairly if they deserved it. She didn't think he was the type to murder hundreds on a whim.

That was something she'd believe possible of the Emperor, but not of Lelouch. So a very large part of her wanted to simply dismiss the rumors – none of which had been validated by reputable sources. But a smaller part of her wouldn't let her let it go. Because she knew Lelouch and that petty, vengeful side. And she knew that Lelouch was desperately out of control of his own life.

So what she really wanted to know, she supposed, was whether or not this was still the same Lelouch who had left them six months ago. If that Lelouch was still in this boy who was simultaneously the Eleventh Prince of Britannia, a Colonel, the Chief of Internal Defense of Area Eleven and the Wolf of Britannia. Was he also still Lelouch Lamperouge, former Vice President of the Ashford Academy Student Council and consummate slacker? Did he still wear those faces and titles too, or had he cast them away by now?

It was, as Gottwald had suggested, hours before Lelouch returned to consciousness. She'd been out to give brief status reports to the others several times, but it was early morning before Lelouch actually moved.

She was sitting perched on the edge of his bed, lightly pinching his knuckles to watch the skin pucker (she'd never done it before, but she was sure it would annoy him. He hated wrinkles.) and completely lost in thought, when his hand suddenly twitched and grabbed her fingers to stop her from pinching him again.

She glanced up at his face to see him staring at her blearily as he tried to blink the sleep out of his eyes.

"Milly?" He asked hoarsely in confusion, as though trying to sort out his confused thoughts. "I was on my way to see you, before Clovis . . ."

"Then you should have come to see me." She chastised, and then had to glance away to hide the tears forming in her eyes. She hated crying. Worse, she hated Lelouch seeing her cry, but she'd been so worried.

He chuckled tiredly, then grimaced and settled back into his pillow, his eyes fluttering half shut. "Didn't Nunnally come?" He mumbled sleepily.

"No, Lelouch. Don't you remember? She's . . ." But she trailed off because his breathing had already evened out and he'd fallen back asleep.

She glanced over at her grandfather but found the man was fast asleep in his chair, book open and resting against his chest. She sighed and ran her fingers through Lelouch's bangs once more, smiling a little because he grimaced even in his sleep this time, before quietly getting up and retrieving her coat.

She'd go tell Nunnally, who had wheedled Sayako into letting her come to the hospital so long as she didn't leave the car – she just wanted to be close – that she'd been the first thing he'd asked about when he'd regained consciousness. It would probably cheer her up a little.

* * *

It had been a long day. Well, technically he was on day two, but since he hadn't slept at all yet, Jeremiah figured it still counted as one. However, the very length of the day was nothing compared to the events that had been unfolding in it. And the . . . discrepancies . . . in those events.

Before he'd gone to see Bartley, he'd almost been able to convince himself that Prince Lelouch had knocked him out before going to confront Clovis. But now . . . he wasn't so sure.

The General had been wandering aimlessly for hours with no recollection of where or why. At least that's what the man claimed. The last thing he remembered was standing guard outside Clovis' command room.

And this was the thing that made Jeremiah's skin crawl. Because Bartley had been standing guard in front of the very same door that he himself had regained consciousness at. Bartley couldn't remember anything for a significant amount of time, and neither could Jeremiah.

_Something_ had happened at that door and he didn't have the slightest idea how to explain it.

Of course, these musing had taken a back seat when he'd briefly returned to his home to change clothes and had automatically checked his gun. There were bullets missing that he couldn't account for.

Two bullets.

The implications of this certainly didn't escape him. In fact, they made him nauseous even now. But there was no way . . . even if he were delusional and suffering from a head wound (which he wasn't because he'd had himself checked over after arriving at the hospital) there was no way in hell he would ever have shot Prince Lelouch. The boy was his entire reason for living right now and he would never have done anything to compromise that.

Still . . . those bullets were missing.

He'd demanded that the bullets from Clovis' autopsy along with the one retrieved from Prince Lelouch be given directly to him. He was, by no means, a forensic analyst, but he'd used them in the past and the process for ballistic analysis seemed easy enough. And all soldiers were required to have their weapons registered. It would be easy enough to tell if it had been Lelouch's gun that had killed Clovis or his.

And where the bullet that had wounded Lelouch had come from . . .

He returned to the hospital, deciding to check on his prince's condition before possibly commandeering a bed for an hour of sleep before getting back to keeping the country from descending into anarchy. Trying to keep a lid on the situation was proving difficult. Not that he was doing it alone.

Villetta had been most helpful and had even forgiven him for ordering her to surrender her Knightmare. He'd put her in charge of keeping the media under wraps and knew she'd have her hands full. All of the details might not have been out, but the media knew that something important had happened.

Kewell had also been on his best behavior – no doubt hoping that Villetta had forgotten to mention his insubordination in all the confusion. Jeremiah hadn't forgotten, but at the moment the man could still be useful so he'd put him in charge of hunting down those terrorists. Someone was going to have to hang for this and it made the most sense for it to be them.

Q-1. Tamaki Shinichiro. Ohgi. And any of the other members that could be found.

He knew that four of them had made off with the Sutherland's Prince Lelouch had given them after a ceasefire had been called. It was difficult to hide a Knightmare, but he couldn't see them abandoning them either. After all, having those Knightmares would give them a huge advantage over other resistance groups in the area.

Of course, it's not like it would do them any good if it ended up getting them killed. Four Knightmares was a trifling force compared to the number of Knights Jeremiah could send after them. He'd put thirty Knights on Kewell's team to help search for them and even that number was small compared to the total number of Knights in Area Eleven. All of which were currently under his command.

He paused as he passed the waiting room, somewhat surprised to find the Ashford girl there, asleep on the couch with her head in the boy that had accompanied her – Rivalz? -'s lap. She hadn't left the prince's room for more and a few minutes at a time the entire night, as far as he was aware. He took it as a good sign and nodded his head in greeting slightly to the boy who had sent him a lazy wave.

The other two girls were also asleep on the opposite sofa and Edith Cardston – Prince Lelouch's assistant – was working quietly on the palm pilot she'd refused to surrender. That woman had guts when she needed them. He remembered the other two times he'd met her, she'd been meek and occasionally flustered, following quietly in Prince Lelouch's shadow. But when she'd busted in here and brushed past the guard and Jeremiah who had tried to search her, she'd firmly and coldly declared that she wasn't about to surrender Prince Lelouch's phones and schedules to anyone, that the prince trusted her with his secrets and that they'd better just back the hell off.

Jeremiah had let her keep the phones but had still checked her for weapons – which he had found none. He figured the woman was probably right. Prince Lelouch would have to have trusted her for her to have been promoted from a maid in the Aeries Villa to his personal assistant. She didn't even glance up at his presence in the waiting room.

Normally, their casual behavior and blatant disregard for his position would have irked him. But Miss Cardston was Prince Lelouch's assistant and therefore trusted by the prince, the kids were some of his prince's closest friends and, as far as he was concerned, the Ashfords were next to royalty since Prince Lelouch considered them his family.

Turning away, he headed for the prince's room, unsurprised to find Reuben Ashford still inside. Like his granddaughter, he had scarcely left the room since he'd arrived. The old man was currently reclined in his chair, feet resting up on the end of the prince's bed as he flipped through a novel.

"Mr. Gottwald. I wondered if we'd be seeing you again." The old man said amiably as he let his feet fall to the floor and set it book aside.

"Of course. I will be in and out of here for so long as my prince is here." He replied, feeling slightly awkward. A part of him felt like he was intruding. This was supposed to be an intensely personal family affair and since he was only one of the prince's subordinates, he had no reason to be there. But at the same time, he wasn't about to just abandon the boy.

"Good. He asked about you the last time he woke up." Reuben nodded.

Jeremiah blinked in surprise. "He woke up?" He asked. When he'd left to go tear Bartley a new one, the prince had still been unconscious. But granted, that had been last night and it was now late morning.

"He's been in and out of it since about four thirty, according to Milly. I'm afraid I nodded off somewhere around three." The man answered, smiling fondly down at the boy.

He thought Prince Lelouch might have looked slightly better than he had last night – that there might have been more color in his cheeks. But then, it might just have been an illusion caused b the sunlight filtering in through the window.

"Did he say what he wanted from me?" Jeremiah asked.

"No, he just asked for you. I'll tell him you stopped by next time he wakes." Reuben said before glancing slyly at Jeremiah from the corner of his eye. "Just how long have you been serving my boy, anyway?"

Jeremiah didn't fail to notice the slightly possessive 'my boy' the man had used, though he really couldn't fault him for it. This was the man who had saved Prince Lelouch's life after a failed execution attempt. This was the man who had given Empress Marianne's only remaining child sanctuary and safety and the chance at a new life.

"Since yesterday." Jeremiah answered. ". . . and since he was seven , I suppose. I used to be one of Empress Marianne's royal guards."

Reuben Ashford made a slightly satisfied sound like a snort before nodding his head. "I thought so. You had longer hair then, boy."

Jeremiah twitched slightly at being called 'boy' when he was twenty-eight, but let it slide. "I was young then."

"Maybe, but Marianne only took the best into her guard." Reuben said before glancing back down at Lelouch. "He's a lot like her, hm?"

"Yes." Jeremiah agreed.

"I'd never met a woman more demanding than Marianne. The girl was stubborn. She knew what she wanted, when she wanted it and heaven help anyone who tried to get in her way. The Emperor never stood a chance after we introduced her." Reuben said with a chuckle, before his expression sobered a little. "Of course, he's a lot like his father too. Not that he'd ever admit it."

No, Jeremiah very much doubted Lelouch would accept his similarities to the Emperor. Prince Lelouch had made it fairly clear that he held absolutely no love for his father. It had only been Empress Marianne who had held the vi Britannia family together back then, and after her death it had apparently seemed like too much trouble to keep her children alive. He frowned, and remembered that the Ashfords had been disgraced at the same time.

"You . . . used to be a Baron, didn't you?" He asked.

"Once upon a time, yes." Reuben nodded. "The Ashfords are an old family. We can trace our line back to well before Napoleon chased us out of England. A little sad when you think of the heritage, but I wouldn't change a thing. Lelouch is just one of the many good things that came out of it all."

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean." Jeremiah said with a frown.

"The Ashfords were responsible for introducing Marianne to the Emperor. When things began to turn more personal between them, we were the ones who supported her rise in society. Of course, not many liked that, but then Marianne went and married the Emperor and that pretty much shut them up. At least until she was killed. I think it's a family trait, but the Imperial family has always held long grudges.

"The Emperor revoked our titles and the Ashford Foundation lost all of it's funding due to 'discrepancies' in an audit. I don't know who it was pulling the strings, but it was supposed to ruin us." The man grinned a little slyly, "Not that it worked. I learned the benefit of keeping a few tricks up my sleeve. Despite all the hardships, the Ashfords are fine and well and I think Lelouch turned out alright too. He's a good kid."

Jeremiah marveled at the proud grandfather routine and wondered if the man would be quite so adamant about how good of a kid Prince Lelouch was if he knew the boy had gone to the G-1 with the intention of committing murder. Probably, he decided. Because Prince Lelouch was a good kid, even in Jeremiah's opinion (and he had seem some of the darker side of the boy). But Lelouch had been betrayed first, and he'd only done what was necessary to preserve his own life.

"He is." Jeremiah agreed.

The man chuckled softly to himself and patted the sleeping boy's arm. "They used to fight like cats and dogs. Now, I had to force her out of here so she could get some sleep."

"They?" Jeremiah asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Lelouch and Milly. She was forever trying to dress him up and he was always taking her favorite things hostage. Preventative measures, he called it once when I asked him about it. He'd ransom them back to her to get her to leave him alone. Of course, that didn't stop him from stealing them again the moment her back was turned.

"Eventually it turned into a rivalry of sorts." The man smiled wistfully, "I remember one summer they dared each other to stay out in a thunderstorm. So out they went to one of the out buildings at the vacation home to tough out the storm alone. Lelouch won, obviously. After some of the things that boy's seen, a little thunderstorm isn't anything to be afraid of." The old man said, lips twisting into a frown before twitching back into a smile. "But he still came back in to the house first. Taking pity on my poor Milly who'd had the wits frightened out of her but was too stubborn to let him win."

"Telling stories about me, Reuben?" The prince asked tiredly, eyes still closed with a small smile on his lips. "Who's the audience? I just might have to order an execution. I have a reputation to maintain these days, you know."

"When haven't you tried to maintain your reputation?" The old man replied.

"Apologies, my prince. We didn't mean to wake you." Jeremiah said respectfully.

The prince's eyes snapped open in disbelief. "Gottwald?" He choked and attempted to struggle into a sitting position, only to hiss in pain a second later and give up the effort. "What the hell are you tell him stories like that for, old man? God, I thought it was Shirley or someone."

"Miss Fenette's out in the waiting room." Reuben replied unapologetically.

Lelouch sent a glare at the old man before turning his head to face Jeremiah.

And then it hit him. That this was the moment he should have been fearing. That _Lelouch_ would know who had shot him. And if it had, by some unimaginable twist of fate, been him, the boy would hate him.

But there wasn't any animosity in the boy's gaze, just the cold efficiency he'd come to associate with the prince before he'd seen him on the brink of death. "What's the situation? What's been happening?"

"I'll leave you two be since you want to talk shop." Reuben said as he stiffly stood up from his chair and stretched before making his way to the door. "By the way, Lelouch, the doctor said you're not to attempt to sit up."

Prince Lelouch shot an annoyed scowl at the man's back as he made his way out the door before slowly struggling to sit up.

"Please don't strain yourself, your highness." Jeremiah pleaded as he moved to assist.

"If I don't sit up, I'll be asleep again in a minute." The prince grumbled. "Tell me what's been happening."

"Nothing's been happening. I've put a gag order on everyone who was in Shinjuku and have Villetta fielding the media."

"You did?" Lelouch asked in surprise.

"Well, yes. I've been left in charge. General Bartley abandoned his post and dropped out of communication after . . . the incident. He's been taken into custody and I was next in the chain of command." He answered.

"Really . . ." The prince mused, before his mouth twisted into a smirk. "Even better. Did Bartley say why he deserted?"

"He says he doesn't remember." Jeremiah answered hesitantly. "The last thing he remembers is guarding Prince Clovis' command center. My men found him wandering aimlessly in the Settlement."

"Hmm." The prince nodded thoughtfully.

"Your highness. . ." He hesitated, but it was now or never. "Who shot you?" He asked, heart pounding in his throat. He felt sick with the suspicion that it was himself, but not knowing had to be worse than knowing for certain one way or the other. And the boy had to know.

Prince Lelouch's expression turned guarded for a moment before a creeping, sly, smile curved across his lips. "I didn't see their face, but I imagine one of the terrorists must have followed us onto the G-1."

Jeremiah knew that the prince was an excellent liar. He knew that the boy could have told him anything and made him believe it. But this lie was so glaringly bad and almost _sarcastic_ that he wasn't sure why the prince had even bothered to answer the question. The prince wanted him to know he was lying. Why?

To further make him doubt himself? To make him agonize over that period of time that came up blank in his mind – just like Bartley? He needed to know if it was him, but he didn't know how to ask. However much he wanted to know, he was still scared of finding out. And he didn't want to give himself away.

What if it had been him? What would he do? Turn himself in?

Why wasn't the prince accusing him? He didn't doubt for a second that the boy knew who the culprit was. So then . . . did that mean he was mistaken? Had it . . . _not_ been him? But the missing bullets spoke otherwise. Unless he'd been disarmed and . . . framed?

"That's my official statement, by the way." Lelouch added after a moment of silence.

"I see." Jeremiah said, nodding slightly. "I've sent men after the terrorists."

"Withdraw them." The prince ordered. "And organize for relief to be sent to Shinjuku. I don't want another soldier setting foot in Shinjuku until I order otherwise. Also, seal the records of anything having to do with the incident. Even with the lies I had you telling Clovis during our approach, it wouldn't be too hard for someone to guess that you were involved with the terrorists if they had the IFF data. And then I want you to make a statement telling the people what's happened. Keep it brief and vague. Only tell them that Clovis is dead and that I was wounded and make sure you stress the fact that only the terrorists are to blame, not the Eleven population at large. And then I want you to increase my security."

"Prince Lelouch, releasing this news will likely cause unrest."

"I'm aware of that, but it's the easiest way to stir up the terrorists." The prince replied. "Let's face it, right now, I'm helpless. It would be the perfect opportunity for them to strike."

"So you're goading them?" Jeremiah asked incredulously.

"Of course. The top three men in the country are either dead, wounded or disgraced. No doubt they'll assume the administration is in chaos and attempt to take advantage of it. This is the perfect opportunity for us to draw the Kenshiki out. They wanted Clovis, but I'm sure they'll settle for me if they can. Of course, they might be paralyzed by the shock of losing their justification. Either way, boost my security. I transferred seventy Knights to my command before this mess occurred, though I doubt Bartley had the time to look into it.

"Not that it matters, they're mine. Use some of them to lock down the hospital. No one goes in or out without being searched for weapons and explosives."

"Yes, your highness." Jeremiah said helplessly. He knew, even without trying, that any attempt to change the prince's mind about using himself as bait for terrorists wouldn't work. He obviously had a plan. "You've ordered me to withdraw the men searching for the terrorists. What about a scapegoat?"

God, he hoped he hadn't just signed his own death warrant.

The boy grimaced. "Leave it for now. I had hoped that all of those terrorists would go down and we could blame it on them. But if they're reckless and decide to take credit for Clovis' death after we say the perpetrators have been killed, we'll end up looking like fools."

"But you've asked me to withdraw the men I sent after them. If we catch them -"

"Clovis sanctioned a massacre, Gottwald. The anti-Britannian sentiment has to be running at an all time high and sending soldiers into the area now is just asking for revolt. I'm here to put an end to terrorism. I don't want to give more people a reason for dissent. We can leave the people in suspense for now." The prince said firmly before wincing slightly.

"I understand. Are you in pain, my prince?" He asked sympathetically, noticing the tension in his expression. Jeremiah had been shot before – granted, it had never been so close to a vital organ – and he knew that it hurt like hell.

"I'm in pain every time I breath." The boy grumbled. "Ask a doctor how long I'm going to have to stay in here."

"They want to keep you for observation for a week." Jeremiah answered. He'd already asked the doctors before going to question Bartley.

"Great." Lelouch grumbled before slowly sinking back towards the pillow. "I hate hospitals."

"I believe Miss Cardston was making arrangements to have you transferred to your home earlier than that for security reasons." Jeremiah provided helpfully. Or at least, that was what he assumed judging from the conversation he'd overheard between the woman and one of the doctors.

The boy chuckled slightly. "She's great, isn't she?" He asked rhetorically as his eyes began slipping closed again.

Jeremiah understood that he was dismissed. The boy needed his rest anyway. "I'll leave you be, my prince." He said, bowing slightly before heading for the door. The boy was quite the taskmaster and he had work to do. It looked like the nap he'd been hoping for would have to wait.

"Gottwald." The prince called after him. "Thank you. You saved my life."

He paused, hesitating. So then . . . maybe he wasn't being framed after all?

"I told you I intended to get you out of there alive."

"So you did." The boy agreed sleepily.

* * *

Suzaku had passed out halfway to the hospital. When he awoke some time later, it was to find Cecile seated next to his bed flipping through a magazine while Lloyd had commandeered the opposing bed as a work station and, it looked like, had taken apart one of the hospital's monitoring machines in his boredom.

He felt distinctly uncomfortable having them there. After all, they barely knew each other and there was no reason for either one of them to sit at his sick bed for however long he'd been out.

And that's when he remembered that he was the newest toy in Lloyd's apparently vast and spacious toy box and that the man had been chattering happily about running tests and gathering more data before he'd passed out in the van on the way to the hospital.

He grunted as he attempted to sit up, only to be greeted by Cecile's hand gently pushing his chest back down to the bed. "Good morning, Suzaku. How are you feeling?" She asked as she set her magazine aside.

"Fine, I guess." He answered.

He didn't feel fine. In fact, he felt like he'd been repeatedly run over by a truck after a long night of drinking. Everything hurt, his head spun and his muscles seemed to be tensing of their own accord to suppress a shivering that was probably still an aftereffect of shock. And he was exhausted.

"You really didn't have to stay here though." He said awkwardly.

"It's alright. We wanted to stay." She said with a smile before her tone turned deceptively threatening. "Isn't that right, Lloyd? Wasn't there something you wanted to say to Suzaku now that he's awake."

Lloyd froze for a second before glancing over his shoulder and attempting to look unaffected. "Is he?" He blinked, then turned back to the mass of plastic and wiring in front of them. "Well, I've been told to apologize for fixing you." He said, adding a petulant little 'hmph' at the end. "Though they obviously just don't appreciate my genius."

"Um . . . I forgive you?" He said, unsure if the man had actually apologized or not.

It was then that Cecile whispered to him that Lloyd had been reamed out by half of the medical professionals in the hospital for his blatant misuse of stimulants. If he'd been Britannian, no doubt they'd have been encouraging Suzaku to press charges. She also told him that Lloyd was pouting, but that he really had been worried about Suzaku's health.

Personally, he thought the woman was trying to ascribe her own worries onto Lloyd to make him feel better. From what he'd seen of the man so far, he somewhat doubted that Lloyd was capable of worrying about another person if it didn't affect the progress of his latest project.

Okay, well there he went contradicting himself.

Somehow he'd managed to forget that the man thought he practically owned Suzaku now. Lloyd had left absolutely no question as to just who Suzaku worked for now. He'd been transferred – or was going to be transferred – to the A.S.E.E.C. and Lloyd was going to be his boss. He wasn't given the opportunity to refuse.

Not that he necessarily would have. He'd been recruited for the sole purpose of piloting the Lancelot. There was no way an Eleven would ever be allowed into the Knightmare Corps, but the A.S.E.E.C. was part of the Engineering Corps and so the same rules didn't apply.

It was the chance of a lifetime and he wasn't going to waste it.

He was distracted by a sudden hush that fell over the room and realized that the TV had been droning in the background. He glanced at the screen and saw a man he recognized vaguely as a high ranking military officer standing behind a podium.

"I am Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald. I have temporarily taken up the post of Acting Consul in the wake of a terrorist attack. It is with great remorse that I must inform you that the attack was successful and Viceroy Clovis la Britannia lost his life yesterday afternoon. Prince Lelouch vi Britannia was also targeted in the attack."

_Oh please God, no._

Not after everything – not after risking his life tying to save him.

"He's recovering from his injuries and will take over in my stead as soon as he is well enough to do so. At this time, I would like to stress that it was the actions of a select few Eleven terrorists who stole our Viceroy from us and that you should not take your anger out on the Eleven population at large. And I would like to assure you that we are expending every effort into catching the perpetrators."

"What a curious thing for the leader of the Purist Faction to say." Lloyd mused as he abandoned the pile of plastic and wires in favor of coming to stand next to Suzaku's bed to watch the television. "You would think he'd be using this opportunity to hammer in some anti-Eleven legislation. I wonder who's mouthpiece he's playing as? And what happened to General Bartley? He was supposed to be in command before Gottwald."

"Maybe the General was caught up in the attack as well." Cecile suggested with a frown. "He was always around the Viceroy."

"Well, I suppose that's possible. After all, Bartley kicking the bucket isn't exactly as news worthy as two Imperial princes being murdered by terrorists." Lloyd sighed. "Well, we can hope. I never did like the man. I'm sure he was the one who kept talking the Viceroy out of letting us launch the Lancelot sooner."

But Suzaku didn't really care about this Gottwald man and who he might be working for. Nor did he care where General Bartley had gone and why he wasn't in command. All he cared about was the overwhelming relief that was coursing through him at hearing that Lelouch was still alive.

Relief tinged with . . . a little disappointment. Because Suzaku knew, even if the rest of the world didn't, that the likelihood of it being terrorists who had killed Prince Clovis was slim compared to the possibility that the princes had shot each other.

Suzaku knew Lelouch. Even if they hadn't seen each other in seven years, he knew from those last two brief encounters that he hadn't changed that much. Lelouch had always been vindictive. Even the slightest of insults had been met with a petty revenge before the day was out.

He remembered quite clearly that soon after the vi Britannias had arrived in Japan he had once unwittingly made Nunnally cry. Lelouch had feigned an injury before going to Suzaku's father and claimed he'd been assaulted by the man's brutish son before declaring that the Emperor would be interested in knowing that this was how the Japanese treated Britannian royalty.

Granted, the story hadn't been that farfetched since, at the time, Suzaku had been using any excuse he could think of to slug Lelouch at every possible chance. But it was the first time Lelouch had gone on the offensive as a result and Suzaku had ended up grounded for a week along with being forced to attend extra training sessions at the dojo where his instructor was deliberately hard on him. And all that week, the Britannian prince had worn a triumphant little smirk on his lips.

So Suzaku should have guessed that Lelouch wouldn't do the sensible thing and simply go into hiding until the fighting was over. He should have known, but he'd allowed himself to be blinded by his hope that Lelouch would value safeguarding his life over taking revenge. But apparently that wasn't the case.

There was no doubt that Clovis was dead. There was also no doubt that Lelouch had been there at the time. To Suzaku, it was glaringly obvious what had to have happened aboard the G-1 command center, even if they did decide to blame it on the terrorists.

Which was another thing he was disappointed in Lelouch for. Lelouch had once told him about his and Nunnally's mother, and about how she had died. Assassination, Lelouch had said firmly despite all of the claims that it was a highly organized terrorist attack. The coverup had outraged him, but here he was doing the same thing to Prince Clovis.

Someone else was bound to find out. Eventually, someone would put it together. And people were never easy to forgive murder – especially the the murder of a family member. Suzaku knew firsthand just what kind of situation Lelouch had plunged himself into.

He sighed and closed his eyes, hoping he'd be able to fall back into unconsciousness. And hoping that the situation would change by the time he woke up. And hoping that Lelouch didn't get caught. Much as he didn't approve of his friend's actions, he was still mostly on Lelouch's side.

* * *

AN:

. . . I'm a horrible student. I haven't been to school at all this week (though mostly because I was sick). So instead, I've been cranking out these chapters like they're going out of style. Seriously, I'm beginning to feel like Niizuma Eiji from Bakuman with this story - except without quite so much crazy screaming and blaring music. . . . I mean, I don't scream at all when I write.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. And thanks for all of your reviews for last chapter. It was interesting to see your speculation on the Geass command. And it was also interesting to see your suggestions for Clovis' Geass. However, I'm not going to think further on writing that story until Dauntless is finished.

Also, I was asked if there was any fanart for this story, particularly of my OC's. The answer is no, not that I'm aware of. Unfortunately I only draw stick men. However, if any of you are good at drawing, I'd certainly love to see Dauntless art. ~.^

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. We'll get to see Lelouch's pov next chapter.

Allora


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Lelouch was man enough to admit when he had made a mistake. Furthermore, he was smart enough to learn from them. So he had learned his lesson and, upon waking for the first time in the hospital to find Milly crying over him, had silently sworn that he would never ever _ever_ order someone to shoot him to belay suspicion again.

It was, quite simply put, not worth it. The moment the gun had fired, he'd realized his mistake. He was pretty sure it had been the qualifier to 'make it look real and that there's no possibility of self-harm' that had damned him. Because the wound sure as hell looked real and there was no way he could have shot himself in the back. Even Lelouch had been sure he was going to die.

But he hadn't. He was still alive, though he was unsure whether this was due to some deliberate skill on Gottwald's part or because of whatever mystical power that governed his Geass.

And that was another mistake he'd made. He knew next to nothing about Geass. Using such an unfamiliar weapon for such a delicate operation was just plain foolish. Hindsight was twenty-twenty, as they say, but he really should have thought things through better. He'd been so focused on what people would think and on taking down Clovis that he hadn't devoted enough time to musing over the consequences to his health.

He'd expected to be shot but the reality of the situation hadn't really registered to him until he'd already had a bullet lodged in his back. Which wasn't where he'd expected to be shot either. He'd been expecting a graze or an injury to a limb. He hadn't been expecting to be shot mere inches away from his heart.

He was damned lucky he wasn't dead.

But he couldn't really blame Gottwald for his situation since it had been his own fault. He had used the Geass power to give the man that order. And the power, to his foggy understanding, granted him absolute obedience. And while the man had actually hesitated for a moment, as though he were trying to fight the impulse Lelouch had implanted in his head, Gottwald had still done exactly what Lelouch had asked him to – albeit more effectively than he'd ever imagined.

And since Gottwald had shot him in the back, there was no way anyone could accuse Lelouch of being the one to shoot Clovis – since the only way that was possible was if Clovis had shot him first to which Lelouch had retaliated. But all anyone would need to do would be to look at his military record in firearms training to prove that head shots weren't exactly his forte.

And honestly, it had taken all of his considerable willpower to force himself back to his feet and stagger out of the room so Gottwald could find him help, rather than curling up in a miserable ball on the floor next to Clovis' corpse and waiting for death to take him. Obviously, he'd known it would hurt. He just hadn't been prepared for how much it would hurt.

No, he decided that if he ever got to choose the manner of his death, it would not be by firing squad. If he couldn't go quietly in his sleep, he thought maybe having his Knightmare blowup and instantly incinerate him would be better. That would probably hurt like hell too, but only for a second. There would be none of this lingering, throbbing ache every time he inhaled and every time his heart beat.

It didn't really come to him until sometime during his third day in this bedridden incarceration – and really this ought to have been a good indication of just how _out of it _he was – the full implications of the Geass power he'd been given.

He'd . . . _won._

He was sitting in his room – alone for the first time in days (his well wishers had gone for lunch and promised to bring him back something decent) – when it hit him. Geass was like his instant win button. It was so incredibly _easy._ In fact, it was so easy that it wasn't even enjoyable. It was like playing a video game with the difficultly setting set to 'For Morons'. You knew you were going to win, but you just wanted to see how big you could make your empire first.

The Empire . . . no, the Emperor was his.

He let out a hysterical little chuckle, ignoring the pain it flared from aggravating his wound. He had _**won**_. The Emperor had summoned Lelouch before for a private audience with him no less than three times over the last six months. The fourth time would be his undoing.

Even more appealing, Lelouch imagined the man would like to talk to him about the recent mishap with Clovis and the implications it had on the task he'd been assigned. This was his chance. He would use the Geass power on him and order the man to execute himself.

Or maybe . . . he'd utterly bend the man to his will. Wrest complete control from the bastard and make him into his slave. It would be no less than the Emperor deserved. And it was no less than what the Emperor was trying to do to him.

His fingers crept up, gently caressing over his left eye where his trump card was secretly closeted away. That girl would have his eternal thanks for the gift she had given him. Schneizel's plan would likely take years to come to fruition, but with Geass, Lelouch could act now. He could avenge his mother and Nunnally and his own mistreatment.

He could pull down the tyrant any way he could think of. Any way he wanted. For once – for the first time – the Emperor was his toy to play with, not the other way around.

He chuckled again, lips twisting into a wide, victorious smirk as he thought of the game he'd just won without even fully playing. It was like playing chess against a particularly uninspiring opponent. He could plan out all of his moves in advance, mapping out the shortest route to the enemy King and predicting when and where his enemy would attempt to counter him.

But with this Geass, he had the ability to topple any piece that moved against him.

However, he would have to be careful to keep this power hidden (it would be suspicious if too many people fell to his will). Already, he regret using it on Gottwald. It hadn't been necessary, it had just been him bragging to Clovis about his foolishness. But now Gottwald's usefulness had been compromised. He'd easily been able to identify the uncertainty in the older man's eyes when he'd asked about the shooting. Not to mention to terror when the man had explained General Bartely's situation.

That was another thing he hadn't thought through. When he'd told those men to 'disperse' he'd thought they'd just leave the G-1 before snapping out of their trance. Apparently not. He wondered vaguely if they would snap out of it on their own or if he would have to ask Gottwald to send people after all of the men he'd 'dispersed'.

Providing that Gottwald wasn't completely creeped out by him and was still willing to follow his orders. The man was doing his bidding for now, but he assumed that was mostly because Lelouch outranked him. When it came to more delicate and less state-driven matters, he wasn't sure.

He wondered just how much the man actually remembered. He'd ordered Gottwald to forget everything he'd seen on the command level – since he'd had to erase that little stunt with the guards from the man's memory too – but did that mean that the man had forgotten every time he'd ever been on the command level of a G-1 or just that time he'd been there with Lelouch?

Gah, so many questions. He'd have to subtly experiment with his Geass soon. There was too much he didn't know about it. Too many variables that he didn't know whether or not he could control. He didn't want there to be any unexpected surprises (like Bartley wandering off aimlessly for hours) the next time he used it.

Bringing his thoughts back to Gottwald, he frowned. The man was definitely a huge asset and could certainly be used to his benefit. However, an explanation would have to be given for the events aboard the G-1, wouldn't it? There was only so much that blind loyalty could account for, wasn't there? And a mysterious memory loss coinciding with the murder of an Imperial prince, along with all of the physical evidence pointing his way, was probably past the limits of that loyalty.

Not that he thought Gottwald wouldn't notice the physical evidence and make the effort to hide it before anyone else stumbled across it. And with his new position, - Acting Consul, good grief if there was one good thing about Bartley being in that crowd of soldiers, this was it – Gottwald would have to be a fool to let himself be trapped by the evidence. He had it in his power to bury anything that would point to him under a seal of confidentiality.

He'd been worried about dealing with Bartley at first. The General would have been on the warpath following Clovis' death and Lelouch knew he would have been at the top of the man's shit list. Bartley would have been privy to the order for his execution. He was almost certain of that. Bartley would have been a major thorn in his side.

But Gottwald had ever so cleanly and effortlessly (and unintentionally) dealt with the problem. Arrested and awaiting court martial for dereliction of duty. The man was disgraced and had been promptly removed from a position in which he could threaten Lelouch. Even if he did decide to put the puzzle pieces together and claim that Lelouch had killed Clovis, how would he hope to explain it?

'Clovis attempted to assassinate Lelouch, so the younger prince must have killed him in retaliation. Not that I remember any of this or played witness to it because I was wandering aimlessly at the time.' No. The man was hooped and they both knew it. If he kept his mouth shut, he at least had the slim chance of surviving this debacle.

All things considered, the situation wasn't as bad as it could have been.

He was interrupted from his musings when someone knocked on the door softly. He knew it had to be one of his friends, because the nurses never bothered knocking, so called out the customary 'come in.' that was required.

It was Rivalz, holding up a paper plate with a sandwich ensconced in cling wrap in offering. "You're still up." He noted. "I thought you would have passed out again by now. I was just going to leave his on your side table."

"Please don't. I'm starving for real food." Lelouch groaned as he held out his hand to take the plate. He'd been given permission by one of the nurses to sit up earlier that morning (as if he hadn't been doing it already) and so settled the plate in his lap before picking off the cling wrap one-handed. His left arm had been put in a sling and tightly bound to his side to minimize the movement of the shoulder blade the bullet had damaged.

Rivalz sprawled into the chair next to the bed, legs stretched out lazily in front of him. "So . . . are you going to be alright, buddy?" He asked after a moment of silence. It was the first time they'd had a chance to talk in private since Lelouch had returned to the royal family – every other time there had always been other people in the room.

Lelouch nodded. "Yeah. The doctors said it will completely heal, though I might suffer some stiffness sometimes."

"That's not what I meant." Rivalz said, tapping a finger against the arm of the chair – a familiar tic that indicated he was unsure of himself.

"Then what did you mean?" Lelouch asked, glancing pointedly at the dancing finger to let him know that he'd given himself away.

"I meant that you threw down with the terrorists and lost. Isn't that going to be bad for your rep, or something? Won't the Emperor be mad?" He asked, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees to stare earnestly at Lelouch.

Lelouch smiled slightly. Rivalz was concerned for him. "I'll be fine. My reputation can take the hit. And the Emperor is probably just disappointed that another opportunity to be rid of me was wasted. Whatever people may say, I am not that man's new favorite."

Rivalz nodded before hesitating, finger going back to tapping against his knee. "You know . . . I was really surprised when I found out you were a prince all those months ago."

Rivalz had always prided himself on being Lelouch's partner. They were a team. They worked well together. When Lelouch had suggested their little gambling scheme when they were fourteen, Rivalz had jumped on the chance. Rivalz had worried about the logistics, he'd worked the odds, found fat, rich, overconfident opponents for Lelouch to crush and had, of course, played as his chauffeur. They were a team. Friends.

So, it was easy for Lelouch to see what Rivalz was really driving at. Just what it was that his friend hadn't said when he'd made that last comment.

"It wasn't because I didn't trust you, Rivalz." Lelouch said quietly. "I didn't identify myself as a prince anymore. I'd thought I'd shed this skin already. I never expected to have to go back. I didn't tell you because it didn't matter to me. I wasn't Lelouch vi Britannia, Eleventh prince of the Holy Britannian Empire then. I was just . . . Lelouch Lamperouge."

Which was true. Even if he had harbored thoughts of revenge even then, it had never been to reclaim his birthright. It had just been about revenge. About the crimes that had been commit against his mother and his sister and against the Japanese . . . and against himself, though he was the least scathed.

Rivalz snorted. "I wasn't trying to accuse you." He shrugged, blowing off the reassurance even though Lelouch could see that he had been reassured – his finger had stopped tapping.

"Okay." Lelouch smiled, turning finally to address the sandwich in his lap (Turkey BLT, his favorite). "So fill me in on what's been happening with you guys over the last couple months."

"I . . . asked Milly out." Rivalz hesitated.

"Yeah?" Lelouch asked between mouthfuls. "Did she make you cry?"

"Ha, ha, you jerk." Rivalz said, blushing and glancing away. So that was an affirmative. "She said yes, eventually."

"What?" Lelouch choked, staring incredulously at his friend.

"We've been dating for a while now." He revealed.

"Define 'a while'." Lelouch ordered. "'A while' to Milly is like three days."

"A couple months." Rivalz said with a slight glare.

Lelouch burst out laughing then hissed in pain and settled for a mirthful smirk.

"Serves you right." Rivalz grumbled pitilessly. "It's not funny anyway."

"I apologize, but it's just so unlikely that you would be able to tame her. Honestly, I thought if you ever did manage to convince her to say yes, that she'd devour you whole. I could just foresee it. Her making you carry her purse everywhere, stealing your credit cards for shopping sprees, demanding obedience." Lelouch chuckled.

"She doesn't make me carry her purse." Rivalz retorted teasingly.

It felt . . . strange being like this with Rivalz. Almost like he'd gone back in time. Almost like he could forget the plots and the schemes and could just _go back_ to a time when he'd been safe and relatively happy living within the confines of the Ashfords' prestigious academy. But the illusion was ruined a moment later when a knock sounded at the door and Edith entered.

This was also strange – how both of his worlds had collided here in this hospital. Here, there were people visiting both Lelouch Lamperouge and Lelouch vi Britannia. He'd been absolutely mortified when he'd woken up that first morning to find Reuben regaling Gottwald with tales of just what a good little boy he had once been.

"Lelouch, I apologize for interrupting." Edith said, nodding her head to Rivalz in greeting. "Mr. Cardemonte."

"Just call me Rivalz." His friend shrugged. "Do you need me to leave?"

Lelouch raised an inquiring eyebrow at his assistant, wondering the same question. "It's about your wife."

Lelouch grimaced. "You can stay if you want. This won't take long." He grumbled to Rivalz before gesturing for Edith to continue.

"You had me monitoring her spending. She just chartered a plane and we can assume that it's intended destination is Area Eleven." Edith explained.

He groaned before abandoning his half-eaten sandwich back to the realms of the paper plate in his lap before holding out his hand for a phone. "Call her."

Edith smiled sympathetically at him before dialing the number into a cellphone and handing it to him. It rang twice before an unfamiliar voice answered the phone in crisp, self-important tones. "This is Princess-Consort vi Britannia's phone. May I ask who's calling?"

"This is Lelouch," He growled, twitching slightly at the unfamiliarity. You would think Abigail would at least have programmed all of his numbers into her phone so they'd come up on the caller ID. "Give the phone to Abigail."

The woman on the other end of the phone made a surprised little squeak "I . . . your highness, Princess -"

"Now." Lelouch ordered cutting off the excuse the woman was about to force feed him.

"Yes, of course." The woman said quickly.

Half a minute later, the phone was handed off to his wife.

"I want you to stop whatever it is you're doing for a moment and listen to me." He said firmly. "If you use that plane you've chartered to come to Area Eleven, I will make good on my promise of sending you back handcuffed to your seat. I have been shot. This country is going to descend into turmoil. This really isn't a good place for you to be right now. Do you understand?"

There was a long moment of silence on the other end of the line before she sighed. "I see the news reports were greatly over exaggerated. They said you were barely clinging on to life."

"I was wounded, but I'll make a complete recovery. You don't need to worry about me." He said reassuringly.

"You could have let me know instead of letting me find out about it from the media." Abigail grumbled.

"You're right. I should have." Lelouch nodded. Worrying about Abigail's reaction to this hadn't even crossed his painkiller-hazed mind. Part of him was surprised that it had taken her so long to act.

"Just how did you know about that plane anyway?" She demanded, and he could practically hear the glare in her voice. "Are you spying on me?"

"Yes." He answered unapologetically.

"Why?"

"To stop you from doing stupid things like chartering a plane to Area Eleven in the wake of a terrorist attack." He replied. As always, he gained just a _little bit_ of satisfaction from verbally sparring with her. Sometimes he even enjoyed goading her.

"I don't see what's stupid about going to see my husband after he was critically injured." She replied cattily.

"What's stupid about it, is that I'm temporarily incapacitated. Who do you think is going to protect you while I'm in the hospital?" He rebutted.

"I was going to bring Bruce." She huffed with a verbal eye roll.

"Bruce is not supposed to be in my house, Abigail." He reminded her firmly. It was one of the conditions he'd set down before their marriage. The hulking bodyguard had to go – his very presence had annoyed Lelouch. So Bruce went back to Duke Chapman after Lelouch had provided his father-in-law with the full professional profiles of all of his security team members.

"Just because you don't like him doesn't mean that I can't have him guarding me. You aren't here and you took most of your security guys with you." She pointed out haughtily.

"I also replaced all of the security guys I took with me. The Aeries Villa is just as secure as it used to be. You don't need to acquire more personal guards."

"You're right. Maybe you need to be the one acquiring more guards." She replied, successfully turning the conversation around.

"I think it's a bit too soon for those kinds of comments, Abigail." He said, nonplussed.

"You said I didn't have to worry. You told me that you weren't taking risks and that you had no intention on letting the terrorists kill you. Do you remember that, Lelouch? It was only a couple days ago." She nagged.

Lelouch shot Rivalz an apologetic look before rolling his eyes. Rivalz, for his part, was trying not to look like he was listening. "Yes, I remember that. I was shot, not diagnosed with amnesia." He replied. "But I'll say it again, you don't need to worry. You'll get to keep your title and play princess for as long as you want. I have no intention of letting them kill me."

Abigail made an appalled little noise into the receiver. "You think that's what I care about? I'm worried about _you, _Lelouch."

"I fail to see why."

"Because you're my husband!" She snapped. "I don't see how this is hard to understand."

"I've never given you a reason to care one way or the other about me. So long as I'm alive, you keep your titles – it's what you married me for." Lelouch replied scathingly.

"And why did you agree to the marriage then?" She demanded.

"You know why."

"Because you wanted the Emperor to believe you were meekly under his thumb?" She asked.

"We are _not_ discussing this over the phone." Lelouch hissed, his mood turning sour. She was hitting too close to the mark. He couldn't understand her persistence. He'd given her his answer, she should accept it. Their marriage was a sham. "And you are not coming here. Stay in Pendragon." He ordered before snapping the phone shut and holding it out to Edith wordlessly.

"So . . ." Rivalz said at length. "Trouble in paradise?" He asked with a teasing grin.

Lelouch glared in response.

* * *

At the same time that Lelouch was expounding to Rivalz about how completely and utterly fucked up his marriage was to a woman who seemed like she had been specifically made to push his buttons (to which Rivalz had replied with a teasing 'Oh, so you think she was made for you?'), Jeremiah was throwing up into the wastepaper basket in his office.

After thoroughly emptying the contents of his stomach, he slumped back into his chair and stared – horrified – at the computer screen in front of him, where his military profile was on display. On display because the striations of the bullet they had fished out of Clovis' skull were the same as the bullet they had pulled out of Prince Lelouch's back . . . and were the same as every other bullet he had ever fired with his gun.

Worse, he had determined (after contracting a forensic analyst) that his were the only fingerprints on the weapon.

. . . He had shot Prince Lelouch . . . in the back. Like some kind of god damned traitor.

He couldn't give a damn about Clovis' death at the moment or the fact that he had, apparently, been the one to plant the bullet between the Viceroy's eyes. He cared much much more about the bullet that had almost killed Prince Lelouch.

Empress Marianne had to be turning in grave right now. This was a betrayal of the most vile kind. The vows he'd made to her and the one he had recently resworn to her son – to protect the vi Britannias no matter the cost, no matter the enemy – had been defiled. How could he even bear to show his face in the boy's presence again? How could he possibly let himself fall under his prince's cool, calculating violet gaze again without drowning in his guilt?

Why would he have done it?

What could possibly have driven him to that point? Certainly not that his own life was in danger. His life didn't belong to himself anymore. He'd given it to the boy months ago for him to do with as he pleased – so even if Prince Lelouch had been planning on betraying him or framing him, he never would have retaliated. He never would have hurt the prince.

_Why_ couldn't he remember?

That was the most infuriating part. Why couldn't he remember that most critical period of time? What had happened to make him forget? Trauma of some kind? But no, that was unlikely since Bartley was suffering from the same kind of unexplained memory loss.

He hated not knowing. And he knew that Prince Lelouch wasn't suffering from the same kind of memory loss. He wasn't sure how he knew, but he just did. Maybe it was because of the incoherent rambling the boy had been doing as Jeremiah had tried to save his life.

His prince had mumbled something about an order that he shouldn't have given when he'd first staggered out into the hall. But what order? What had the boy been talking about?

. . .

His eyes widened suddenly in further shock and horror. Had he . . . no, surely not. He wouldn't have deliberately . . . But what if he had?

What if Prince Lelouch had asked him to take up the role of his avenger? Yes, of course he would have done it. He had sworn to follow the boy's every order – to become a weapon in his hands. So if Prince Lelouch had asked him to execute the traitorous Viceroy, he had no doubt that he would have followed the order to the letter. But if he'd then been ordered – because everyone in Shinjuku had been privy to Lelouch opposing Clovis' orders – to . . . hurt the boy so no one would suspect him . . .

_ ". . . weren't supposed to kill me too . . . too close . . . to my heart."_

Was that the plan that had backfired? Was that why the boy could look at him without accusation and loathing in his eyes?

Still, he couldn't completely convince himself that he would have followed the order, even if Prince Lelouch had given it to him. It directly contradicted his oaths. He had sworn that he would never hurt the boy and that he would protect him.

No, he would have refused to follow the order. Much as it shamed him to consider his disloyalty, there were things that he wouldn't do. Hurting the boy was at the top of the list. He wouldn't have shot the prince . . . and yet he couldn't deny that he had.

_Why?_

He pondered the question for minutes dragging on to hours. He _agonized_ over the dilemma. Prince Lelouch could be charismatic, he knew. But he doubted the boy could be charismatic enough to convince him it was a good idea to shoot his liege in the back. Not for any reason. No, he wouldn't have done it. He must have been mistaken. Something else . . . a misfire?

He was drawn out of his thoughts by a knock at the door. He hastily – guiltily – closed the computer program that accused him before remembering that the door was locked. "Yes?" He asked.

"Prince Lelouch is asking for you, sir." His assistant called through the door after trying the handle. "He's been transferred to his home. I have the address here."

Jeremiah felt his insides plummet as dread and anxiety made the bile rise in his throat again. "I- I understand." He called out, thoroughly rattled.

Not yet. It was too soon. He still hadn't come to terms with his guilt. How could he face the boy?

But it was out of his hands now. He'd been summoned by his lord and he had to obey.

He snatched up the two crumpled bullets from the desk – the physical evidences of his guilt – and stuffed them into his pocket for lack of a better thing to do with them before heading for the door, mentally cringing with every step as he imagined his prince's eyes going from aloof to accusatory.

He was not looking forward to this.

* * *

Kallen was pretty sure that if she ever met L.L. in person, her fist would collide with his face the second the realization registered (and that was only if he was lucky and she didn't decide to resort to more violent means of voicing her disapproval). They had been used and discarded. Tricked into becoming the guy's decoys and set up for failure. Tools. Toys. Thoroughly expendable.

Two of their members had been killed (neither had been people she'd really known) and Inoue had been seriously hurt when her cockpit caught fire after ejecting. Their already ragged numbers had been further reduced. And while it didn't make up for the loss of life, at least they'd managed to get four Sutherlands out of the deal.

And at least L.L.'s little plan had succeeded. The guy had delivered in spades. Not only had he managed to stop the massacre, but the Viceroy was dead and, according to all accounts, Prince Lelouch was barely holding on to life and would be following his dear, dead brother shortly.

The media was having a field day with the situation and it didn't help that everyone in the military had clammed up about the events that took place in Shinjuku. But just because the military wasn't talking (except for that cool-faced Purist in the press releases), didn't mean that the Japanese in Shinjuku weren't. For those few reporters with the stones to brave the ghettos, the Japanese (those that had survived) were more than willing to vent about Britannia's military's actions.

And much as she would have liked to be one of them and use her standing as the Stadtfeld heiress to condemn Britannia's actions, Ohgi had brusquely ordered her not to even think about it. She was to keep her head down and do absolutely nothing to draw attention to herself. He knew, as well as she did, what the consequences of this cluster fuck was going to be.

L.L. was a mysterious enigma. They weren't. It was only a matter of time before the Britannians organized a witch hunt for them. Tamaki – idiot that he was in declaring his full name over the radio – had left the city completely and was hiding out with family in Kyoto. The others had all also gone to ground and she'd been unceremoniously dumped on the Stadtfeld's front door step again.

Which may have accounted for some of the hostility she felt towards their mysterious savior/puppetmaster. That, and the fact that she would now have to diligently attend school in order to flesh out her alibi. She was not looking forward to Monday morning. She hadn't actually been to school since the new term had begun and there was sure to be . . . a fuss when she showed up.

There always was. It was like being the new kid in class every time she returned to school. People wanted to know how she was coping with her mysterious chronic illness that seemed to come and go. All she got from her Britannian classmates was pity, sympathy and blatant sucking up (there weren't that many nobles in the school after all). She'd never stuck around long enough for the novelty to wear off before, but she supposed she'd have to this time.

Ohgi had been quite clear on the matter when he'd said that he didn't want to see her face again for a while. He didn't want to see her in the ghettos (or hear of her in the ghettos) and he'd suggested that she work on her Britannian facade because she was going to be stuck wearing it for a while.

So . . . she didn't have anywhere else to go. And it was also probably a good idea anyway – hiding behind the Stadtfeld name to avoid suspicion.

Sighing morosely to herself she opened up her closet and pulled out the warm yellow and distinctly feminine Ashford Academy school uniform that she'd stuffed in the back and had tried to avoid wearing whenever possible. It still fit, as she knew it would, but it was distinctly uncomfortable. She felt restricted, like she couldn't move properly – like she was being confined by the sheer Britannian-ness of it.

She glared at her reflection angrily, hating every second of this, before she smoothed her expression into sickly docility and combed her hair down into a modest and dignified style worthy of Britannian nobility rather than a Japanese terrorist.

"Kallen _Stadtfeld_." She said softly to herself, unable to hide the disdain in her voice when she uttered the surname. But her face had remained mostly neutral (and vapid and weak and God she hated pretending to be sickly).

This was the new face she would wear. The mask she would wear to escape execution. She wondered if it was worth it - if being forced to be someone she wasn't was actually preferable to death.

* * *

AN: Not sure if I like this one, but here it is anyway. At least I solved the suspense of the Geass order for you all.

Also ^,^ I mentioned last chapter that there was no fan art for Dauntless. That situation has been remedied. Komo Pineconeseed oh so kindly made a piece for Edith and I absolutely love it. I've put a link to it on my profile and I hope you go check it out. And if anyone else wants to draw Dauntless stuff, I'd really love to see it.

Also also . . . ijpowers92 wrote a fanfiction about Dauntless. This is seriously the most flattering thing ever. It makes me feel almost like a real author! There's a link to it on my profile as well. I highly recommend you checking it out.

Also (to the power of 3 o,O) I'd just like to thank all of my readers who have been discussing Dauntless in online forums. Is it lame that I googled my own story? sigh. Anyway, I was totally psyched to see it being recommended by people to other readers and some of the opinions were nicer than any review. Let's face it, being compared to 'Lelouch of Britannia' is like being put into some kind of elite echelon. To me, Cal Reflector's fic is the measuring stick that all Code Geass fics measure up against. If only it updated again soon (sigh).

Anyway, enough rambling from me. I hope you enjoyed this and please don't forget to review. I thrive on them. Seriously, it's like an addiction. If any of you were wondering why I update so frequently, it's because you all review so much. It's like a high. I update and then I get like forty emails in a twenty-four ish hour period. And then they kind of trickle off. . . . so I have to get another chapter out so I can read them again. Is this weird?

Thanks for reading!

Allora


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Jeremiah checked the folded piece of paper his assistant had written down the address on three times – he even went so far as to call her to double check she'd written it down correctly – before approaching the thoroughly bizarre manor to find none other than Ambrose at the gate. He remembered the man from the Aeries Villa – once upon a time they had been comrades – and so the likelihood of finding the man halfway across the world in the employ of anyone but Prince Lelouch were slim.

"Lord Jeremiah." Ambrose said respectfully. "We were told you would be coming. I'm afraid you'll have to disarm this time."

Jeremiah nodded and handed the man his gun – honestly not upset by seeing it go. After what he'd done with it, he didn't blame the prince for not wanting him armed. He was only carrying the weapon due to habit. Whenever he thought about the firearm his stomach churned.

Not that it wasn't doing it's fair share of churning anyway, just from being here – called into his prince's presence after such a huge and horrifying revelation. He still felt sick with the knowledge of what he had done. And he still couldn't understand how the prince could so casually request his presence unless it was to have him executed for his treason.

Miss Cardston was waiting for him at the door when he arrived at the house proper, wearing the same blandly polite smile that spoke only of forced civility. "Lord Gottwald." She said with a slight bow of her head. "Lelouch is waiting for you. If you would follow me."

As he fell into step behind her, he couldn't help but examine his surroundings and find, with some relief, that they were decorated in a proper Britannian style. The gardens and the house's exterior had thrown him for a loop with their blatant foreign flair. But the interior was all warm oaks and marble and very very not Japanese.

He wondered what had ever possessed the boy to buy such an unusual house. It wasn't going to gain his prince any support from the local nobility. If people thought he was sympathetic to the Elevens, he'd lose a lot of favor.

He was distracted from his examination when Miss Cardston's phone began ringing in her pocket. She fished it out and glanced at the caller i.d., her eyes tightening slightly in displeasure. Jeremiah was under the impression that the woman would have visibly grimaced if he hadn't been present.

"I apologize. I have to take this. It's his wife. Lelouch is in the den down the hall on your left. Excuse me." She said quickly before turning away and taking off back the way they had come before answering the phone.

Jeremiah watched her disappear around the corner as his nerves returned to him in full force. How could he possibly present himself to his prince knowing what he did now? The suspicion had been bad enough, but now that he knew for certain that he had betrayed the boy, he didn't know how to face him.

For a brief moment, he considered ignoring his prince's summons and fleeing the scene. Fleeing like a coward afraid to face the consequences of his actions. He'd return to his house and drown himself in the most potent liquor he could find and hope that when he regained consciousness and sobriety all of this would turn out to be a bad dream.

But the bullets in his pocket were a solid, steady reminder of just how real the situation was.

And how unforgivable.

That had to be the reason why he was here – to be accused and executed. He knew the boy had a poker face that was next to impossible to crack. That had to be why he hadn't been able to see the boy's anger at the hospital. But now that he was recovering and now that he had been moved to his home where he was firmly in control, the boy must have been ready to deal out judgment and condemnation for his crimes.

He forced himself down the corridor, each footfall leaden with dread. It wasn't that he was afraid to die. As a soldier, he had come to terms with the reality that death was just around the corner many many times (sometimes he'd even wished for it). And he had given his life to the boy, he reminded himself. Lelouch vi Britannia already owned him – both his life and his death – so there was nothing to be afraid of should his prince decide to dispose of him.

But it was the guilt that was plaguing him. The anxiety of knowing that he'd betrayed his prince and that the one person he had sworn to protect at any and all costs had been hurt – had almost died – because of that betrayal. He couldn't bear to see the accusation in the boy's eyes.

As he drew nearer his dreaded destination, he could overhear his prince's voice echoing out of the den's opened door. His tone was somewhat frustrated and Jeremiah unintentionally slowed even further, so he could gain a better grasp of the situation he was about to walk into.

" . . . just what are you accusing me of, Schneizel?" Lelouch asked, his tone turning deadly. "Of course not. I had nothing to do with it . . . You're not particularly grieved either, I might point out . . . What did you expect? He wasn't exactly pleased to see me here. . . . Tch, as if I'd go that far, even for you . . . You know why I'm calling. I want the viceroyship of Area Eleven. I'm sure you can arrange it for me. . . . We had a deal, remember? . . . No, I'm not getting ahead of myself. I still have every intention of helping you."

So then the rumors had been true, that Prince Lelouch had allied himself with the Prime Minister. Jeremiah assumed that this alliance was partially responsible for shielding the younger prince from the apparently malicious intentions of the rest of the Imperial family (if he boy's dark hinting all those months ago was any indication).

Deciding that eavesdropping on his prince any further was probably not a good way to plead for his survival, he steeled himself for the dreaded encounter – knowing that waiting any longer would only make it worse. He closed the last few steps between himself and the den before knocking apologetically on the door frame.

Prince Lelouch was reclining on a chaise lounge, a blanket tucked around his legs as he sifted through a stack of papers in his lap and spoke on the phone. Next to him on the coffee table sat a laptop, a glass of water and a bottle of what were no doubt painkillers. There was also a gun, and Jeremiah's gaze zeroed in on it immediately. Prince Lelouch glanced over his shoulder at Jeremiah for a moment and nodded his head slightly in greeting before turning back to the papers in his lap.

"I have to go. I have a meeting." The prince said calmly, his tone suddenly neutral and guarded. ". . . Yes, I'll think about it. Good bye, Schneizel."

The prince hung up the phone before setting it next to the computer on the coffee table and gesturing for Jeremiah to take the armchair across from him. He hesitated for only a moment, unable to read anything from the boy's gaze (no accusation, no anger, none of the emotions he'd dreaded), before he followed the direction he'd been given and sat down in the chair.

"Was there something you required from me, your highness?" Jeremiah asked.

The boy's lips twitched into a slight smile, "Yes, there is something. _You will always remain loyal to me and will always follow my orders._" The prince said, his tone ultimately authoritative and almost . . . hypnotic.

"Of course, my prince." Jeremiah said, bowing his head slightly while he silently reaffirmed his oaths. While he could understand the prince's doubt after what he had done, he couldn't understand why the boy still wanted him. He didn't understand why the prince wasn't accusing him of his betrayal.

Prince Lelouch however, despite the sincerity of the affirmation, didn't look pleased. He frowned and glanced away for a moment before turning back to Jeremiah with a determined look in his gaze. "_You will tell no one of what you just overheard._" He ordered again, his voice taking the same tone.

"I understand, your highness." He said somewhat guiltily at being caught more or less red-handed eavesdropping.

Again the boy looked dissatisfied, but then he snorted slightly and leaned back into his seat. "Has there been any movement from the Kenshiki?" Prince Lelouch asked, setting aside the stack of papers he'd been examining – military profiles, he realized – to devote his full attention to the conversation.

"Nothing yet." Jeremiah assured him.

Lelouch frowned. "They had been committing an act of terrorism every day before Clovis' death. I didn't think they were spineless enough to lose heart after losing their scapegoat. Everyone knows that they were never really after Clovis anyway, so this lull has to be indicative of something else. Maybe they're planning something big?" He mused, before smiling slightly, eyes alight with mirth. "Maybe they're planning my assassination?"

For the life of him, Jeremiah couldn't figure out what was so funny about the prospect of the Kenshiki faction trying to kill the prince. Maybe it was just because it was ironic – for him to survive an attempt on his life only to be cut down days later? - or maybe the prince just had a morbid fascination with his own death since Jeremiah's betrayal.

Still, much as he wanted to assure the prince that he wouldn't let him be harmed, he'd already failed in that duty. Instead, he remained silent and waited for Lelouch to continue.

"What about our terrorist friends from Shinjuku? Is there any chance they've been particularly foolish and have taken credit for Clovis' murder?" Prince Lelouch asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"No, we haven't heard anything from them. The preliminary search you had me withdraw found that Tamaki Shinichiro had an apartment in Shinjuku. But it was heavily damaged in the fighting and was abandoned. There were no leads on any of the others."

Prince Lelouch sighed. "I saw on the news that some reporters were interviewing Elevens about what happened in Shinjuku."

"Yes. I've tried to discourage them from this, but short of censoring the media – which would likely cause more unrest – there's not much I can do." Jeremiah said, wincing slightly.

"Don't discourage them. Britannians absolutely love their freedom on the press. We'd hate to look like tyrants, wouldn't we?" Prince Lelouch said sarcastically. "As you're probably aware, I have something of a bloody reputation. It's likely that I will be blamed as the source of Shinjuku's slaughter since it was an uncharacteristic move from Clovis."

"Then why don't you want me to suppress the rumors?" Jeremiah asked. He was finding it difficult to follow the prince's thought patterns.

"The damage has already been done. From the first shabby article that was written telling the story of a Shinjuku Eleven, the idea was already planted in the people's minds. I am the Wolf of Britannia," He said with visible disdain. "I slaughtered over a thousand people in Area Eighteen – many of which were civilians – without any apparent remorse. It's in my established character to order an atrocity like the purge of an entire ghetto.

"It's doubtful that people would believe that art-loving Clovis was the man behind the order. But censoring the media will only lead to more unrest, as you said. We'll have to just take advantage of the situation and hope the terrorists decide to come to me until I'm well enough to go to them."

"My prince," Jeremiah said, hesitating. He wasn't sure if he was in a position that allowed him to voice his opinions after what he had done. "I am uncomfortable with the way you wish to use yourself as bait."

"Did you wonder about the choice of décor when you arrived?" Prince Lelouch asked, apparently changing the subject.

"Yes, your highness. But it isn't my place to criticize your tastes." Jeremiah answered.

Prince Lelouch chuckled – a low, deep sound meant to minimize the pain it would cause – before smirking. "You're rather accepting for a member of the Purists, Gottwald. The reason for the décor is that the previous owner of this estate was a bit of an eccentric. He was also ultimately paranoid. This is the most secure residence Edith could find in Tokyo. It's security rivals that of the Aeries Villa, which has a reputation for being impenetrable.

"On top of this manor's innate security, I've transferred twenty Knights to boost my defense. Their Sutherlands are behind the house, which is probably why you didn't notice. I doubt even the JLF has the forces needed to get to me in here. If the Kenshiki want me, they're going to have to come and get me. And then I will break them here, in my own front yard. Along with anyone else foolish enough to try to take me down."

Here was the prince that he had likened to a god again. He had regained his confidence and his charisma – lost the edge of fear and pain that had been tainting his violet gaze. This was the boy who held the reincarnation of Empress Marianne's spirit in him. A true leader of men and someone not to be trifled with. This was the prince who, at only seventeen, had full grown men at his feet. The boy who had proven himself capable of taking the most heavily fortified bastion of resistance in Area Eighteen with only a handful of men.

Jeremiah sighed and bowed his head. "Please allow me to join your guard. I would feel more comfortable overseeing your security myself." He requested, knowing what the answer would likely be. He had already failed in protecting him. Asking him to guard the boy was like asking to be shot again.

"No." Prince Lelouch said immediately, not even hesitating for a second in his response. Jeremiah flinched at the swiftness of the answer. "You are needed to hold the reins of this country until I can be made Viceroy. You were listening earlier, weren't you? To my phone call with Schneizel?"

Jeremiah grimaced before nodding slightly. "I apologize. It wasn't my intention to eavesdrop." He said apologetically.

His prince ignored the apology. "Then you know that I've petitioned for the rule of this Area. I need you to keep control over the situation here until I can officially take over. You will have more important things to take care of than guarding me."

"I understand."

A part of Jeremiah wondered if the prince was setting him up for failure. The boy had proven that he could be cruel when he wanted to be. He had remorselessly recruited and betrayed the terrorists in Shinjuku and he had no guarantee that the prince wasn't planning the same end for him. Not that he wouldn't deserve it, but he wished the boy would just be honest about his intentions for once.

Even knowing that the prince wanted him dead would be better than second guessing every word that came out of the boy's mouth – wondering if there was some ulterior motive behind the instructions. He knew he'd do what the prince wanted, he'd follow his orders and act as the boy's puppet and proxy until he could take over the seat of power himself, but he wished he knew if it was supposed to end in his failure.

He had sins to atone for, after all. _Four_, now that this latest assault on the prince could be added to the tally.

"You know . . ." Prince Lelouch said after a moment, "You've been distinctly nervous around me since you got here."

Jeremiah bit the inside of his lip and attempted not to flinch at the veiled accusation. "Have I, my prince?" He asked for lack of a better response. Really, what was he supposed to say? Confessing his guilt, when he knew the boy knew full well that he had been the one to shoot him, would most likely accomplish nothing. And his prince was still firmly maintaining the story that he had been shot by a terrorist.

"You have." The prince nodded. "It wouldn't perhaps have something to do with the fact that I was shot on your 'watch', would it?"

This time Jeremiah did flinch and his expression had to be enough to give his guilt away.

"You should know," Prince Lelouch said calmly, "That I never asked you to guard me. I asked you to follow my orders. Which you did – every last one of them." Was this it? The answer to the dilemma he'd been agonizing over? The prince was skirting around the issue but it was easy to see the benevolent offering of the olive branch in the words. "So, I don't blame you for my injury."

Absolution.

Jeremiah visibly relaxed in his seat as the tension he'd been carrying drained out of him. He still had no idea how or why he had been driven to follow such an insane order, but the prince had all but forgiven him for it. He realized a moment later that he didn't even _want_ to know how or why. His world was much simpler without the knowledge. He'd learned that sometimes it was just better not to know things.

"Thank you, your highness." He sighed, heedless of the boy's small, satisfied smirk.

"Don't doubt yourself so much, Lord Gottwald. You are very useful to me."

* * *

As Emperor, Charles zi Britannia wore many different faces. It was a requirement of the job. Some masks were more enjoyable to wear than others, some facades he didn't mind. But the one face he had always hated the most was that of the 'Father'.

He found his children . . . annoying, for lack of a better word. They were useful to him now, pieces he could move on the board of a game he had long since tired of. Useful (take Schneizel for example), but still annoying. He still remembered the first time he'd been forced into the role – when Anticlea had thrust a squalling new born Odysseus into his arms, cooing blissfully about how much their little boy looked just like him.

. . . Charles hadn't been able to see it anything of himself in the squirming ball of pudge in his hands. The boy had just been a tiny, breakable mass of baby fat and tears (and God had the boy had a set of lungs on him). There had been nothing that bespoke of power or intelligence or strength. So he had named it Odysseus (if only because he had a certain fondness for Greek epics and was maybe hoping to attribute some of the hero's virtues onto the baby) before handing the boy back to his mother and leaving to take care of more important matters (like his impending rise to the throne).

He'd learned how to wear the mask much better after Anticlea had nagged at him for months about his disinterest in his heir. Not that he'd ever been interested in the boy's mother either (she had been chosen for him – a good, solid match), but he'd learned to at least pretend that he didn't wish the wailing little boy she had produced would be sucked up into the abyss.

By the time Guinevere had been born – to a different wife (thank God for the laws his ancestors had made that demanded the Emperor leave an heir and could take as many wives as he pleased to ensure that – ever since that law had been passed, the Britannian royal line had never failed. It also prevented Henry VIII syndrome.) he had learned not to let his annoyance with his children show. So when her mother had thrust the baby into his arms – proud as a peacock because every woman wanted a little girl – he had forced himself to look vaguely pleased and had named her Guinevere on a whim (why not).

By the time Schneizel had been born, he was well practiced at dealing with new mothers. By the time of Cornelia and Clovis – he'd become a master. His wives just wanted to know that he was pleased with their hard work and so he patted them absently on their sweaty brows and smiled slightly before tucking their newborn babes back into their tired arms and sitting around uselessly – wasting valuable time that could have been spend doing something else – so that his women felt appreciated and he could avoid the months of tears and nagging he'd had to endure from Anticlea.

Marianne had been different.

Marianne had always been different. She'd always been headstrong and demanding and had more personality that his four previous wives combined. He'd never been sure if she was just an anomaly or if it was her commoner heritage that had made the difference. Maybe if his other wives hadn't had all of their spunk beaten out of them by long, tedious lectures on proper etiquette and decorum, they would have been just as vivacious as Marianne. But he doubted it.

Marianne had burned like a sun – scorching away all of his other wives' self-important beliefs that they were foremost in his 'heart'. Because she was very obviously his favorite. So much that he had broken Imperial tradition by marrying a commoner – and a soldier – instead of another graceful, noble dove.

When it had been Marianne's turn at motherhood, she hadn't handed him the boy with the proud, expectant face all of his other wives had worn. Instead, she'd cradled the baby to her chest, long hair falling over her shoulder to create a dark curtain between him and the child before staring him down with the fire that he'd always loved so much about her.

"Lelouch." She'd said firmly. "Lelouch vi Britannia. Eleventh Prince of the Empire."

He'd sighed and acquiesced to her demand before holding out his hands for _Lelouch_. To which she'd told him that he didn't really have to keep up the facade with her. She knew he wasn't interested. He'd rolled his eyes and demanded the boy anyway, because after having five wives, he knew what women were like. If he didn't play out the role – even if she said it was okay – he'd have a repeat of the incident with Anticlea. And he really didn't want to be on the receiving end of Marianne's bitch mode.

So he'd held the boy – Lelouch – and had stared at his pudgy little face. For once the child in his arms wasn't squirming or screaming or annoying. Lelouch just stared at him curiously with violet eyes. And for once – and maybe just because the child wasn't bawling and squirming – he could actually see himself in the child. The boy had his eyes.

He'd snorted and handed the boy back to her, given her the obligatory kiss on the cheek before leaving without another word. But before he was out of earshot, he heard Marianne's little chuckle as she cooed to the boy like every other new mother. "I think you impressed him, my darling little prince."

And the boy did impress him. He'd been precocious as a toddler and smart as a child. Even after V.V.'s betrayal when Marianne had been separated from her body, the boy had impressed him. Ten years old and renouncing his claim to the throne – resigning in protest. He doubted any of his other children would have had the gall.

He chuckled at the memory. The boy had fire. Marianne's fire. There was absolutely no doubt just who's son he was. Smart, determined, ambitious – yes, he was impressed with the boy (not that some of his other children hadn't proven themselves to be just as impressive).

But nothing impressed him more than this latest news.

Behind him, Marianne shifted – for once in her true form so he didn't feel like a pedophile.

"Charles?" She said calmly – in a crisp tone that told him that right now she was 'the Flash' rather than an Empress. "Did you find anything out? Who shot my son? Did Clovis say who his killer was? "

"Mm," He nodded slightly, "And more besides. It turns out that he had been keeping C.C. for experimentation purposes."

Marianne's eyes narrowed. "So C.C. killed him to pay him back for it?"

"No, her new contractor did." Charles replied.

"So she has a new one, does she? I suppose, since it's unlikely that I'll fulfill my contract, it was only natural for her to keep looking. What is it this time? Wasn't her last one a little boy she caused to go mad?" She asked.

"Your son."

The revelation was met with silence for a moment. He glanced over his shoulder at her to see that she'd gone pale. "Lelouch?" She demanded.

"Yes." Charles said. "Apparently Clovis attempted to have him killed for finding out about her. She must have made a contract with him then."

Marianne frowned. "Then Clovis got was he deserved." She snarled.

Charles frowned. "You knew she was in Area Eleven." He accused.

"Don't be ridiculous. Of course I didn't know where she was." Marianne snapped.

"You share a telepathic connection with her. Don't lie to me." Charles growled. Marianne had always been his favorite wife, but she was also the most aggravating of all of them.

"Yes, I share a telepathic connection with her, but it's not like I'm privy to her every thought. You think I'd want to be in that woman's mind? It would drive me far more mad that this second childhood is. Besides, I haven't heard from her in years. I had almost thought she'd found someone to off her." Marianne explained defensively.

Charles stared her down, familiar with her enough to know that it was the best way to get information out of her. She glared back for a moment, before her lips turned into a frown.

"Okay, so I asked her to check in on Lelouch and Nunnally after they were exiled. But I had no idea she'd stayed in Area Eleven. For all I knew, she was enjoying handmade pizza in Italy."

Charles sighed and glanced away. "Well at least we know where she is now. It's likely she'll try to keep close to Lelouch now that he's made a contract with her. It will be easy enough to find her when we're ready for Ragnarok."

"And Lelouch?" Marianne asked hesitantly.

Charles smirked slightly, despite the years and the distance between herself and her children, she'd still fight like a wildcat for them. She'd descended into a temper that had lasted a week when he'd forced the boy to get married. "It was clearly self defense." He said. "Besides, the boy just became more interesting. I want to see what he does with it."

Marianne sighed in relief for a moment before smirking at him. "I'm sure he'll surprise you. Lelouch is nothing like your other children."

* * *

Lelouch had forced a sort of . . . numbness over himself. It had been easier at the hospital, where he had been surrounded by people. Even when he'd been asleep, he'd known there was always someone in the room. He'd been able to focus on them and keep his facade in place. He was a prince after all – a prince who had just murdered his brother and couldn't afford to show any weakness.

But here, in his darkened bedroom in his own house, he was finally alone. And could finally feel the grief.

_Suzaku . . ._

Hadn't he pondered to himself in that subway tunnel that it would be just his luck that he'd finally find Suzaku alive just for him to be killed. And killed in the most stupid of ways. Protecting him.

It was his fault that Suzaku was dead.

If he hadn't wanted to show Clovis up by kidnapping that girl from him, none of this would have happened. He couldn't forget that he was the one who had led Suzaku into that situation. He was the one who had forced Suzaku to help him.

And he couldn't forget that he'd just stood there – immobile – as Suzaku had rushed to his defense. He should have . . . pulled him back or something. He shouldn't have let Suzaku try to protect him like some kind of knight saving a damsel in distress.

Why hadn't he reined Suzaku in?

Granted, they probably would have all died (unless that girl had decided to act sooner), but he wouldn't have been left alive feeling like he'd used his oldest friend like a human shield. God, he felt despicable.

He buried his face in his hands, pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes. He couldn't remember the last time he'd actually cried, but it wasn't about to be now. Much as he wanted to break down and hope that someone (his mother) would come to make everything alright again, he knew it wasn't an option. His mother was dead, just like Suzaku was now dead.

Sometimes (generally only when his musings took on a more fanciful nature in the borders between sleep and wakefulness), he thought he might be cursed. That he was Murphy's Law incarnate. Everything that could go wrong would go wrong. Everything that could be taken from him would be taken. And it was Suzaku's great misfortune that he had ever been caught up in the mess that was Lelouch vi Britannia.

The first day he'd woken up, after several bouts of sinking back into unconsciousness and fuzzily remembering his situation, he'd sent Edith and a squad of his Knights into the subway tunnel to retrieve Suzaku and that girl's bodies. The least he could do, he'd figured, was make sure they were given a decent funeral since it was his fault they were dead.

But when Edith had returned (slightly pale at the amount of blood she'd seen), she'd told him that all of the bodies had already been taken away. He'd given up hope of burying the girl then – without even so much as a name to go on she'd be impossible to find – but had send Edith after Suzaku's corpse.

If he'd been taken when the Royal Guard were taken away, it meant the Britannian military had him. He should have been listed as part of the Britannian dead. Lelouch knew for a fact that the members of Clovis' Royal Guard who had attempted to kill him were being buried with full honors. Of course, it was just as likely that the military had left him to rot since he was 'only an Eleven'.

In which case it was possible that the local Japanese had taken Suzaku's body to bury properly. It was possible, since Suzaku's face had been exposed, that they would have identified him as one of them. Then again, it was also just as possible that the Japanese had taken his body with plans to defile it. Emotions ran pretty high when it came to the Honorary Britannian system.

He stared up at the ceiling of his bedroom and toyed with the idea of trying to track down the rest of the Kururugis. Not that he thought he'd be any more successful this time than he had been any other time he'd tried looking for them over the last seven years, but he still wanted to try. He wanted to ask if maybe Suzaku's body had been returned to them.

But then, they probably wouldn't be very pleased to hear from him – especially not as the Wolf of Britannia – since they were still in hiding. Every member of the Kururugi family had the potential of acting as a magnet for dissidence. Therefore, Clovis would have labeled them a threat. The Kururugis obviously knew that, which is why they were still in hiding (or dead).

Lelouch was actually surprised that Suzaku had had the balls to enlist under his real name. It had been just as likely that he'd have ended up shot.

Lelouch cringed. He'd ended up getting shot anyway. And it was his fault.

He rolled onto his side – flinching at the pain that shot down his spine – and buried his face into his pillow, trying to rid the sight of Suzaku's bloodless face from his mind. He'd seen plenty of corpses before, but few had been as ashen as Suzaku's.

He hated this. He wished his Geass gave him the opportunity to go back in time instead. There was so much he would have been able to change. Even . . . even his mother. Would he have been able to save her? Could he have distracted her from the meeting that would lead to her demise? But he realized, that if that had happened, he never would have met Suzaku.

Or Milly or Rivalz or Shirley. Lelouch Lamperouge would never have existed. And Nunnally wouldn't have been hurt in the crossfire.

He turned his head to the side and took a deep breath. He was tired. He had to be, and he'd just taken his pain medication which always made him drowsy (he honestly couldn't remember ever sleeping as much as he had in the last three days). That had to be the reason he was letting his mind travel down such frivolous tangents.

He couldn't change the past. He knew that. He'd always known that. He'd even known that when he was a ten year old boy throwing a tantrum while watching his world fall apart. First his mother and Nunnally, then Japan and Suzaku. He was no stranger to disappointment and loss.

The only consolation was that Nunnally was still alive and safely in hiding. He would change this country – he would bring peace here even if he had to force it down the people's throats – both for Nunnally and to honor Suzaku's memory.

* * *

AN: Apologies for the angsty-ness of that last part but I realized that Lelouch hadn't actually been give the chance to grieve. Also, I'm not too sure about Charles. It's hard to write for Charles and Marianne, because in canon they're 'the bad guys!' but they justify their actions by claiming that they wanted to protect Lelouch and Nunnally. Dunno, let me know what you think.

Thanks for reading. To my anonymous reviewer 'UPDATE', I think I've spoiled you. :p Nonetheless it's kind of scary that you knew I already had the chapter finished. I just didn't have time to finish proofing it before I had to go to work.

Also, Dauntless is going to be translated into Russian! I don't speak a word of Russian, but I think it should be interesting nonetheless. My translator says I won't be able to use the Google Chrome translator option but i'm betting that the automated translator can at least leave it semi-coherent. I'll have to wait until he finishes the first chapter. ^.^

Anyway, apologies for sharing my random musings. I'm going to go to bed so I can hopefully go to school in the morning. -.- (honestly I have to be the worst student ever. Is it a bad thing that I'd rather write the next chapter for all of you instead of learning about the striations the Romans used to decorate their concrete? o.O) Oh, and speaking of striations (which led me to thinking about bullets for those of you who couldn't make the leap of my twisted logic yourselves), one of you asked why there were only two bullets missing from Jeremiah's gun since he shot that guard too. It wasn't that there were only two bullets missing, it was that there were two bullets he couldn't account for.

Anyway, next few chapters should be semi-fun and then we'll veer away from canon completely for a while again. Did you guys like the semi-canon stuff or my own story that I'd been writing before (Area 18, the wedding, political schmoozing etc) better? I know a bunch of you were like (YAHOOO!) Geass! But I also got a couple reviews giving me a 'meh the canon stuff is going down hill'. And while I don't necessarily agree with them, per se, I do kind of understand. This canon stuff has been a bit harder to write - I feel constrained by the sheer canony goodness of it.

Anyway (sure do say this a lot), I was going to bed two paragraphs ago. So this time I'll really actually go.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to review. Remember, your reviews are what fuel Dauntless. ^.^

Allora


	44. Chapter 44

o.O Who knew that five days was such a long wait for you guys. You're absolutely spoiled.

Chapter 44

"Riots have broken out all over the country. Despite your pleading for the people to remain calm, over fifty Britannian civilians bodies have been retrieved from the Tokyo ghettos alone. Presumably, they went there to teach the Elevens a lesson and to avenge Prince Clovis, but were overcome by the Numbers. Protests have started along the borders with some of the ghettos and in front of the Honorary Britannian Administration buildings. Over three hundred Elevens have been arrested for violent crimes by the local police, many more haven't been caught." Villetta cited efficiently. "In short, the Settlement is quickly spiraling out of control."

Jeremiah, of course, knew this. He may not have known the exact details, but he'd known that the relative peace they'd enjoyed under Clovis' reign was in shambles. And with the terrorists still on the loose and Prince Lelouch still forbidding a military presence in the ghettos, it was likely to grow even further out of control.

He sighed. "And?" He asked. "What exactly do you expect me to do? Prince Lelouch has forbidden soldiers from entering the ghettos. Keeping the peace is the job of the police."

"The police have their hands full trying to suppress the riots." She replied. "And they don't have the numbers or resources required to flush out the terrorists who shot the princes."

"Which is exactly why I asked what you expected me to do?" Jeremiah replied. "I'm receiving my orders from Prince Lelouch."

"And I understand that, but Prince Lelouch is still a boy. And however tactically genius he might be, he can't be expected to understand all matters of state. Production has already decreased by ten percent since Prince Clovis' murder. If someone doesn't take the fall, this country is going to grind to a halt. And, quite frankly speaking, the Purist Faction has never been in a better position to enforce change.

"At the very least we should be able to void the Honorary Britannian system before control is taken from us. I know you don't support it. You've always said it was the worst mistake Prince Clovis ever made." Villetta said pointedly.

Which was true. He had said that and he had never supported the Honorary Britannian system. It was nothing more than petty appeasement to the mob. However, he was fairly certain that attempting to assassinate Prince Lelouch could now be ranked as the _worst_ mistake Clovis had ever made.

Jeremiah grimaced and rubbed his forehead. He could feel a headache coming on. As prestigious as the position of Acting Consul was, it was a lot of stress. And Jeremiah had never been a man for politics. It was why he'd joined the army – the only other acceptable route for a son of the Gottwald house to take (at least in his father's opinion).

"Here." Kewell said, speaking for the first time as he tossed a folder onto the desk in front of Jeremiah. "I already did all the hard work for you, sir."

When Villetta had first entered his office with that determined look on her face, he'd known he was in for a lecture of some kind. But when he'd seen Kewell accompanying her, he'd been hard pressed to keep his composure. Generally speaking, the two disliked each other. Quite often they avoided each other's company altogether except for missions.

It stemmed mostly from the fact that Villetta's family had only gained their noble titles in the last generation. As far as Kewell was concerned, Villetta was little more than a commoner parading as a noble. Out of all the Purists, Jeremiah found Kewell the most fanatic in keeping with the faction's tenets.

He glanced down at the folder and flipped it open to find the face of an Eleven boy staring grimly back at him. "What's this?" He asked obligingly – because if Kewell _and_ Villetta had been able to come to an agreement on something, it was worthy enough to take note of.

"That is the eldest son of the former Prime Minister of Japan. Suzaku Kururugi. He applied for Honorary Britannian status and joined the military soon after gaining it." Kewell explained. "Even more appealing is the fact that he was one of the expendables the Royal Guard sent into the subway tunnels in Shinjuku.

"If we set him up as the prince's shooter, we'll be able to prove that the terrorists have been using the Honorary Britannian system to infiltrate our ranks. It ought to be enough to put the final nail in the Honorary Britannian system. And since Prince Lelouch has sworn to eliminate all terrorists in Area Eleven, the real culprits will be found and dealt with soon enough. This is just a . . . stop gap measure to appease the people. Once Kururugi has been charged and executed, most people will go back to work."

Jeremiah leaned back in his chair, staring down at the photo of the boy in front of him. Ten percent was a _huge_ loss in production. Generally speaking, anything over one percent was a cause for panic. So Villetta was right and something needed to be done, but Prince Lelouch had continued to stall him.

_Why?_

He'd visited the prince every day this week – had even been invited to dinner twice – but Prince Lelouch had never discussed or asked about the selection of a scapegoat except for that first day when he'd said to wait. Always, his first two questions were 'what were the Kenshiki doing?' and 'any sign from the terrorists from Shinjuku?'. The boy was focused solely on his mission to eradicate terrorism.

And maybe . . . maybe Villetta was right. Despite his prince's strategic brilliance, he was still young. Furthermore, he'd spent the majority of his childhood leading a normal, teenaged existence. He hadn't been groomed to take a position of power.

That didn't mean, of course, that Jeremiah wouldn't follow his orders. It didn't mean that he was any less loyal to his prince, but in this case, he thought it prudent to act. Before the country the prince was so keen on ruling was turned into nothing but anarchical chaos and ruins.

"Villetta, I'm leaving you in charge of this." He said, gesturing to the profile on his desk as he watched – with no small amount of satisfaction – as Kewell visibly showed his disappointment. This entire set up had obviously been Kewell's idea and now that it had been approved, he had been passed over. Jeremiah had not, after all, forgiven or forgotten the man's betrayal in Shinjuku. While he was limited in the disciplinary actions he could take – since Kewell and Villetta were actually of the same rank (and Kewell had held that rank for longer and thus had seniority) and it was the prerogative of a Knight to adapt without orders when the situation called for it – Jeremiah wouldn't let petty vengeances like this pass him by to show his displeasure.

"It will be done, my Lord." Villetta said crisply before saluting and turning on her heel, headed for the door with her long, silver hair trailing behind her.

Kewell also saluted, with a frustrated "Sir." before following Villetta out, leaving Jeremiah blissfully alone in his office. He slumped back into his chair and reached for a bottle of aspirin from the top drawer before dry swallowing two of the little capsules.

Safeguarding Prince Lelouch's 'inheritance' from Clovis until he was well enough to take over wasn't as easy as he had hoped it would be. Especially not with the state of things as they were now.

* * *

Suzaku had given up on trying to get better in the hospital after waking up for the second morning to find Lloyd looming over him checking his vitals. As though the more he checked them, the faster Suzaku would heal. So he'd pleaded with his doctor to be discharged – confident that at least in his apartment Lloyd wouldn't be there when he woke up – to which the doctor had begrudgingly complied.

However, his hopes that leaving the public building would discourage Lloyd's visits were sadly in vain. The first morning after being discharged, he'd found Lloyd pounding on his door at seven thirty in the morning (towing along an apologetic Cecile who'd at least brought him coffee and some strange pastries that she'd made herself). He'd brought a new A.S.E.E.C. uniform and a copy of the Lancelot's manual – since he wasn't doing anything – and had told Suzaku that he expected him on site the next morning to begin simulation training.

Apparently, Lloyd had interpreted his discharge from the hospital to mean that he was completely better. Which he wasn't, but he doubted he'd be able to convince Lloyd of that. He still felt like crap and his torso twinged any time he moved the wrong way. But he was getting better and if he took it easy, he didn't see why he couldn't work.

Besides, he owed Lloyd and Cecile for saving his life.

So he'd spent the last week working in the Lancelot with Cecile as Lloyd tried to fix the problem with the MVS's while interspersedly cackling about the readings Suzaku was outputting from the machine. Lloyd had gone so far as to translate his worth to the A.S.E.E.C. into a monetary value (not that Cecile didn't scold him every time he did this). Currently, he was worth just over one million Britannian pounds to Lloyd – though he'd discovered that this number had absolutely nothing to do with his salary. Not that it really bothered him.

Suzaku had discovered that he . . . _liked _piloting the Lancelot – and then wondered if that wasn't some kind of betrayal to Japan. That he – the son of Japan's last Prime Minister – should find pleasure in piloting the same kind of machine that had decimated his nation. But then he reminded himself that he'd already betrayed Japan.

What was falling a little further if it helped him achieve his goals?

"Are you getting tired, Suzaku? Your numbers were a bit lower on that last simulation." Cecile asked, her face coming up on the monitor in front of him.

"No, I'm okay." He answered quickly, unwilling to show them weakness. Even if they were being nice to him and treating him fairly, he couldn't let himself forget that they were still Britannians. They would likely continue to be nice to him until he was no longer useful to them. So it was in his best interest to remain useful. He wasn't about to burden them with the pain shooting through his torso and show them his weakness. He was relying on this chance. "I'm sorry. Please let me try that one again. I'll do better this time."

Cecile pursed her lips. "You shouldn't strain yourself, Suzaku. You're still healing."

He sent her a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, Miss Cecile. I promise."

"Okay." She relented. "I'll load that one again. Just make sure you tell me when you begin to get tired. Or if you're in any pain. I don't want you hurting yourself."

"I will." He lied (getting better at this all the time) as her face disappeared from the screen and was replaced by the swirling of wispy clouds.

Because he'd never gone through the specialized Knightmare training every other Britannian pilot had, Cecile was using simulations used by the Advanced Knightmare Training Program. He was learning what the real Knights learned in their training and being tested on the same material.

His current task – recovering from a free fall – wasn't necessarily hard. It was mostly about being able to keep calm and time the recovery. According to Cecile, many pilots panicked and simply shot off their slash harkens at the first thing that looked semi-solid without taking the time to aim or consider the structural integrity of their intended target.

It wasn't hard. He'd just been distracted last time by the pain from his wound because the cockpit jostled erratically while it was in free fall. No matter how much engineers like Lloyd bragged about how 'balanced' their Knightmares were, they were only balanced when they were in an upright, vertical position. Between the weight of the cockpit and the fact that most of the machine's weapons were located on the top half of the machine, it led to an uncontrolled kind of spiraling when they were plunged into free fall. The Lancelot was no exception.

So this scenario basically entailed the Lancelot being shoved out of a plane over a city full of skyscrapers – many of which their entire exterior facades were made of glass windows. He was expected to keep the machine under control and attach himself to one of the buildings. Preferably one that would be able to bear the weight of the Lancelot. He was then supposed to get himself all the way to the 'safety' of the ground, though judging from the last few scenarios he'd run, he'd likely land in the center of an enemy formation. Cecile and Lloyd liked watching his combat statistics.

He plummeted towards the cityscape below, biting down against the pain that shot through his gut every time the Lancelot was caught by a gust of wind as he tried to guide the massive machine towards a building that was not primarily made out of glass. The last time, he'd shot his harkens into one of the supports of one of the many-windowed buildings around him and has ended up smashing into the side. He'd lost points because the shattered glass would have caused major damage to any people below on the sidewalk.

Suzaku hadn't pointed out that an eight ton Knightmare falling on them would have caused more damage.

This time, however, he'd selected a building made primarily of concrete instead - a towering pinnacle of Britannian engineering. He steadied the Lancelot's right arm and fired his wrist-mounted harken into the building's wall, hissing in pain as the Lancelot suddenly jerked to a halt. He fired his other harken into an adjacent building, keeping the Knightmare from slamming into the building – crucified twenty stories over the street below.

At least this time they couldn't claim he'd damaged the road and the people on it. He swiveled his hip-mounted harkens lower down on the buildings he was attached to and fired, preparing for his jerky descent towards the ground. He took a deep breath before withdrawing the harkens that were supporting the Lancelot's weight - butterflies forming in his stomach as he was hit with the curious sensation of weightlessness once again – before being jerked back into stasis.

He gasped in pain then froze in surprise as all of his monitors went dead. Someone had shut down the simulation. Inwardly, he cursed himself for revealing his pain. Cecile must have shut it down when she'd realized he was hurting.

Damn it.

Frowning, he pulled on the cockpit release and came face to face with the barrel of a gun being wielded by a silver-haired Britannian woman.

"Suzaku Kururugi, you are hereby charged with the murder of Prince Clovis la Britannia and the attempted murder of Prince Lelouch vi Britannia. If you resist arrest, you will be executed immediately."

Suzaku stared at the woman uncomprehendingly for a moment. He was being charged . . . with shooting Lelouch? But he'd been in the Lancelot when Lelouch had been shot. There was clear evidence giving him an alibi.

He glanced down to where Cecile and Lloyd were standing, surrounded by a handful of armed men. Lloyd looked peeved – but then again, to Lloyd he was worth a million pounds. Cecile looked genuinely upset.

"Your accusation are ridiculous!" Lloyd protested. "Kururugi was piloting the Lancelot when the princes were shot." He said, gesturing wildly at the white Knightmare.

"We have evidence placing him at the scene of the crime." The woman said harshly, holding up a pair of handcuffs in her other hand.

"What?" Suzaku yelped in surprise. Evidence? How could there possibly have been evidence. He'd never even been in the G-1 before. Unless . . . what? Unless he'd shed on Lelouch or something when they were in the subway.

And how exactly was he supposed to explain that? Should he tell them what really went down? That Prince Clovis had tried to kill Lelouch? But if he did that, it wouldn't take that great of a leap of the imagination to figure out that Lelouch had killed the Viceroy.

. . . did he know too much?

Was that why this was happening? Was Lelouch having him disposed of so he couldn't tell anyone of what had happened in the subway? He held the missing piece of the puzzle.

No. Lelouch wouldn't do that to him. He had to trust that Lelouch wouldn't betray him like that. He knew Lelouch. He knew Lelouch wouldn't deliberately do something like this to him.

. . . But Lelouch wasn't really the same as he'd used to be. He cringed at the memory of Lelouch mercilessly gunning down that terrorist in the subway tunnel.

_ "I killed countless civilians in my raid on Qal'a Al Kuthban. So don't think putting this terrorist out of his misery is going to cause some kind of irremovable stain on my conscience."_

That was right. Lelouch believed his conscience was irrevocably tarnished – that the horror of the crimes he'd already commit overshadowed any further wrongdoing he could possibly perpetrate. So even this . . .

Was Lelouch really that merciless? Was even he a disposable pawn on the prince's board?

Why shouldn't he be? What had he ever done to earn an exception to the rule? This was why – deep down in the secret recesses of his soul – he hated Britannia. Because truth and fairness and justice didn't mean anything to Britannians like this woman. Britannia was all about schemes and ploys and lies all wrapped and knotted around each other to make a hopeless mess. Britannia was corrupt.

So he wasn't necessarily surprised that the real culprit (Lelouch) wasn't being arrested. Nor was he all that surprised that his name had been put forward as a possible scapegoat (he'd always known it was a possibility). He was surprised, however, that Lelouch was the one behind it.

Though, then again, Lelouch might not have been the one behind it. According to the news, Lelouch was still in the hospital and fighting for his life after being shot in the heart. And if that were the case, then the person behind this order had to be the Acting Consul.

What had Lloyd said that day while watching the man's address? That he was the leader of the Purist faction? Suzaku had always known that there were those within the military to opposed the Honorary Britannian system. The Purist faction just happened to be the most outspoken about it. And if Lord Gottwald was their leader . . . and if Suzaku was charged with regicide. . .

Suzaku knew that he would always be judged as an example of the Japanese. Even as a small boy he had been raised to accept his role as a model of proper Japanese behavior. That hadn't changed since the invasion. He was almost painfully aware of his status sometimes – that he was Suzaku Kururugi, the oldest son of Japan's last Prime Minister.

It was one of the reasons he'd become an Honorary Britannian – not the main one but one of the smaller reasons. He'd hoped to encourage others to follow the same path – to abandon the cycle of fruitless resistance and violence – to affect change from within. So he'd always known that he was under scrutiny and that if made a mistake others would be only too quick to call him on it.

He'd suppressed his emotions – killed the volatile little boy he'd once been in favor of an emotionless soldier. If he didn't make any mistakes, the Britannians would have to see that the Japanese weren't all hostile. That cooperation was possible.

But that was only possible if he wasn't set up for the murder of the Viceroy.

He could only imagine the damage such a conviction would cause to the Honorary Britannian system. And without Prince Clovis alive to defend the program he'd created, and with Lelouch still incapacitated and fighting for his life, it would be only too easy for the Purists to lay waste tot he Honorary Britannian system.

Honorary Britannians all over Area Eleven would have their citizenship status revoke and be forced out of the lives they'd built for themselves. Many would likely be injured or killed. He needed to _do_ something, but what?

What could he do?

Shit. Shit. Shit.

He glanced at the woman, and guessed that he'd be able to take her down. But then what? He'd still likely have to dodge gunfire from her subordinates in order to get away. And running away wouldn't solve anything. In fact, it would only confirm his 'guilt'.

But if he went with her, he'd be executed as a traitor and the Honorary Britannian system – the only social program the Britannians had put into place to benefit the Numbers – would likely be disbanded. No. No that wasn't true.

If they were just about executing him, she would have pulled the trigger by now. They wanted to make this into a show – to turn the people against the Honorary Britannian system. Which meant they would likely give him a trial.

If he could defend himself well enough in court, there was still a chance. His only chance.

He slowly raised his hands in surrender – only momentarily considering fleeing back into the confines of the Lancelot to wait until they left (hoping this would all just go away). The woman didn't waste a second in hesitance, deftly clicking the handcuffs around his wrists one-handed as she continued to point her gun at his face.

He thought that maybe she was hoping he'd try to make a break for it, as she hauled him out of the Lancelot and down to the ground. He couldn't think of another reason for her to leave his hands in front of him where he could still use them as a weapon, instead of tucked firmly behind his back.

But he didn't question her as he stood mutely and expressionlessly in her custody. He wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of knowing how unsettled he was by the situation. Instead, he said firmly but steadily. "I'm innocent."

"We know you are, Suzaku." Cecile said with a sympathetic frown. "We'll figure this out. I promise. Lloyd will get you out of this."

But Lloyd was frowning at a man that his captor had brought with her. "Lord Kewell, I hope you realize that I will be testifying on this boy's behalf. He has a perfectly good alibi and I can prove it. I'm not going to sit by and let such a valuable piece of equipment be wasted."

"Lord Asplund," The man smiled coolly.

_Lord?_ Suzaku stared at Lloyd in surprise. Lloyd was a noble?

"Your testimony is inadmissible in court. I believe you would lie in order to protect _such a valuable piece of equipment_."

Lloyd's eyes narrowed for a moment before he turned away, apparently unconcerned. "Nevertheless. I will be there. That boy is worth 1.1 million pounds to me."

Lord Kewell snorted disdainfully. "A bit overpriced for an Eleven, no? And your attempt at bribing me has failed. Villetta, let's go."

Suzaku's eyes widened. That had been an attempt at bribery? He'd thought it had just been a reference to their running joke. Which meant that Lloyd was really willing to pay that much to ensure his release? He'd have to totally revise the way he thought of the engineer now. He felt like a bit of an ass for his previous suppositions.

'Villetta's' fingers tightened around his bicep though her face remained impassive as she jerked him into motion and out of the building. She waited until they were safely out of sight of everyone else before glaring at Lord Kewell.

"Do not forget which one of us Lord Jeremiah put in charge of this issue, Kewell." She growled.

Lord Jeremiah . . . Gottwald? So then, his guess had been right. It had seemed the more likely of the two scenarios he'd considered. If it had been Lelouch trying to keep him quiet, he had a suspicion that he would have had armed assailants breaking into his apartment in the middle of the night to dispose of him. His death could have been blamed on all of the unrest in the city since the Shinjuku incident.

His guess was further supported when he was led out of the building to the flurry of camera flashes and angry, derogatory slurs from the mob of reporters standing outside. If the press had been informed before his arrest, it pretty much confirmed that he was just some kind of spectacular scapegoat.

He forced the most beguiling innocent expression he knew onto his face as he was led through the gauntlet of reporters and hoped it masked his panic. He was walking into the lions den with no guarantee that he would come out alive.

God, he hoped he could talk his way out of this somehow.

* * *

Kallen was . . . coping. Readjusting to school life was strange and foreign to her. Whereas up until recently all of her conversations had revolved around liberating Japan, the number of casualties the release of Code-R (which they hadn't managed to recover) would cause, and speculation on just who was behind Naoto's murder, she now found herself drawn into petty diatribes about the bad mood of the gym teacher, how hard their math homework was and just who the cutest boy on campus was.

On her second day of attendance, she'd been recruited by the Student Council. Apparently, the school had put into place a new rule that demanded all students join at least one club sometime within the last year that she'd been absent. 'To facilitate student body cohesion', whatever the hell that meant. The point was that she hadn't really been given a choice. Because of her stupid sickly persona, she was ineligible to join most clubs and so the principal had decided to 'help her out' and had told Milly Ashford to induct her into the Student Council.

Which is why she was still on campus at four-thirty on a Thursday afternoon for the Student Council's weekly meeting. Since she didn't live on campus (though she was seriously considering moving into the dorms if only to escape Lady Stadtfeld and the wreck that was her biological mother), she'd rarely ever been on school grounds this late in the past. It was a different kind of feeling than the school had while classes were in session. More . . . relaxed and informal. Almost forbidden.

Her mandatory induction into the Student Council was also the reason why she was currently carrying a dusty box of old festival decorations from out of storage. Beside her, Shirley Fenette was similarly laden with supplies for the upcoming frivolous festival the Student Council President was planning to lighten the student body's spirits after the Viceroy's death and Prince Lelouch's wounding.

"And then I also have swim club on Tuesdays, so Milly agreed to moving the Student Council meetings to Thursdays even though her favorite television show comes on tonight at six. Which is why she kind of rushes through the meetings." Shirley explained.

Kallen actually kind of liked Shirley. She was nice. Okay, she was overly – like drowning you in sugary sweetness – nice. Even when Kallen had subtly commented on the Shinjuku massacre, Shirley hadn't jumped on the derogatory bandwagon by stating that the Elevens had got what they'd deserved. The girl had just voice her distress at the overwhelming loss of life.

"So if we don't get through all of the material we need to in time, does the President call off the meeting early and reschedule it on Fridays?" Kallen asked cautiously. Not that she really had much to do on Fridays anyway since she'd been kicked out of the ghettos. And even if Ohgi hadn't banished her, with the state the ghettos were in now, she would be lucky if she didn't end up shanked.

"Oh, no. Milly will just make us finish the work and go watch her show in the next room." Shirley answered, embarrassed by the tyranny of their fearless leader. "Or she calls for a break and we have to finish it after."

But Kallen wasn't all that surprised by the President's high-handed approach to governing the school. She assumed that this was what happened when you were raised with a prince.

At first, she'd been nervous when Milly Ashford had recruited her into the Student Council. She was, after all half-Japanese and a terrorist. But on top of that, she was one of the terrorists who had served as a distraction in Shinjuku so that L.L. could shoot the princes. If the Ashford girl ever found out about that, she was fairly certain she'd end up crucified in the center of the school grounds. Not that she didn't expect that to happen anyway if _anyone _found out about her involvement in Shinjuku.

Which is why she intended to jealously guard her secret.

Which was why she was pretending to be so weak and letting Shirley carry the majority of the boxes they'd been sent to retrieve even though Kallen was pretty sure she was stronger than the swimmer.

"I see." She said nonplussed.

"They found the guy who shot Lelouch!" Someone exclaimed from a nearby common area before a guy that she didn't know emerged from the room and repeated the announcement louder for anyone else in the vicinity. "They caught the bastard who shot Lelouch! He's on the t.v. now."

Shirley dropped the boxes she'd been laden with in the middle of the corridor, multicolored streamers rolling away from one upended box as Shirley rushed into the common area. Kallen followed at a more sedate pace, no less anxious about the news, but acutely aware of the feeble persona she was supposed to be presenting. She set her box next to Shirley's mess and joined the other students clustered around the communal television.

"Suzaku Kururugi, Honorary Britannian and the son of the last Prime Minister of Japan has been charged with the murder of Prince Clovis la Britannia and the attempted murder of Prince Lelouch vi Britannia." The reporter repeated as the footage of a young Japanese guy was led, handcuffed but unprotesting past the camera.

So this . . . was L.L.

Her eyes narrowed as she gazed at the boy who had betrayed them. But at the same time, he'd likely also saved them. Without those Sutherlands they would have probably been wiped out by the Britannians.

He was as young as she'd guessed he was, though the blameless expression he was wearing didn't really suit the voice she remembered. He must have been an excellent actor, to be able to look that innocent after what he'd done. But the goal . . .

It made sense now. That the son of Genbu Kururugi should strive to kill the Britannian princes that ruled over Japan in order to protect the nation his father had lost. And he'd utilized the Honorary Britannian system to do it. It explained how he'd gotten a hold of those Sutherlands.

So then, had L.L. been in that Sutherland she'd first fought in the Glasgow? But no, that wasn't possible. The Britannians would never willingly let even an Honorary Britannian pilot one of their precious Knightmares. L.L. had probably been the one who had called her assailant away. But then there was that other machine too – L.L.'s friend.

. . . Just how many allies did Suzaku Kururugi have within the Britannian military?

Beside her, Shirley had gone stiff and pale, her lips pressed into a thin, angry line as she watched L.L.'s walk of shame. Right, she was supposed to be angry. Distraught over the loss of their dear Viceroy and the injury done to Ashford's darling prince just like everyone else in the room.

Her eyes narrowed. "I hope he hangs." She said quietly – and meant it.

Because while the rest of the students around her were thinking about Prince Lelouch fighting for his life in the hospital, Kallen was thinking about the other casualties Kururugi had left in his wake. Those two members of their resistance and Inoue, who had been severely burned to a significant portion of her body. Inoue, who wasn't receiving anywhere near the same level of care as that bastard prince was.

"He will." One of the other students assured her firmly. "There's no way he'll get off the hook for what he did to Viceroy Clovis and Lelouch."

* * *

At the same time, Kyoshiro Tohdoh was watching the image of his former pupil led away in handcuffs with mixed feelings. All around him, arguments raged between the leaders of the JLF as to whether or not they should allow this execution. The boy was Genbu's son, after all, and all present had been active under the Kururugi regime. There was loyalty there, and it extended to the rest of the Kururugi family as well.

However, ever since the boy had run away from home and joined the military, none of his family had contacted him. Tohdoh wondered if he'd actually been cast out, but then pushed the thought aside. Still, there was no denying that after Genbu's death, the boy had changed – and his interactions with the rest of the family had changed too. He'd been with the family for a brief time after the end of the war – ensuring that they made it into hiding safely.

He'd never seen a kid so desolate before.

Suzaku had rarely spoken, rarely spent any time in his family's presence. He'd isolated himself, disappearing for hours on end without notice to anyone. The first time, it had driven Tohdoh into a state of panic after the boy had missed both lunch and dinner (and for some reason the boy's mother was unconcerned). He'd found Suzaku well after dark sitting crouched under the foliage just off a walking trail near their safe house.

He'd been staring at a twig in his hand – holding it like he'd been taught to wield a katana – and utterly paralyzed. Afraid – and Tohdoh had felt pity for the boy even though he'd refused to show it. He'd refused to shame the son of the late Prime Minister after the boy had lost so much.

"Do you think he actually did it? It's been over a year since the boy joined the military. Was this his plan all along?" General Katase mused.

The room descended into another fit of boisterous discussion as they considered the possibility. But personally, Tohdoh doubted it. Perhaps if it had only been the Viceroy who had been shot, he'd have been unsure, but Tohdoh knew that boy. And Tohdoh knew Prince Lelouch as well – he remembered the arrogant little whelp from before the invasion.

Those two boys had been inseparable – even when they were fighting. It had been like they were magnetically drawn to each other, if only so they'd have someone to argue with. And he couldn't forget that Suzaku had once declared the Britannian his closest friend. Nor could he forget that once, when General Kusakabe had suggested to the Prime Minister that they just kill the Britannian prince and princess they'd been burdened with, Suzaku had foolishly revealed that he and the prince had been eavesdropping and had sworn he'd protect Lelouch. That he would protect the prince and his sister from anyone who dared to try to hurt them. Never mind the fact that Kusakabe had been at least twice the size of him and had more years of experience in combat that the boy had been alive.

Suzaku always kept his promises, it was a code of honor that had been drilled into him since he was a child. Therefore, he would never have raised his hand against Prince Lelouch.

Which meant that the Britannians were likely using the boy for his name. Who better to pin the attack on than the boy with the most reason for vengeance?

The real question they should be asking is what they were gong to do about it. Were they just going to let the heir of the Kururugi household and son of the last Prime Minister die? Tried and convicted for a crime he didn't commit by the Britannian system he'd put so much faith in.

The Kururugi boy was undoubtedly a fool for allying himself with the Britannians anyway. But there was no denying that he could be used. He was of an age now that he could play an active role in the liberation of Japan. The boy could be a banner to the Japanese people.

. . . supposing it was possible to rescue him, of course.

It came down to whether the gains outweighed the risk. It would be difficult to get the boy out of Britannian custody. Some members of the JLF would likely die in attempting the endeavor. Just how high did he value the boy? How many lives was Suzaku Kururugi worth?

"Lieutenant-Colonel Tohdoh, what is your opinion? You know the boy best as you are his former instructor." Katase asked, voice rising above the others that were still arguing.

A hush fell, as it always did when they asked for his opinion. Generally, he listened and observed as his commanding officers bickered about operations and didn't speak unless directly asked for his opinion.

"The Britannians are using Suzaku Kururugi as a scapegoat to cover their own incompetence and help restore peace. He's not the real shooter." He answered confidently. He knew it was true, but he also knew that it would do nothing to impress the General.

If Kururugi wasn't the shooter, then it meant that the boy really had allied himself with the Britannians. Still, it didn't mean he couldn't switch sides.

Katase frowned grimly, his thoughts obviously traveling along the same line. "I know you hate when people ask you for miracles, so it displeases me to have to be one of them. Tohdoh, can you rescue him?"

He stifled a sigh. Ever since Itsukushima he had been constantly beleaguered with pleas for another miracle. What these people didn't understand was that he hadn't been sure they were going to win at Itsukushima. In fact, he'd been damned certain that they were going to lose – but determined to bring down as many of the Britannians with him as he could. They had been outnumbered and using only outdated weaponry compared to the Britannian Knightmare forces.

_"Create another miracle for us!"_

_ "Tohdoh of the Miracles."_

_ "The Miracle of Itsukushima!"_

Miracle this. Miracle that. As though true miracles really existed. It had only been by their dogged determination not to die in vain and his daring strategy that they'd managed to turn the battle around into a resounding victory – the only Japanese victory in the course of the war.

But Katase knew all of that, along with his disdain for the demands for his intervention, as though were were some magician capable of creating victories at will. And it was only because Katase knew that miracles didn't really exist and because he respected the man that he agreed.

"We will need more information before I can put anything together."

* * *

AN: o.O I hope this fed your addictions to this fic nicely. Seriously, I had no idea you guys were counting the days between updates.

Anyway, the reason for the delay is twofold. One is that my boss pissed me off and so I didn't feel like writing for a couple days because anything I would have come out with would have been crap. The other is that I really wasn't sure about plot mini-arc thing. Your responses to the question last chapter were almost overwhelmingly in favor of my own original material that has nothing to do with canon, and many of you have mentioned that you hope Suzaku doesn't get blamed.

However, I will justify myself here - The creation of Zero did not affect everything in the universe. Some things were completely out of Lelouch's control. So yes, while Lelouch is now a prince and has sway over the administration, the fact remains that the accusations leveled against Suzaku were a powerplay by the Purist faction and I don't think the changes in Lelouch's circumstances will change that. Lelouch has, after all, never voiced his opinion on the Honorary Britannian system, nor his views on the Numbers, except for including that clause into Jeremiah's speech about not taking it out on the Numbers. But that direction can easily be explained as attempting to keep civil peace. Even his alliance with Kallen's terrorist group was nothing more than a convenience he took advantage of then cast by the wayside as soon as they'd fulfilled their purpose.

So, in short, some events that were not directly affected by Lelouch/Zero will still happen in this fic. Otherwise, I'm taking this in a completely different direction.

Also, before any of you try to point out that Villetta is not nobility, please check the author's note to Chapter 23 and Chapter 24. Yup, that's right, I played the AU card on that sucker. ^.^

In other news, I have been informed that I will be getting more fan art soon. Which makes me happy and will be posted to my profile as soon as I see it. ^.^

In other other news, my guppies had babies. Not that this has anything to do with the story, but I still thought I'd share. Have any of you played Fish Tycoon (o.O or not . . . it's kind of boring but addictive at the same time if you run it in the background). Anyway, my fish tank now reminds me of Fish Tycoon 'cause there's baby fishies in it. Hurray.

Thanks for reading and I hope to read your reviews soon.

Allora


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter 45

" . . . Lelouch . . . Lelouch, please wake up." A voice invaded his unconsciousness together with someone gently shaking his arm.

"Hmph." He groaned groggily as he forced his eyes to slide open for a moment. Edith. They slid back closed, his eyelids feeling heavy.

"Please, Lelouch. Wake up."

It was only the slightest hint of panic in her voice that made him force back the drowsiness his painkillers caused. "What?" He croaked sleepily, feeling like his mouth was full of cotton balls. He forced himself to sit up to negate the soporific effects of the pills he'd taken earlier, wincing slightly when his shoulder twinged. "What's wrong?"

She grimaced. "I'm so sorry. I was busy with all of those transfers you'd ordered yesterday that I didn't even check the news. I should have caught it sooner." She apologized in a rush.

"What are you talking about?" He grumbled.

Edith handed him the newspaper she'd had tucked under her arm and gestured to the front page where . . . _Suzaku_ stared back at him.

For a moment, his sleep-muddled mind hung in stasis and he stared at the picture. Suzaku was . . . alive. Suzaku was _alive!_ And Lelouch had left him to rot in that subway tunnel like some kind of unwanted rat. He hunched over on himself, his breath whooshing out of him as though he'd been physcially hit as the guilt of his actions settled over him like a weight. He'd left Suzaku to die.

He'd checked for Suzaku's pulse. He hadn't been able to find it. Granted, his hands had been shaking and his own heartbeat had been thundering in his ears, but he still should have been able to find it. He felt like an idiot. A monster. An inconsiderate bastard who had left his best friend to die after he'd taken a bullet for him.

And then, while his mind was still trying to come to terms with the miracle of Suzaku's survival, his eyes drifted to the headline; _Former Prime Minister's Son Charged with Two Counts High Treason._

If nothing else, the shock brought his still slightly sleepy mind sharply back into focus. _Suzaku_ was being charged with Clovis' murder? With shooting him? Fucking unbelievable. This was so wrong, it wasn't even funny.

_Suzaku Kururugi was arrested yesterday afternoon for the murder of Prince Clovis la Britannia and the attempted murder of Lelouch vi Britannia. Kururugi is, of course, the son of Japan's last Prime Minister, Genbu Kururugi. The Kururugi family was thought to have all perished during the invasion, though investigation into this incident reveals that Suzaku Kururugi applied for Honorary Britannian citizenship in 2016 a.t.b and later joined the military. _

_According to Baroness Villetta Nu, the woman in charge of bringing Kururugi in, they were alerted to the Honorary Britannian's treachery when they found physical evidence linking him to the scene of the crime - _

He cut off after that, not really caring what kind of propaganda the newspapers had been ordered to spew for the Purist faction. Villetta Nu . . . Gottwald's subordinate. That woman who's Knightmare he'd taken in Shinjuku.

What the hell did Gottwald think he was doing?

"Is he still alive?" He asked Edith, hoping to keep the panic out of his voice.

"Yes. He's scheduled to attend a court martial before they execute him." She answered promptly.

"When?" He demanded.

Edith grimaced. "Today. They're rushing things. It starts in three hours."

"_Today_?" He asked incredulously, glancing at the date on the newspaper. Suzaku had only been in custody for a day. There was no way they could build a case against him that quickly . . . well, no he supposed when all of their evidence was contrived, it probably wouldn't be that hard. "Fucking hell." He seethed and desperately wanted to reach out and hit something. But he was still aware of the throbbing that was echoing dully in his shoulder and refrained.

"I'm sorry." Edith said softly.

"It's not your fault." He growled. No, the blame for this mess rested with someone else entirely. "I'm grateful you caught it in time. Thank you for alerting me." He said, his tone softening a little as he pushed the covers back and began getting out of bed. "Please tell Samson to dress the car in Imperial regalia. I don't care how he does it, but make sure that it's obvious I'm in it." He ordered, shuffling over to his wardrobe.

"Lelouch, you're not supposed to be out of bed." Edith protested. "Just phone Lord Gottwald and get him to put an end to this." She said, offering her cellphone.

"It's too late for that." He said as he began pulling clothes out of the wardrobe. "There's no quiet way to solve this anymore. They've already smeared his face across the media. Every Britannian in Area Eleven will be after his blood. If he's not properly vindicated, he'll just wind up dead anyway. Even if they let him go."

"Then send me. You shouldn't strain yourself. I'll go -"

"Edith." He cut her off firmly as he turned to face her. "Suzaku almost died trying to protect me. I'm not going to sit here uselessly and pretend it doesn't matter. Now go and inform Samson of my requirements. Unless you intend on helping me dress." He growled pointedly as he began unbuttoning his shirt.

She blushed and turned away. "The doctor's going to have my head." She grumbled as she headed for the door.

Lelouch sighed as she left, pausing before attempting to wrestle with the sling that held his shoulder immobile. Gottwald – that god damned idiot. Not only had he stepped out of line by doing something he'd expressly told the man not to, but he'd also ruined all of Lelouch's plans. He'd been willing to wait until he was formally made Viceroy of Area Eleven – playing up his injury for all it was worth. He'd intended to let the country fall into ruins before he stepped in and put everything to rights – subtly crafting a new social norm in place of the old and hammering in new 'emergency' legislation that favored the Japanese.

Now though . . . God, he would strangle the man if he didn't think he could still be useful. Gottwald had ruined everything. He would have to make an appearance before he was made Viceroy. And he had to rescue Suzaku from the Purists' idiocy. That was sure to make waves. Big ones. A Britannian prince with a fondness for Numbers. He could almost hear the slander that was bound to emerge now.

Still, like everything else, he would turn it to his advantage. If he had to make waves, he wasn't going to try to suppress them. He'd still sworn that he would turn this country on it's head – that he would make Area Eleven into a safe place to live for everyone, Britannians and Numbers alike. So if that required a little wave making . . .well that wasn't really such a bad thing.

Besides, if he made too big of waves, the Emperor was likely to rein him in. And when he did it would be Checkmate. Yes, he could use this to his advantage, but that didn't mean he was about to thank Gottwald for his foolish attempt to frame Suzaku for a crime _he'd_ commit.

Lelouch was fairly certain that Gottwald had figured it out – that he was the one who had shot Clovis and Lelouch. So Lelouch could understand why Gottwald might be overeager to have someone take the fall for Clovis' murder and be done with it. However, that didn't excuse his actions.

That Lelouch should have to get out of bed against doctors orders and fix Gottwald's mistakes was inexcusable.

He changed clothes as quickly as was possible for someone who'd been shot in the back only a week ago, shrugging into an expensive dark suit. Much as he'd have liked to stay in his pajamas, he doubted that it would enforce quite the same image of power as he was going for. If he had to make an appearance, he wasn't about to show the public his weakness. So he left the sling on his bed and instead held his left hand in his pocket, holding his arm close to his side.

He watched the news as he ate breakfast, appalled to see that people were already lining the streets outside the courthouse where Suzaku would be tried, waiting to catch a glimpse of the would-be traitor. He couldn't understand these people – these parasites who just wanted to be part of the drama. Die-hard patriots who wanted to see a show. Well, Lelouch would give them a show.

"Where's your sling?" Edith asked, joining him in the kitchen where the staff was already busily preparing something for lunch.

"Upstairs." He said, gesturing vaguely in the direction of his room on the second floor. "I won't be using it. Is Samson almost done with the car?"

She frowned at him. "Yes. He said he'd had Imperial flags made for all the cars soon after you returned to Pendragon."

"Good."

Lelouch rode primarily in silence the entire way to the detention facility Suzaku was being held at. He was pleased to find that at least the crowds he'd seen on the television weren't aware of Suzaku's current location – which was currently being led in handcuffs toward a mobile platform surrounded by Sutherlands. He was going to be paraded through the streets like Cleopatra at a Roman Triumph. Lelouch's insides went cold with fury when he witnessed one of Suzaku's escorts backhand him when he stumbled a little.

"Lelouch, please keep your head. If you lose your temper -"

"I'll be fine, Edith." He replied, sure to mask his anger under a veil of calm. No, he wasn't about to throw a temper tantrum. He understood full well what a thin line he was treading here and he wasn't about to misstep.

The participants of the scene unfolding – Suzaku, Gottwald, Nu, and some other no doubt high ranking members of the Purist faction – all paused as the car pulled up, staring warily at the vehicle. The caution turned to surprise when he stepped out.

"My prince!" Gottwald exclaimed, "I wasn't aware that you were well enough to be up."

"I'm not, but your stupidity here has forced my hand." He said levelly as he closed the distance between himself and Suzaku. Suzaku was staring at him like he'd grown a second head. "This little coup of the Purist faction's has gone on long enough."

"Coup?" Gottwald asked blankly.

"I expressly remember telling you to wait on this matter, Lord Gottwald." Lelouch said, before holding out his hand. "Where is the key to the handcuffs?"

One of the men who had been 'escorting Suzaku immediately dropped the little key into his hand. "You can't just let him go!" One of the Purists exclaimed behind them.

Lelouch arched an eyebrow at the man. "Can't I?" He asked icily before turning back to the task at hand and sliding the tiny key into the slot.

"Your highness, this Eleven is -"

"Innocent?" Lelouch asked coldly, cutting off the same man's diatribe. "Someone who has saved my life more than a dozen times? Or a close, personal friend of mine? I'm curious, which one of these statements were you about to go with?"

"Lel -" Suzaku protested but cut off with a pained grunt before the word could be completed.

Lelouch's eyes traveled up to Suzaku's face, noting the pained expression, before zeroing in on the collar they'd put around his neck. A shock collar, the type you used when your dog didn't know how to shut up.

"They wouldn't even let you speak." He observed coldly as just what they'd planned made itself obvious. If Suzaku had refused to testify at his court martial, is was tantamount to admitting his guilt. Since they'd decided to go ahead with this charade they'd had to guarantee it's success.

Gottwald bravely stepped forward and attempted to salvage the situation by helping Lelouch. "I apologize, my prince." He said quickly, reaching for the collar. Lelouch reacted without thinking and batted the man's hands away – only realizing his mistake when shrieking agony shot down his spine. His mask slipped and he let out a hiss of pain before clamping down on it – and realizing that his right hand had clamped down around Suzaku's wrist probably hard enough to bruise.

God damn that bastard for approaching him from the left, where he knew Lelouch was injured. He very deliberately uncurled his fingers from Suzaku's mangled wrist before reaching up to release the collar behind Suzaku's neck, tossing the offending strap to the ground.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Lelouch?" Suzaku hissed quietly under his breath.

"For once in your life, don't argue with me." Lelouch replied through grit teeth as he resumed freeing his friend's hands from the cuffs, letting them fall to the ground next to the collar. "Get in the car."

Suzaku looked like he wanted to argue, but Lelouch had already turned his attention back to the Purists, who were watching the scene unfold with varying degrees of dread.

"Due to your stupidity," Lelouch began, "I will deliberately be putting myself in a vulnerable position. Make sure I don't get shot _again_, Gottwald." He ordered, glaring at the man. "I'll deal with your rewards for this amitious idiocy later."

He turned on his heel and returned to the confines of the car, back straight and face impassive until about a second after the door closed when he slumped forward and let out a ragged breath.

"Lelouch." Suzaku said in concern, reaching for him before wincing himself and pausing in his tracks.

Fighting to ignore the pain, Lelouch chuckled softly. "We make quite the pair, eh, Suzaku? Both of us shot all to hell . . ." He joked before remembering just _why _Suzaku had been shot. It had been his fault. And he hadn't even helped Suzaku find medical attention. He'd just left him for dead. "I'm sorry. I should have. . .I checked for your pulse but couldn't find it. I thought you were dead. I've been trying to find your body so I could plan your funeral." He said bitterly.

"It's okay." Suzaku said somewhat uncomfortably. "But Lord Kewell was right. You can't just let me go."

"I'm taking you to your court martial." He replied. "To clear your name."

Suzaku shook his head. "Lelouch, you're going to get shot again at the rate you're going. You can't be seen to be protecting an Eleven."

"I'm a prince. I can do whatever I want." Lelouch said petulantly, echoing one of his childhood catchphrases.

"Lelouch, at least take your pain medication." Edith pleaded. "And now that you've aggravated your arm, I think you should put it back in the sling. Before you do more damage."

"I left it at the house." He said, though he really wished he hadn't at the moment. The sling kept his shoulder from twinging with every step he took or every bump in the road. "And the pain medication makes me sleepy. I can't afford to be less than aware at the moment."

Sighing exasperatedly, Edith fished around in her purse before pulling out a bottle of over-the-counter pain medication. "It will be better than nothing." She explained, then fished out his sling as well. "And I thought you might need this so I went up and got it before we left."

For a moment, Edith reminded him of one of those new moms who couldn't leave the house for an hour without fully loading the car and preparing for every possible eventuality. He wondered if she thought of herself a little something like that too.

"Thank you, Edith." Before tapping out two of the capsules and handing the bottle to Suzaku.

"Just as stubborn as you've always been." Suzaku sighed as he dry swallowed the pills.

"What are you talking about? You were always the stubborn one." Lelouch smiled, sitting up somewhat straight as he began gingerly replacing the sling that he'd really rather go without for the sake of his image. However, he could accept the validity of Edith's argument and with the amount of pain he was in, he knew he wouldn't be able to concentrate. "Why didn't you tell them you knew me?" Lelouch asked. "You could have avoided this entire mess."

"You know as well as I do that if I'd told them I'd known you they'd have turned it around somehow into a confession. I'm an Eleven, Lelouch. It would have been my word against theirs." Suzaku shrugged.

Lelouch scowled. "You still should have tried. What were you hoping to do? Convince them at your trial? If you'd told them you were my friend, Gottwald at least would probably have checked with me."

" . . . Am I still your friend?" Suzaku asked hesitantly.

"Don't be an idiot." He rolled his eyes. "Why else would I be here rescuing you?"

Suzaku's eyes narrowed in accusation, "So it wasn't that you just didn't want to see someone else pay for your crime. If it had been anyone else . . ."

Lelouch glared at him, ignoring the gasp of surprise Edith let out. Of course it was too much to hope that Suzaku wouldn't have been able to put the pieces. "Don't tell me your angry at me. Did you think he'd apologize and stop if I asked him nicely?" Lelouch asked. "He forced my hand. He knew and I knew that from the moment he issued that order, one of us would end up dead."

"You could have arrested him."

"And aired the Imperial family's dirty laundry for everyone in the Empire to admire? Sending him to the Emperor would have been like asking to be executed for showing weakness." Lelouch growled disdainfully.

They glared at each other for a moment before Suzaku glanced away out the window. "I don't approve of the actions you took." He said eventually.

"Noted." Lelouch sighed, as though he really needed Suzaku's approval and as if he could do anything about it now.

"Unless you're planning to confess during my court martial?" He asked.

"Be realistic." Lelouch rolled his eyes. "Though, while we're on the subject, I suppose we should get our story straight. You were shot protecting me from terrorists who rushed our location in the subway tunnel. The Royal Guard were also killed at this time."

"Who did kill the Royal Guard?" Suzaku asked.

Lelouch smiled enigmatically. "I got lucky."

"You mean you killed nine members of the Royal Guard by yourself."

"Well, you took down two before you were shot." Lelouch reminded him.

"How?" Suzaku demanded.

"I did have a gun." He pointed out obviously.

Suzaku looked like he was having a hard time swallowing the story, but he wasn't sure if revealing something like Geass was a good idea - even to Suzaku. He trusted Suzaku . . . well, he trusted the Suzaku he used to know. But this Suzaku was sometimes so different from the friend he'd once known all those years ago. So, he supposed, he trusted Suzaku to a degree. But Geass wasn't something he even really trusted himself.

It had weaknesses – oh yes, after it had failed to charm Gottwald for a second time he'd taken to experimenting on his house staff to find what other limitations the power he'd been given had. It was . . . imperfect, thought that was to be expected, he supposed. In his experience, he'd found that nothing was ever perfect.

Lelouch stared back at Suzaku impassively – a time-tested technique that had always had a way of making his conversation partner move on.

"So you want me to lie under oath at my court martial? To protect you?" Suzaku asked, unimpressed.

"Well what were you _going_ to say, Suzaku? Were you going to sell me out?" Lelouch asked pointedly.

Suzaku grimaced and glanced away, "No."

Lelouch smirked. Even after all this time, after everything – after almost dying for Lelouch – Suzaku was still protecting him. It brought to mind just how unfairly he'd been treating his friend recently. "I'm sorry."

Suzaku's eyebrows rose slightly in surprise. "That's the second time you've apologized to me. I think it's a new record."

Lelouch glared. "Idiot."

"What were you apologizing for?"

"That you got shot trying to protect me." He said, before glancing out the window. "And for some of the things I said earlier that day."

He recalled with chagrin that he had actually called Suzaku an Eleven and meant it in the same derogatory way as the other low-browed residents of this country.

" . . . um, thanks, Lelouch." Suzaku grumbled. "You can stop moping any time now."

Lelouch sighed, then recalled other parts of that conversation. "Hey, Suzaku . . . what did you mean when you said Britannia could change? What exactly are you planning?"

Suzaku didn't answer for a long time and Lelouch became aware of Edith sitting quietly next to Suzaku while trying to give them as much privacy as possible in the confines of the car. She was excellent at her job. He should probably give her a raise – on top of the generous salary he'd already given her mere weeks ago.

"The Knight of One gets governance over one of the Areas, right?" Suzaku said quietly.

Lelouch stiffened as his gaze snapped back to Suzaku, fingers curling into angry fists. "You would swear fealty to that man?" He hissed. "The man who destroyed your homeland?"

"I've already sworn oaths to Britannia." Suzaku shrugged. "It's not that different."

"Yes it is!" Lelouch protested heatedly. "It's . . ." He trailed off, unsure how to describe it. And wondering if those people who had sworn oaths of fealty to him had approached it in such a blasé manner. The Zimmermans, Nick, Amanda . . . Gottwald . . . He bit his lip, before making up his mind. He was going to save Suzaku from his own stupidity. Even if Suzaku ever made it into a position to be made worthy of knighthood, the Emperor would likely scoff in his face – or worse, use him for cannon fodder.

"If you're so willing to bow your head to the Emperor, what about me?" Lelouch demanded.

"What do you mean?" Suzaku asked confusedly.

"Swear yourself to me." He practically ordered. He didn't care if the oath didn't mean anything to Suzaku. He just needed to snatch up his childhood friend before he could do something completely stupid. He needed to . . . - he realized suddenly what he was doing. He was _collecting_ Suzaku, like Schneizel collected scientists and Guinevere collected pretty friends. But it was too late to take it back – and he wouldn't even if he could. "Swear fealty to me, Suzaku," He said again, his voice softening, becoming more persuasive. "and I will give you Japan."

"What? Lel - . . . you don't even _have_ Japa – I mean, Area Eleven." Suzaku protested, eyes wide in surprise.

Lelouch smirked slightly and leaned back in his seat. "In a curious twist of fate, it seems likely that I will be made the next Viceroy of Area Eleven. And even if the Emperor doesn't agree to my appointment, I've already made plans for this country. It will remain as a protectorate of the Empire, but otherwise you may do with it as you please. By the way, Edith, you will keep everything you've heard in this car under the strictest of confidences."

"Of course, Lelouch." She answered quietly, but Lelouch didn't take his eyes off of Suzaku, who was looking conflicted.

They stared at each other, Lelouch reading the turmoil in Suzaku's gaze as easily as any book. On the one hand, this was a game they were both familiar with. They had played it many times before. They were both sons of powerful men and had always warred for superiority. So on the one hand it would be letting Lelouch _win_ the game firmly and finally. By swearing fealty to Lelouch, Suzaku would forever be admitting Lelouch's superiority. But on the _other_ . . . Suzaku was likely never to be made such a deal again.

"Help me, Suzaku. And I'll help you." He reiterated, his voice almost bordering on pleading. It was manipulation and he hated it, but at the rate Suzaku was going, even after Lelouch had cleared his name he'd likely end up dead if he followed through with his hair-brained scheme.

Suzaku bit the inside of his lip for a moment, before he sighed, shoulders slumping as he glanced away. "What do you want me to do?"

Lelouch grinned then glanced away so Suzaku wouldn't think he was gloating. And he wasn't gloating. Not really. Just because he'd used a method they were both familiar with, didn't mean Lelouch was actually gaining any pleasure from lording over Suzaku. He'd quickly grown out of such shallow entertainments the first time Suzaku had saved his life.

"Nothing spectacular. Do we have a deal? You help me and I'll give you Japan."

"Help you do what?" Suzaku asked suspiciously.

"This and that." Lelouch replied ambiguously, not sure if he wanted to go into the whole coup he had planned with Schneizel or his plans for patricide. Not now. Not here, with Edith listening. Much as he trusted the woman, and much as she had already heard or guessed, supposition was something completely different from knowing for certain. "I'm not going to make you do my dirty work." Lelouch rolled his eyes when Suzaku's narrowed further in suspicion.

"You're not supposed to have dirty work." Suzaku grumbled. "What do you want me to say or do or whatever?" He asked. While normally the one making the pledge would kneel and verbally affirm their loyalty, that was both impossible in their current location and unnecessary with Lelouch.

Lelouch smiled and held his hand out to shake. "I don't need insincere words and gestures of obeisance from you, Suzaku."

" . . . A deal then." Suzaku said after a second as he shook Lelouch's hand. "Consider myself sworn." Though he didn't look nearly as pleased as Lelouch by the sudden turn of events.

Lelouch hadn't intended for this to happen. When he'd hastily revamped all of his plans that morning to accommodate his early public appearance and the media scandal that was sure to erupt as a direct result of rescuing Suzaku, he'd never intended to put Suzaku in this position. He felt slightly . . . guilty for pretty much forcing his childhood friend into serving him. But Suzaku had apparently lost all of his common sense at some point in the last seven years and so not stepping in and putting an end to it would have been ultimately careless.

"Thank you, Suzaku." He said quietly as he glanced out the window and watched the disgusting, bloodthirsty mob of people lining the street slowly slide by. Samson had, apparently, decided to take this part of the route at a pace little faster than parade speed. But judging from their surroundings, they were almost at the courthouse anyway.

_Give them a show._

Right. That was what he needed to focus on. On the performance he was about to give for Suzaku's sake. The new, outrageous plan he'd been forced to put into motion. "Follow my directions without hesitation, Suzaku. Edith, you'll stay in the car. Come in through the back if you want, just not in front of his mob." He instructed, still morbidly fascinated with the fanatic patriots who'd come to witness Suzaku's counterfeit shame put on display.

He stiffened suddenly as he caught sight of features that weren't Britannian near the back of the crowd in amongst a handful of trucks. That was risky business. Most Japanese people would have stayed well away from this bloodthirsty mob, especially considering the current state of the country. The only reason for Elevens to be here now . . .

"Shit."

And then he caught sight of a face he hadn't seen in years next to a truck in a parking lot across the street. He could have been mistaken, but there were few men with such hawkish features and this particular man had left a fairly big impression on Lelouch as a child.

"What's wrong?" Suzaku asked.

He tapped a finger in irritation against the arm rest as he considered and rejected a dozen possible scenarios. "It seems Tohdoh has come to create another miracle on your behalf." He explained peevishly as he tried to consider how he would have rescued Suzaku if he wasn't in his current position of authority and had access to the weaponry of a terrorist cell.

"Tohdoh-sensei." Suzaku said in surprise as he leaned forward to peer out of the window next to Lelouch. "I mean . . . I heard he's part of the JLF." He added darkly, scanning the crowds.

And that's when Lelouch remembered that the JLF was the only terrorist cell in the country that was generally acknowledged to be in possession of Knightmare frames (except for those few from Shinjuku). Would they really engage the Purists in a Knightmare battle here? With all of these civilians in the way? Or had they taken all of these unsuspecting Britannians hostage? The _threat_ was implicit just from the JLF's presence.

But no, that didn't really fit with their profile. Generally speaking, the JLF refrained from involving civilians in their operations when they could. Despite being labeled as terrorists, the JLF did not often participate in acts of terrorism. They were a resistance group and usually only engaged the Britannian military in combat. However, even if they didn't specifically target the Britannian mob lining the street, it was likely that they wouldn't alter their plan in order to protect them. They were all Japanese-hating Britannians, after all.

"Anything you want to tell me?" Lelouch asked, but most of his attention was still focused on the situation outside. He should have considered this before. The Japanese would consider Suzaku a hero for the crimes he'd been charged with and of course all of the terrorist cells in the country would be salivating over the thought of making Suzaku into their mascot. The eldest son of the former Prime Minister and murderer of a prince of Britannia (not to mention the attempted murder of Lelouch).

"I'm _not_ a terrorist, Lelouch." Suzaku hissed emphatically.

"I believe you." He replied solemnly.

No, Suzaku likely wouldn't have needed to maintain prior communication with the terrorists for them to want to save him. Suzaku would be useful. Even Lelouch had found himself absently musing about the many uses Suzaku could have been put to if he'd been willing to simply designate his old friend as another piece on his board.

"Edith, call Gottwald." He ordered, but she already had her phone out in anticipation of the call.

It rang twice before Gottwald answered his mobile. Lelouch had insisted on having the number after he'd had to track the man down via Gottwald's assistant a week ago. "Your highness?" He asked warily.

"There are terrorists mingled in the crowd." He said crisply, more than a little peeved that he had to rely on the bastard at the moment. He was still very angry at the Purist Faction and would see to their punishment as soon as he'd thought up something devastating enough. "You are not to pursue them. Your one and only priority at the moment is seeing that Suzaku and myself get to his sham of a court martial alive and unharmed. Do not engage the enemy unless they attack."

"I understand, your highness." Gottwald said quickly.

"And make sure you keep a leash on your subordinates." He snarked before snapping the phone shut.

Edith and Suzaku were both watching concerned out of opposite windows as they scanned the crowd for threats.

"There's a lot of people out there, Lelouch. Why aren't you going in through a less crowded side entrance?" Suzaku murmured.

"That would defeat the purpose of this exercise. . ." Then added, just because it was impossible to know just what Tohdoh had come up with without knowing what resources he had available to him. "Suzaku, if they capture you, you have to find a way to escape and come back to me. That's an order."

Though if they captured Suzaku, his plans would be so irrevocably fucked that it would be almost impossible to save face. Everything now rested on making Suzaku look as presentable as possible. Having him run off with terrorists – even if it was unwillingly – would have major repercussions to his plans.

"Yes, sir." Suzaku said obediently, the response drilled into him, as the car came to a halt in front of the courthouse.

"Stay close." He ordered before Samson came around the car and opened the door for him.

Lelouch stepped out, standing tall and impassive as his gaze swept over the crowd, refusing to show even a hint of weakness. For a moment there was a hushed lull as the mob came to terms with seeing Lelouch – who had let the rumors of his critical condition fly unchecked – standing relatively unharmed before them. And then there was a deafening rush of cheering and camera flashes and reporters shouting questions, as though he were some kind of teen idol rather than a military officer and prince.

But Lelouch ignored his spectators, gaze tracking across the crowd to find the band of Japanese resistance fighters and to find Tohdoh staring straight at him wearing a sharp frown. The distance between them wasn't that far, but there had to be at least a hundred fanatic Britannians separating them. He nodded slightly to the man, careful not to make it too obvious when he was under such scrutiny, before gesturing for Suzaku to join him. Tohdoh turned away.

"Stand beside me, when we go in." Lelouch ordered, as Suzaku emerged from the car.

"That's not really appropriate." Suzaku grumbled under his breath.

"Did you know, Suzaku," Lelouch said with a charming smile for the benefit of the crowd as the Purist factions massive Sutherland surrounded their position, "that the media will routinely study the body language of their targets to ascertain their relationships? We're friends and we will always be friends. So please try to act like it. Like you aren't the accused being escorted to his trial by his would-be victim."

"But that's what they all think." Suzaku sighed as he stood next to Lelouch, unrestrained and watched as the cheering crowd slowly stuttered to shocked silence before descending into derogatory jeering.

"I'll deal with public opinion later." He said, and hoped that this stunt wouldn't affect his chance at being made Viceroy. Schneizel held a lot of sway over the Emperor's decision making and, as far as Lelouch knew, his brother had been responsible for the last seven Viceroy selections. "Let's go."

Lelouch was pleased to find that Suzaku followed his directions, despite his misgivings. So when he turned on his heel and head towards the courthouse, it was with Suzaku striding firmly shoulder-to-shoulder with him and the outraged muttering of the crowd about that 'impudent Eleven' behind them.

Inside the foyer, they were met with a panel of military officers who had, no doubt, been drawn over by the commotion outside. These were, Lelouch realized, the men and women who would be responsible for judging Suzaku. He also realized that he outranked all of them. At the moment, he and Gottwald shared the title of highest ranked military officers in Area Eleven.

"Sir!" They all saluted, snapping into stiff attention as he cast his violet gaze over them before indulgently returning the gesture.

"I'm Lieutenant Colonel Adam Hudson, sir. We were unaware you were well enough to see to your duties. Will you be relieving me of my position as judge, your highness?" A middle-aged man asked.

Smirking slightly, Lelouch let his posture slowly relax – shedding the rigid discipline that had been drilled into him – effortlessly slipping out of the mask as a Colonel and into the the mask of the Eleventh Prince of Britannia. Easy as it would have been to simply take over the post and judge Suzaku innocent, it wouldn't vindicate him as much as it would when Lelouch defended his friend's heroics in court.

"No. I think taking such an authoritative role in this trial would be distinctly unfair considering I'm one of the victims." Lelouch explained "I'm simply here to testify in Private Kururugi's defense." He said calmly, gesturing to Suzaku who most of the officers had been trying to ignore. He grinned ferally at their uninhibited looks of surprise. "Shall we begin?"

He would get his way and Suzaku would walk. None of these people had the will or wit to oppose him.

* * *

AN: So another chapter done. Though some of you might be disappointed by Lelouch's relatively mild reaction. However, in canon Lelouch was able to remain more or less rational despite the shock of discovering Suzaku had been set up (and was still alive).

Also, before we go any further, I thought I'd kind of. . . explain the loyalty system thing I've been using. In Dauntless, there are three kind of . . . levels of pledge to a member of the Imperial family.

The first is a request of service initiated by a member of the royal family usually only in times of crisis. Basically it temporarily overwrites the command structure and allowed the royal family to take full command of a situation. This is only a temporary measure, usually only until the crisis is over. This is what Lelouch asked of his squad in Area Eighteen when he first planned his siege on the fort. This is also how he requisitioned Suzaku's help in the subway in Shinjuku.

The second 'level' carries more honor on it. It's a formal pledge to serve such and such a member of the royal family for the rest of their lives regardless of command structure. It cannot be reneged or cancelled and can either be asked for by a member of the Imperial family (Suzaku and Jeremiah) or offered freely that the pledge giver (Lukas, Hector, Amanda, Nick).

The third and highest form of loyalty takes the form of the oaths made by those chosen to take up the title Knight of Honor. These are the personal bodyguards of members of the royal family (ie. Guilford and the Knights of the Round, and canonSuzaku to Euphemia.)

To Lelouch, these distinctions are ultimately important because they're how he'd been building his web of support. To Suzaku, it all means the same thing really. He's already sworn to die for Britannia in his oaths to become a soldier, and since the Emperor is an embodiment of the Empire, dying for the Emperor would be the same as dying for the Empire. Just thought I'd explain this so you don't flip due to his apparent blase-ness with the oaths he's sworn.

Anyway, thanks for reading. The next chapter will likely take longer to come out because A) I have midterms coming up and I really need to study and B) I've had an idea for an original fiction and am considering writing the first chapter to it.

Also . . . Mahna Mahna! (doo doo doo doo do) . . . . for those of you who don't get it, there's always youtube. :)

Thanks so much for reading and don't forget to review.

Allora

PS: The new fanart I was talking about last chapter is done and links are up on my profile. Go check them out. Wedding pictures of Abigail and Lelouch done by M.I.95. (geez, so scatterbrained tonight I almost forgot to tell you all). Enjoy them and make sure you drop the artist a comment.


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Lelouch was a tyrant.

Not that this really surprised Suzaku, but he'd forgotten just how demanding his childhood friend could be. It wasn't that he wasn't grateful to Lelouch for the actions he'd taken – on the contrary, he was very grateful that Lelouch had saved his life ("evening the score" Lelouch had said). Because of Lelouch's testimony and, to a lesser degree Lloyd's (which upon hearing, Lelouch had hissed at him "_You_ were the pilot of that white Knightmare?" in disbelief), Suzaku had been cleared of all charges and had even been granted a formal apology.

Which Lelouch had made sure was recorded by the media and broadcast multiple times across the entire country. Bad enough when the media had been smearing him as a villain, but now that they were being forced to show him as a hero it wasn't much better. The Japanese pretty much hated him. And so did most of the Britannians.

Still, what Lelouch wanted, Lelouch got. And a media circus seemed to be what Lelouch wanted at the moment. Amongst other things - like keeping Suzaku captive in his massive villa. Which was what he was actually so upset about. He didn't really care as much about the fact that his face was on the front of almost every newspaper and that gossip rags were speculating on the apparently 'sordid' nature of his relationship with Lelouch. What he did care about was that Lelouch had told him he wasn't allowed to leave.

'For his own safety' of course. And it wasn't like he was locked in his room or anything so medieval, but it was still the principle of the matter. He hadn't returned to his apartment since his arrest and, while he understood that Lelouch was just worried about him should anyone find his address, the fact remained that all of his things were still in there – including his father's pocket watch which he'd left hidden in his sock drawer.

His only consolation was that Lelouch was also being held captive. And, unlike Suzaku, Lelouch wasn't allowed the leave the confines of his _bed _let alone his room. The doctor Miss Cardston had requisitioned – Dr. Hawthorne – actually had a backbone and stood up to Lelouch. Hell, the man had practically frogmarched Lelouch back to his room when they'd returned from his court martial.

Though Lelouch kind of deserved it. By the end of the court martial, the pain had been almost visible on Lelouch's face. And when Dr. Hawthorne had demanded to examine the wound, he'd found that Lelouch had actually torn out his stitches and if it hadn't been for the dark fabric of his suit and cape, everyone in the courtroom would have been able to see that Lelouch was bleeding. According to the doctor, he'd set his healing back by weeks.

Suzaku had refrained from mentioning that he'd also been injured. After watching the man actually tear a strip off Lelouch – a feat he had never before witnessed or thought possible – he'd decided he didn't want to be on the receiving end of the doctor's attention and had steered clear of the man.

Instead, he'd taken to a form of petty gloating by walking around in the gardens where he was clearly visible from Lelouch's room. If Lelouch was going to keep him here against his will, he wasn't going to shy away from taking what victories he could. Which is why he wasn't all that surprised when one of the servants approached him to tell him that 'Master Lelouch' would like to see him two days after the beginning of his incarceration there.

He went in expecting an annoyed argument about his choice of vengeance, but instead Lelouch was simply propped up in bed with a chessboard occupying the other empty half, each piece set to it's original position.

"You've been moping." Lelouch noted as he entered.

"Of course I have been. You've made me a prisoner here." Suzaku snapped wearily. "What did you want?"

Lelouch gestured to the chessboard. "If you can beat me, you'll have exhibited enough sense for me to not have to worry about you out there. I'll even let you play white."

Suzaku snorted, knowing better than to even attempt it. Years ago, when Lelouch had first brought this foreign game to Japan, the Britannian prince had taken pleasure from challenging anyone who would play. Suzaku had, unfortunately, been one of his many challengers. At the time, he'd just wanted to wipe the arrogant smirk off Lelouch's face by beating him at his own game.

But Suzaku had soon learned that Lelouch was a master at the game and no matter how many times he'd played, he'd never gleaned a single victory. He'd eventually given up and in a fit of anger had destroyed both King pieces so Lelouch couldn't play anymore. Not that it had stopped Lelouch, who had taken two small charms from the shrine to act as King pieces.

"Lelouch, you can't just keep me here. I want to go home." He protested.

"Suzaku, you're not the most popular person at the moment." Lelouch replied calmly. "And I doubt your apartment is as secure as my house."

Alright, well admittedly the locks on his apartment were substandard, and Lelouch's house was built like a fortress, so Lelouch had a point. But he'd been living there for years now without incident. Or at least without major incident. "I still want to go home. All of my stuff is there."

"And is any of if worth your life?" Lelouch asked pointedly, fingers playing with the head of one of his pawns, as though hoping Suzaku would relent and move his piece first.

Suzaku hesitated, unwilling to show his friend something as blatantly unpractical as sentimentality. Lelouch would probably scoff at it, but then he hadn't been given the chance to bring much important with him after his and Nunnally's mother had been killed. Still, since he'd been willing to sacrifice his pride by joining with Britannia, then by submitting to Lelouch, he didn't see why he should cling to the ragged scraps that were left over a little more of Lelouch's disdain.

". . . my father's pocket watch." He answered after a minute had passed in silence.

". . . oh." Lelouch said, the semi-triumphant look on his face from the victory he'd thought he'd had was replaced by something like sympathy. Lelouch frowned, glancing down at the hands he'd just nested together in his lap. "Fine. Take Edith and a squad of my men and go get it."

"Lelouch, I'm pretty sure I can go on my own." he protested, hating the way Lelouch was. . . ._ coddling_ him. As if he believed Suzaku would be absolutely helpless without him. As if he were replacing Nunnally. He winced at the thought and immediately took it back.

But when he met Lelouch's gaze, all of the sympathy his eyes had momentarily held had been replaced with the same cool, emotionless mask he'd begun getting used to. Lelouch had once been so expressive, but now everything he did seemed guarded unless he was in pain or forgot himself for a moment.

"Did you want to go to your apartment, Suzaku?" Lelouch asked coolly.

"Yes, alright. I get it. I'll go talk to Miss Edith." He sighed before sending something between a nod and bow towards Lelouch (for propriety's sake) and leaving the room in search of the prince's assistant.

Edith Cardston was . . . an interesting woman. She had been nothing but unfailingly polite to him since he'd returned to the house with Lelouch two days ago. He could almost forget that the first time they'd met she'd tried to sic armed soldiers on him just for arguing with Lelouch a little. Almost, if not for the slight firmness of her gaze which suggested she hadn't forgotten anything.

He'd quickly discovered, after being forced to take up residence at Lelouch's house, that Edith ran the place like a conductor overseeing a symphony. Not only did she manage all of Lelouch's affairs, taking calls for him and fielding the press, but she also managed his house by keeping all of Lelouch's other employees in line. He was pretty sure she was a workaholic, since he'd sleepily stumbled to the bathroom last night at three thirty in the morning and had found the woman still at work in one of the dens, talking quickly over the phone with someone (probably in another country) while sifting through files on a laptop.

It was obvious that Lelouch trusted her and he wondered just what it was she'd done in order for him to do so. Even seven years ago, Lelouch hadn't been one to trust easily and judging from the interactions he'd witnessed with other people, that hadn't really changed. Still, she was nice enough.

When he informed her that Lelouch had asked her to accompany him to his apartment, she didn't even hesitate before dropping whatever it was she'd been doing to accommodate the demand (probably after checking with Lelouch that he wasn't trying to escape). So it was only fifteen minutes later that he found himself stuffed in the back of Lelouch's limo (which was sure to be inconspicuous in his neighborhood, he thought sarcastically) with Edith and five of the men from Lelouch's security team – most of which politely avoided his gaze.

Suzaku had never really been ashamed of his apartment. At least not until today. But after coming straight from the wide open spaces of Lelouch's estate (which he'd privately named Seppan Villa) to the meager rooms he called his own, it was hard not to be humbled. But the apartment suited his needs perfectly. He wasn't usually home except for when he was sleeping, so he didn't really need a lot of space. He was pretty sure seven people couldn't even _fit_ in his apartment unless it was standing room only, so he'd politely asked his escort to wait in the car.

Edith had promptly ignored the request, but had at least ordered the others to wait outside before making their way into the building, which was cheaply built but still in good condition. Not many people were willing to rent to Elevens in the Settlement. Still, he was acutely aware of the critical eye that she ran over the place when he unlocked the door to his bachelor's suit – the entire place probably no bigger than Lelouch's closet.

"Uh. . . make yourself at home." He said as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "I just need to grab a few things."

Lelouch had made it abundantly clear that this was only a brief reprieve from his imprisonment and that he was fully expected to return to Seppan Villa as soon as he'd rescued his father's watch. He went straight to his dresser and sifted through his sock drawer (after having to wedge and wiggle it open), relieved to find the heirloom still there. Not that he'd thought it wouldn't be after finding his door still locked and the rest of his apartment intact, but he'd still been concerned.

He hadn't been able to wear it after having that nightmare a few weeks ago. Hell, he hadn't even been able to look at it after being stared down by the accusing glare of his father in his dreams. He had loved his father. He had idolized the man and had wanted nothing more than to be just like him when he was a child. But after the war with Britannia broke out and he and Lelouch and Nunnally had been forced to traverse decimated Tokyo and he'd seen just what the war was doing to the people . . .

His fingers closed tightly around the watch. No, it hadn't been justified. He'd commit a crime – the worst crime imaginable. He'd murdered his own father. He didn't deserve everyone's kindness. He didn't deserve this sudden upturn in his life. He deserved to suffer.

The pocket watch wasn't a memento of the man he had loved. It was a reminder of his sin.

"It's about what you expected."

He glanced over his shoulder to find Edith on the phone, running a critical eye over all of his belongings. He could guess who was on the other end of the line.

"Right, I'll let you speak with him directly." She said after a moment before holding out her phone.

Suzaku stared at it for a second, half tempted to hang up on Lelouch after he had obviously just insulted his home, but he thought better of it and instead took the phone, bringing it to his ear.

"Lelouch?" He asked needlessly. There was no one else who would have wanted to talk to him.

"Suzaku Kururugi," Lelouch began in that imperious tone that he already hated so much. Whenever Lelouch said his name like that, it was a verbal indicator that at that moment they weren't anything more than a prince and his subordinate. "I hereby order you to become my bodyguard. All of your room and board will be taken care of. You are to report back to my residence as soon as you're packed."

"Lelouch!" He protested, but the line had already gone dead. "God damn it. Asshole." He hissed under his breath, then remembered Edith was in the room and whipped around to find her smiling at him.

"Hundreds of Elevens have been murdered and assaulted since Prince Clovis' death. Lelouch just wants to protect you." She said kindly as she took back her phone. "He wouldn't do this for anyone else."

"Well I wish he wouldn't do it for me, either." He grumbled before scrubbing a hand over his face in frustration and turning away in search of a duffel bag.

He packed in silence for a moment, angrily punching his clothes into the bag as though they had offended him.

_Tyrant._

" . . . May I ask you something?" Edith asked quietly after the silence between them had stretched on for several awkward minutes.

"Yeah." He shrugged while simultaneously trying to fish a pair of shoes out from underneath his bed. Because his apartment was so small, every one of his belongings had it's own place. These shoes, however, just happened to have a place under his bed, behind his spare blanket and next to a plushie that Kaguya had once given him.

"You still care about Lelouch, don't you?"

Suzaku paused momentarily before resuming his reach for the shoes. "Why would you ask something like that?"

"Because Lelouch cares about you. He trusts you. Lelouch has always been somewhat cold and distant, even at home – even to me and even to his friends from school. But when you're around, sometimes it's like he gives up on trying to keep up appearances." She answered.

Suzaku snagged a shoelace and dragged the shoes out from under the bed before backing away on his knees and turning to face Edith. "Lelouch and I . . . " He frowned. "Well let's just say that I've seem him at his very worst. I guess it's harder to put on an act for someone who knows you're faking."

" . . . were you there when his sister . . . ? He never speaks of her." She asked quietly.

Nunnally. . . No, then. He hadn't seen Lelouch at his very worst. The day he'd lost what little faith he'd had left in his nation and watched helplessly as Japan was razed to the ground around him would have paled in comparison to the day he lost Nunnally.

"No." He said gruffly, shoving the shoes into his bag. "The last time I saw them, they were heading out on their own to find the Ashfords."

Lelouch's idea, of course. Because they had been a mixed party, they hadn't been able to ask for assistance from anyone. If any of the Japanese had realized that Lelouch and Nunnally were royalty, they would have been taken prisoner and probably killed. Even if they didn't recognize them as royalty, they probably would have been killed by angry Japanese. And the Britannians would sooner kill him than help him, so Lelouch had decided it would be best if they split up.

Suzaku had vehemently protested. Lelouch had been weak. If he hadn't been there to protect them, both of the royals would have been long dead by then. But Lelouch had always had a way of getting what he wanted and really, Suzaku's plan of heading towards his father's second estate on the other side of the city didn't have an any more likely chance of success (or still being standing) than the last house had.

But one of the first things he'd learned about Lelouch was that once he'd decided to do something, he did it. Whether or not you agreed with him.

"I see." Edith said quietly. "So you met the princess."

"Yeah, it was hard not to. Nunnally was everything to Lelouch. He rarely let her out of his sight when we first met." He replied, smiling softly as he remembered Nunnally. Despite the difficulties she'd had adjusting to the move, when she wasn't throwing a tantrum she had been the gentlest person he'd ever met.

Lelouch had doted on her like a most prized and beloved treasure. She'd had the prince wrapped around her little finger. If she ever mentioned even in passing that she wanted something, Lelouch would stop at nothing to accommodate her request. Which, by extension, meant that Suzaku would also stop at nothing to accommodate Nunnally, since Lelouch had been next to useless at anything that required physical labor.

"Can I ask you something, Miss Edith?" He asked, hoping to steer the woman away from Nunnally. _Nana-chan_ – what Kaguya had always called her. He didn't want to think about her, or how utterly devastated Lelouch had to have been when he'd lost her.

"Okay."

"Why do you follow Lelouch?" He asked. He was curious. He'd decided to swear himself to Lelouch because of their history and because he could use this opportunity as a stepping stone to get what he wanted. Because Lelouch had once said that he loved Japan – years ago before airstrikes and before Knightmares had trampled the streets. But he wondered what motivated this woman.

"Lelouch saved my life." She answered, then frowned. "No, it was before that. From the very first moment I met him, he was always different. He was a person instead of a dignitary, if that makes any sense.

"I worked in the Aeries Villa for five years, playing host to various important people from all over the world. People like that don't often . . . look at the people who serve them. It's like their employees blend in to the scenery. But Lelouch was different. He barged in through the wrong door then ordered me to call him by his name before blowing off a dozen important appointments in favor of playing chess with his brother. He took the time to get to know everyone who worked for him." She smiled. "And then he saved my life – stepping between an assassin and me in order to protect me.

"He trusts me. And he protected me. He has faith in my abilities and acknowledges my existence in a way none of my other employers ever have. For that, I'll always follow Lelouch."

Suzaku wasn't sure what to say to that. The thought of Lelouch putting himself in danger to protect someone who wasn't Nunnally . . . but then, maybe all of those protective instincts that had been focused on his sister had manifest themselves into protecting other people too. And then he remembered that he too had been protected by Lelouch in the past – that Lelouch had once momentarily abandoned Nunnally in order to stop a Britannian from killing him during the invasion.

"To answer your question," He said finally, after a moment of silence as he packed the last of his few belongings into his bag. "yes, I still care about Lelouch. He's one of the only friends I have. And I will always protect him."

Even if it meant letting Lelouch lord his greater position over him. Even if Lelouch infuriated him to the point that he couldn't stand in the same room as him sometimes. Even if it meant that he'd be viewed as a coward or a traitor by the rest of the Japanese. He would still protect Lelouch.

* * *

"Why didn't you make your move?" Kusakabe demanded loudly. "Kururugi was _right_ in front of you. You were supposed to rescue him."

Tohdoh stared impassively back at the fuming man. "It would have been impossible to get to Kururugi without involving the prince."

"So?" Kusakabe retorted scathingly. "Prince Lelouch has sworn to eradicate all terrorism in Area Eleven, remember? That includes the JLF."

"I too am curious to hear your reasoning." Katase said calmly, much less irate than the furious Kusakabe.

"The objective of the operation was to save Suzaku Kururugi's life. Once Prince Lelouch personally involved himself in the situation, it was unlikely that Kururugi's life was in any danger. Furthermore, acting would have endangered the prince's life. Even if he has sworn to eradicate terrorism, he's made it clear that his current target is the Kenshiki Faction. If he had been injured or killed, it would have drawn unwanted aggravation from Britannia to the JLF.

"Prince Lelouch is a known quantity. Yes, it's bad, but his successor could be much worse. And Prince Lelouch, at least, has the advantage of having lived in this country before. He is less likely to resort to extreme methods than someone else is."

"Less likely to resort to extreme methods?" Kusakabe demanded disbelievingly. "What about Shinjuku?"

"Intelligence from our spies in the army say that Clovis was the one who ordered the massacre of Shinjuku and that Prince Lelouch attempted to countermand the order." Tohdoh replied.

"Yeah right!" Kusakabe snarled. "After what that kid did in Area Eighteeen -"

"Enough, Kusakabe." General Katase reprimanded. "Tohdoh has given us his explanation and arguing about it now will solve nothing. In any case, he was right. Suzaku Kururugi has been cleared of all charges thanks to the prince's interference. For now, it will be best to watch and wait to see how he operates. We will study how he proceeds against the Kenshiki. I'm sure most of the other factions will be doing the same."

"And what about the rumors that the prince is keeping Kururugi captive?" Kusakabe demanded.

"Lelouch vi Britannia and Suzaku Kururugi are old friends, as I'm sure you remember. That the prince chose to save him lends to the belief that those old feelings haven't been completely extinguished. It's likely the prince is trying to protect him. And if so, it means that Kururugi is in an ideal position to influence vi Britannia's policy. Now that it's likely that Prince Lelouch will be made the next Viceroy, it's imperative that we don't do anything to damage that relationship. If we can get to Kururugi when he's alone, there's a chance that we can get him to negotiate with the prince on our behalf." Tohdoh interjected.

"Negotiate? With vi Britannia? A Britannian prince!" Kusakabe demanded, but Katase's lips had twisted into a smirk.

"Ah. I see your game, Tohdoh. We missed our chance with Clovis. He was young when he was made Viceroy and would have been easily manipulated. But it was too soon after the invasion and we were still too full of rage. We mustn't make the same mistake again with Prince Lelouch. If he can be bought or coerced or persuaded into helping us, it will work so much the better for the liberation of Japan." Katase grinned.

Tohdoh shook his head minutely but remained silent. He doubted the prince would be bought or coerced or persuaded by anything they could offer or threaten. In any case, it wasn't the prince that they really needed. It was Kururugi. The boy was a banner all of the Japanese would rally behind. His proximity to the prince was just a bonus.

If they could somehow manage to manipulate the prince – to get the prince in Kururugi's pocket instead of the other way around – things would start looking up for Japan. And as for Suzaku, it ought to be easy enough to remind him where his true loyalty had to lay. He was, after all, the son of Genbu Kururugi, a man who had killed himself rather than submit to Britannia.

Yes, they just had to acquire Suzaku Kururugi's cooperation.

* * *

Lelouch was not asleep.

He was in his bed with the blankets tucked in around him and three fluffy pillows stuffed behind his back – but he was not asleep.

He hated this . . . this injustice. This indignity. He hated the doctor who had turned into a dictator the second Edith had hired him. He was more than half tempted to fire the man. He would have already if he hadn't realized the situation they had put the doctor in. Lelouch was currently _the _ hot topic in Area Eleven. If he was further injured, or if he died from complications from his wound, the doctor's entire career would be ruined (provided, of course, that he escaped execution). So he could understand the extreme caution the doctor was using for his recovery – even if he did hate it.

He also hated the way his laptop felt like it was burning a hole through his comforter and legs. And he hated how this delay was interfering with his carefully thought out plans. He was generally discontent with . . . having to heal.

Again, he cursed himself for his rash decisions while dealing with Clovis. And he cursed Gottwald too for shooting him where he had. If it had been a graze or a limb wound, he'd have been moving forward already. Hell, even Suzaku was almost healed by now and he wasn't confined to his bed even though he'd technically bled out.

He was behind schedule.

He'd said he'd commence his assault on the Kenshiki on the thirtieth, but that day had come and passed while he'd been forced to rest in his bed and . . . heal.

. . . well, at least the Kenshiki wouldn't be expecting him when he did strike.

He felt much better now – had almost regained full mobility without wincing (not that the doctor would want him doing that), and the pain was mostly bearable without his medication. In his opinion, he was more than ready to get back on his feet and set about fixing this country the way he saw fit.

He frowned and glanced out his window, watching the sun set low behind the tall walls of his garden. Suzaku was probably still out there sulking over Lelouch's 'misuse of authority'. At least he wasn't doing it in front of Lelouch's window anymore. A petty revenge.

They still knew each other too well – knew exactly what buttons to push to aggravate the other.

When they'd been children, it had been entertaining. It was still entertaining, in a way. In fact, the subtlety of Suzaku's little tactic had surprised him. The first time he'd seen Suzaku in the garden below his room, he'd prepared himself for a rock to come crashing through the window. But it never came. Suzaku's chosen route of revenge was less direct. Just a slight, simple reminder that even though Lelouch was keeping him confined, he still had more freedom than the prince.

Lelouch hated that it worked.

He was distracted by a soft knock on the door, two soft raps – Edith.

"Come in." He called clearly as he closed the laptop he'd been distractedly perusing for new acquisitions and set it aside.

Edith smiled slightly as she entered. "You have . . visitors."

Lelouch immediately caught the slight pause as she'd hesitated over what designation she should give his guests. His eyes narrowed suspiciously as Edith went directly to his wardrobe and began pulling out a fresh change of clothes.

"Who?" He demanded.

He wasn't technically supposed to get out of bed. If Edith was willing to face down the doctor's wrath, his guests must have been important. Who was important in Area Eleven?

Gottwald? No, Edith didn't particularly like Gottwald so she most likely wouldn't have smiled. Who else was important enough to drag him from his bed?

. . . Royalty.

His insides twisted anxiously at the thought. Someone from his family? Who? Not the Emperor. Edith would have been more panicked and certainly not smiling. Schneizel? No, again, Edith didn't like him. It wasn't Abigail – Edith wouldn't have dragged him out of bed to meet his wife.

Euphy? Why the hell would Euphy be in Area Eleven? No, that was too unlikely. And Cornelia wouldn't have come unless it was to finish him off. Who then? Odysseus?

"It's a surprise." Edith answered mysteriously.

"Edith." He said warningly.

But she merely smiled back at him as she laid out his clothes on the end of the bed. "I promise it's nothing bad. You'll be happy." She said before excusing herself.

Someone he'd be happy to see? Who the hell would he be happy to see? . . . Rivalz. Milly. Shirley. Nina. His friends?

He smirked and pushed back the covers, quickly slipping into the clothes Edith had set out for him – a semi-formal suit. Not a military uniform. And no Imperial cape to go with it. Not a prince and not a colonel.

Over the last few months since returning to the royal family, he'd ended up with multiple wardrobes to go with each personality he was supposed to wear. It had become almost second nature now to deliberate over what he should wear to meet important people. Would he present himself as a prince of the empire or a military officer or a Knight? Each mask had it's own set of clothes to go with it.

But these clothes were ambiguous. Fluid. In the clothes Edith had set out, he could easily slip between the masks of 'Prince Lelouch vi Britannia' and Ashford's 'Lelouch Lamperouge'. Wearing the mask of a soldier would take a little more work – more force of personality and careful scrutiny of his body language – but it could still be done.

Edith was still waiting outside the door when he emerged. Still smiling mysteriously as she fell into step beside him.

"You know," He mused as he head towards the grand staircase to the first floor where Edith had gestured that his guests would be found. "when I ask you something, you're supposed to tell me, Edith."

"You said you trusted me, Lelouch. I don't want to see you fail at anything." She replied. "I'm not going to set you up poorly for a meeting of importance. But you've been growing more and more frustrated over the last few days, even before the whole Kururugi incident. This should lighten your mood."

He rolled his eyes. "Who did you call?"

"I didn't call anyone. They came here by themselves."

He sent her a – mostly insincere – dirty look as he made his way down the stairs. He must have annoyed her to this point over the last week. He was quite aware that he'd been more irritable that usual since he'd been shot and had to revamp . . . _everything._

He froze halfway down the stairs as he caught sight of his visitors. Not Milly and Rivalz and Shirley and Nina. Not even close.

Six soldiers knelt in the grand foyer at the base of the stairs, heads bowed in obeisance. Five formal Knight uniforms complete with capes and one rusty brown Engineering Corps dress uniform. _His_ soldiers.

Lelouch smiled and resumed his descent down the stairs. "Well," He said as he reached the last step, "you guys clean up nice. I almost didn't recognize you with out all of the sweat and sand."

"Your highness." They murmured in greeting.

He frowned. They had never been this formal with him. Never. Not even that first day he'd met them. "Stand up." He barked.

They didn't move.

"Forgive us." Hector said a moment later, sounding tormented. "We should never have abandoned you. If we hadn't – if we had been here . . ."

Lelouch sighed. "You did nothing that I didn't want you to. You do not always have to be with me to serve me. It's enough that I know where your loyalties lay. I was actually impressed that you managed to figure out what I wanted from you without me explicitly saying it. Cornelia played that hand well." He explained. "Now, stand up. You're all forgiven."

They rose as one – all except Roy who remained kneeling, head bowed and hands curled into fists at his sides. Lelouch frowned and took a step towards him. Roy had had weeks to heal from the fractures to his ribs. He should have been mostly healed.

"Roy? Are -"

His soldier sighed before cutting him off. "I told myself that I'd do this if we didn't all end up executed for our actions at the fort. But by the time that it became apparent that we weren't about to be put down, you'd already taken off to Pendragon without us. You saved my life, so . . ." Roy explained before finally looking up to meet Lelouch's gaze – half glaring and half determined. "I'll swear myself to you, Lelouch."

Lelouch smiled. "I accept your pledge."

There would be no more quibbling about who he did and didn't accept pledges from. He would take as many acquisitions as he could. And Roy could be trusted. He trusted Roy, even if their personalities didn't always jive.

Roy relaxed at the acceptance. "Now, stand up, Roy. How are your ribs healing?" Lelouch asked.

"Fine." Roy rolled his eyes as he got to his feet and brushed some imaginary dirt off his knees. "I already told you not to fuss about it. It's pretty much completely healed."

"Good." Lelouch nodded, running his eyes over the rest of his soldiers and von Hoffman. He'd never seen them in their dress uniforms before. Somehow, the stiff formal blue uniforms and long capes made them seem more imposing and intimidating than he knew they were. . . and they were _his. _"Cornelia let you go sooner than I anticipated." He noted.

After Clovis' death and being shot had thoroughly skewed his plans, he'd decided to give Cornelia more time to relinquish his men. Since he hadn't been well enough to meet his pre-declared start date anyway, there had been no point in forcefully dragging his subordinates to Area Eleven and further aggravating Cornelia. He'd expected Cornelia to continue to stall.

Hector grimaced while some of the others shifted awkwardly. "We . . . um." Hector began uncomfortably.

"News was lagged in the field." Roy said, explaining what no one else wanted to. "We didn't even hear that you'd been shot until yesterday. I'm sure the Chief General knew, but she didn't tell us. When we heard, Hector decided to drop everything and come to you. We all decided to tag along. And we kidnapped von Hoffman as well," He said, nodding his head towards the mechanic, "since he's one of yours too. So, technically, as far as the Chief General is concerned, we're all deserters."

Lelouch laughed. They had dropped everything for him – put their entire lives and careers in danger in order to come here and verify his health. He smiled broadly. "You aren't deserters. I filed for your transfers weeks ago but Cornelia's been stalling. Probably hoping I'd give up on you all. Thank you, though." He said sincerely.

The news seemed to drain the tension out of his subordinates, anxious tension being replaced with small smiles. Especially von Hoffman, who let his shoulders sag in relief. Because he was a Number, von Hoffman's punishment would have been much worse than any of the others' – most likely an immediate execution.

"Now, tell me what happened in Area Eighteen after I left." He ordered, eager for news. After investing himself in the end of the war in that country as much as he had, he had hated not being there to finish things.

"Chief General li Britannia ordered an immediate advance on Jerusalem after the fort fell." Hector informed him with quick, military efficiency. "The city was overrun in only two days before we moved on to smaller forts in the north. After the capitol fell, there was skirmishing back east as well. It's where the Chief General is now – suppressing the areas we already conquered that decided to revolt. It won't take long now for the entire country to fall under Britannian rule."

"Good." Lelouch nodded. At least he could count on Cornelia to fully devote herself to ending the conflict in Area Eighteen. After he'd shown her up, one of the only ways she'd be able to redeem herself would be to quickly bring Area Eighteen into the Britannian fold. "I'm glad she didn't send you all off on a suicide mission to get back at me."

Hector shrugged. "It would have been difficult to take us all out. Our skills are comparable to the Glaston Knights and there wasn't much in the way of resistance left in Area Eighteen anyway. It was mostly clean up -"

Hector cut off mid-sentence and stiffened along with the others before stepping past Lelouch as the other's immediately surrounded him. From his place safely cocooned in the center of his subordinates, he slowly turned around to find that Suzaku had come back inside – almost painfully under dressed in jeans and a t-shirt compared to the dress uniforms of his soldiers.

"What the fuck?" Roy growled. "Isn't that the bastard that shot you?"

Suzaku froze half a dozen steps from the garden door he'd entered from, eyes darting over the strangers quickly before settling on Lelouch. Charles put his hand on Lelouch's right shoulder, ready to pull him down and out of danger if need be.

Lelouch grinned again, more than pleased at the immediate reaction of his subordinates when they encountered a perceived threat. Protecting him was first and foremost in each of their minds. Even von Hoffman had drawn himself into the little group, standing resolutely on Lelouch's right despite the fact that he wasn't armed and would be much less deadly in any fight than the Knights were.

"No, that was a misunderstanding. Suzaku saved my life." He reassured them. The tension around him lessened slightly, but they didn't move away from him just yet. " . . . You will all join my Royal Guard." He said quietly – ordered. It was one of the highest honors that could be bestowed on a soldier, but they all deserved it. Though the position had originally been created in order to protect a royal's life, over time the Royal Guard had turned into the personal militia of a member of the royal family. They were still responsible for protecting his life, but their capacity has his own personal soldiers was more important. "You too, Suzaku." He added.

As far as Lelouch was aware, a Number had never before attained such a prestigious position. But that wasn't going to stop him. After all, Suzaku had been protecting him since he was ten. Finally giving him an official position for that capacity was something he deserved, even if it did outrage a large portion of the Britannian populace.

"Yes, your highness." They affirmed.

"If there's anything you've ever wanted to do in Tokyo, I suggest you take care of it soon. Now that you're here, there's no reason for much more delay. We'll begin operations against the Kenshiki Faction in three days." He informed them.

* * *

AN: . . . I'm not going to apologize because I gave you fair warning that this chapter would take longer to come out. Granted, it took longer than even I expected, but still I did warn you. I hope you enjoyed it despite the wait. Though I feel I must inform you that attempts at coercion to make me update faster didn't actually help - especially not the 'update tomorrow or I'll never review again'.

Attempts at bribery, on the other hand, were most successful. There's a TON of new fan art for Dauntless. Works include pieces by Typewriterman (rhymes-with-Orange) who did a cute one of the Abigail's first introduction, brilliant pieces by L.L. (InkSlayer(?) - so amazing) of Lelouch's subordinates from Area Eighteen and of Abigail, and more by Komo Pineconeseed of Edith, Abigail and one of Edith and Abigail together. Links to all of these pieces are on my profile.

I also made a myspace page (under the name Allora Gale) so if you want you can contact me in between chapters and so I can update you on my progress. Most of the fan art is up on there too - except for the ones I haven't gotten permission from the artists for yet. I've never used myspace before so this is an interesting experiment. Add me, because I have no idea what I'm doing on there.

As for the next chapter, I too hope it won't take as long to come out. But starting tomorrow I'll be beginning a huge research project for one of my classes which includes going to the oldest cemetery in my city and doing a kind of . . . demographic analysis thing of what we can determine about society just from grave markers. It should be interesting, I've never done a project like this before and I'm looking forward to it because I want to do well. It will probably cut into my writing time a bit as I analyze the data. But I'll try to make sure I work on Dauntless as much as I can too.

Anyway, thanks so much for reading. Your continued interest and support for this story is really amazing. I even had three people send me messages to ask me if I was okay because the chapter was taking so long. ^.^' You guys are so sweet.

By the way *cough cough* if any of you like Kyou Kara Maou, a really great fanfic that was . . . kind of the source of my distraction for the last two days is 'Whispers of the Rye' by SomniumQuiesco. Wolfram x Yuuri pairing, and rated M, and kind of dark during parts. I seriously couldn't stop reading it though.

Anyway, don't forget to review!

Allora


	47. Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Schneizel was . . . concerned by the recent events in Area Eleven. Lelouch's involvement – that he's almost _lost_ Lelouch – made him nervous. Lelouch was an irreplaceable piece on his board. Losing him to something stupid like terrorists was simply unacceptable.

However, it wasn't only that Lelouch had been shot that worried him. No, what worried him more was that Clovis was dead. Not that he was particularly grieved by this. He and Clovis had always disliked each other. The fool had thought he was actually capable of being Schneizel's rival. So he wasn't particularly worried that Clovis was dead, rather he was more concerned with _how_ his foolish half-brother had died.

It was almost too convenient.

Just days after the Emperor sends Lelouch to Area Eleven to teach Clovis a lesson, the Viceroy dies in a terrorist attack. The timing was too obvious. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe his hunch, that tickle of dreaded instinct, was wrong. If it had been Lelouch, he would have been more subtle. If Lelouch had been sent there to assassinate Clovis – if _that_ was the new loathed task the Emperor had set before Lelouch – then he would have expected his younger brother to have made the death more clean. More certain.

If Lelouch had planned it all, then Lelouch wouldn't have been injured.

He tried to convince himself of that truth, but the facts still didn't sit well with him. Especially not after interrogating General Bartley upon his return to the homeland. Especially not after learning that Clovis had attempted to assassinate Lelouch.

Had they shot each other? No, Lelouch had been shot in the back. Lelouch had to have been facing away from Clovis, which meant that there had to have been someone else in the room. A terrorist?

No, that was unlikely. How the hell would a terrorist have managed to get onto the G-1, let alone onto the command level without being seen? It would have been impossible. He was still having a hard time figuring out how _Lelouch_ had made it onto the command level if Clovis had been after his life. And Lelouch's presence on the G-1 was all to indicative of what had to have happened – even despite his insistence that he was innocent.

But none of this mattered. Not really. Clovis was dead and good riddance. He didn't care. Not that Clovis died. He didn't even really care why.

But he _knew_ it had to have been Lelouch. Perhaps one of Clovis' subordinates had walked in on the scene and tried to avenge the Viceroy. And still he didn't care about that.

The only thing he cared about was _why_.

Was it just because Clovis had made an attempt on his life?

. . . Or was it because _this_ was actually what the Emperor had ordered Lelouch to do? This was his primary concern. Because if Lelouch had been acting on the orders of the Emperor, then it changed the game completely. Lelouch may have been his Queen, but he'd left hints that seemed far more sinister now than they had that day he'd come to visit upon returning to Pendragon.

A turncoat. He'd wanted to become the turncoat. Had it been a warning? A subtle hint that he'd switched sides? Something vital that he'd merely written off as Lelouch's particular brand of angst?

Lelouch had been upset by his assignment, but now he found himself analyzing every detail of their conversation that he could remember. Looking for clues that might give away Lelouch's new motive. Cross examining every glance and gesture. He'd been upset by the task the Emperor had set before him, but that had been understandable. He and Clovis had been childhood friends, they'd been close. Ruining Clovis' reputation would have been distasteful. But murdering his brother would have been an even more reviled task. Would Lelouch have given himself away by revealing how disturbed he was by the task, or had he hidden it well enough that Schneizel had only seen the very tip of the iceberg of his discontent?

It was always hard to know with Lelouch. Sometimes he seemed downright earnest and sincere when they were speaking, but other times his brother closed himself off completely. An emotionless mask. The Wolf of Britannia.

He'd been unnaturally upset about that too. About a moniker for the people to refer to him by. It shouldn't have been that big of a deal. It was just a name, another personality. Even Schneizel wore darker faces than the Empire's shining 'White Prince'.

_ "Wolves are also steeped in thousands of years of stigma and generally viewed as evil." _

Why should that have mattered? After his actions in Area Eighteen – he'd reacted less violently to the news that he'd killed civilians than he had to the news of his moniker – being viewed as evil shouldn't have been a big deal. But it had been.

Why?

Because Lelouch was already planning on committing a deed that many would view as evil? Because he'd been ordered to kill his own brother? Because he'd already been making plans to murder Clovis?

He sighed loudly. His plans had always balanced on the edge of a blade. One misstep would mean ruin and likely execution. He had to decide if he should abandon his Queen now that it had become unpredictable.

The most powerful piece on the board. . . if it turned out to be a turncoat. . . If Lelouch betrayed him everything would be ruined. But Lelouch knew . . . too much. If he decided to abandon his Queen, Lelouch would have to die. A preemptive strike. He couldn't afford to have Lelouch as his enemy.

He didn't want to have to do that. He liked Lelouch. Of all his siblings, he found Lelouch the most enjoyable. Still, he would have Lelouch killed if he had to. He just wished he could be more sure of what had happened.

It was the inconsistencies that were driving him mad.

Bartley couldn't remember anything during that crucial moment in time. If the General had only been able to tell him how Clovis had died, what had been said then . . . But he couldn't. He didn't remember and, as far as he knew, the only people who knew what had happened were Lelouch, Clovis and a mysterious third party who may have shot Lelouch. Someone else had to have shot Lelouch.

Knowing that Clovis was after his life, Lelouch would have never turned his back to the Viceroy. Which likely meant that Lelouch had killed Clovis before being shot by someone else. If only he could _find_ that person!

The nature of Bartley's memory loss was mysterious too, but he hadn't spent much time thinking about that as he had about considering his next step. The step Lelouch had asked him to take on his behalf.

There was that to consider too. If Lelouch had killed Clovis at the Emperor's behest, then he likely wouldn't have had to ask Schneizel for the viceroyship of Area Eleven – the prize he was only supposed to get after Schneizel had come to the throne. That particular request seemed to speak of no secret alliances between the Emperor and Lelouch, but his brother was smart enough to know that this was exactly the conclusion Schneizel would come to.

He needed to decide. And he couldn't just let his concerns over Lelouch's possible alliance with the Emperor decide for him. Even if he wasn't on the Emperor's side now (and he still really couldn't think of anything the Emperor could have offered Lelouch to sway him), even if he decided to keep Lelouch on his board, he needed to decide if a viceroyship was the best thing for his plans.

If Lelouch was made Viceroy, he would have more authority than he would ever gain from the military alone. But if he was made Viceroy, he would be tethered to one place. Area Eleven would have to become Lelouch's base of operations. And while acquiring the world's largest sakuradite producing country would be wonderful, he wasn't sure if it would counter the usefulness of Lelouch in the field.

It went back to his original plans for his brother, before the Emperor had forced the boy into the military. Politics. Lelouch would make a fine politician. He was sly and cunning enough to do well for himself. But he would have to remain fixed in Area Eleven.

As a military officer, Schenizel had entertained gleeful thoughts of sending Lelouch to wherever happened to be a problem area for him to watch his enemies squirm. Part of the reason he'd cultivated such a terrifying public image for his little brother was because he fully intended to take advantage of it. The Wolf of Britannia. The Butcher of Area Eighteen (that one hadn't been published of course, but the local Eighteens preferred it). And the confusion over what happened in Shinjuku ghetto only added to Lelouch's apparently ruthless nature.

Still . . . there was only the E.U. and China left to oppose Britannia. And Area Eleven was conveniently located right next to China. Area Eleven could be used as the staging point when they finally moved. And if that were to happen, if Lelouch were Viceroy, he would be in an ideal position to aid in the invasion. It would also prevent the Emperor from indiscriminately dragging the younger prince all over the Empire. The way the Emperor had frivolously dragged Lelouch out of Area Eighteen before his tour was even close to being done was telling of the Emperor's disregard for propriety when it came to Lelouch.

Hell, everything the Emperor did when it came to Lelouch disregarded the norm. First Lelouch hadn't been punished for faking his own death. Then the Emperor had actually attended Lelouch's arranged wedding. Forced into the military at the Emperor's behest only to be recalled after one of the greatest military victories in Britannian history. Lelouch had been called into an audience with the Emperor more times in the last six months than any of the other royal children except himself.

What was the true extent of the relationship between Lelouch and their father?

Still, Lelouch wanted revenge, didn't he? Lelouch had been dealt so many bad hands in his life, he had to want revenge. Revenge against the man who had exiled him. Revenge against the man who had covered up Empress Marianne's death. Revenge for the utter lack of concern for him and Nunnally during the invasion of Area Eleven.

Nothing the Emperor could give him would quench that. He was certain. He had seen Lelouch's fury – seen the inconsolable rage in his brother's eyes. He could believe in that rage more than anything else.

So what was he going to do about the viceroyship? He'd pondered the question for days now. In truth, he was procrastinating. But he couldn't wait any longer. The Emperor had summoned him to discuss what would need to be done with Area Eleven. The new Viceroy wouldn't be appointed until after Clovis' funeral, but the selection would be made today. In a matter of minutes and he still hadn't made up his mind.

Lelouch was a good candidate – even ignoring all the other complications. Even if they hadn't been allies, he probably would have been considered. He was young and inexperienced, yes, but so had Clovis been when he'd first been appointed Viceroy. Despite that, Lelouch had at least twice the natural leadership ability that Clovis had had. Lelouch was born to lead. It had been obvious even as a child. He took the fact that Lelouch had been in a position of authority in his school's student government as another testament to his brother's natural aptitude.

He was out of time. All of those days wasted agonizing over this topic and he'd yet to come to a definite decision.

"Your Majesty." He said reverently as he sank to one knee. Yes, even the Prime Minister had to humble himself before the Emperor.

"Schneizel." The Emperor said impassively, silently gesturing for him to get up and take the chair across from him. This was a private meeting, taking place in one of the Emperor's lavish dens. The Emperor sat casually flipping through a stack of papers which would most likely find their way to Schneizel's desk later.

Most of the Emperor's paperwork ended up on Schenizel's desk. Though it was somewhat redeeming that the Emperor at least skimmed through some of them. Not quite redeeming enough to forgive the man the fact that he left all the decision making up to Schneizel though. He was certain he could run this country better than the Emperor ever had.

He waited patiently in silence, well acquainted with this routine. His father would speak when he was ready, not before. Interrupting would only annoy the man and likely lead to an even longer wait. So he waited, fingers steepled in his lap as he sat comfortably in the plush arm chair.

"Lelouch vi Britannia will become the next Viceroy of Area Eleven." The Emperor said eventually, not glancing up from his paperwork.

Schneizel froze before slightly bowing his head in obeisance to hide his surprised expression.

The Emperor hadn't even asked for his opinion. Nor had he asked about any of the other candidates available for the position. Had Lelouch always been his choice? . . . Had he planned this? Was Clovis' death planned by the Emperor as a way to put Lelouch into a position of authority? But why? The Emperor could have just as easily removed Clovis from his position without having one of his children killed.

Was he just testing Lelouch? Like the wedding had been a test in order to regain his status as an heir? Had the Emperor ordered Lelouch to kill Clovis with the intent of rewarding him with Area Eleven? And had Lelouch known?

No. Probably not. Lelouch didn't like relying on his assistance too heavily. If Lelouch had known that Area Eleven would be made his, he wouldn't have asked for Schenizel's interference.

This was the problem. He _wanted_ to trust Lelouch. Such sentimentality could end up costing him everything. Still, the issue had been taken out of his hands. If the Emperor had decided, there was nothing he could do now one way or the other.

"A worthy choice, Your Majesty." He agreed, but his mind was already racing with the best way to deal with this.

He needed someone in Area Eleven to keep an eye on Lelouch. Someone who wouldn't be sucked in by the younger prince's charms. Someone he could control.

. . . Cornelia.

"May I suggest at this time, Your Majesty, that we also fill the void General Bartley left in Area Eleven?" Schneizel suggested.

"Did you have a candidate in mind?" The Emperor asked, glancing up from his paperwork.

"Cornelia li Britannia will soon be finished establishing Area Eighteen. The only other areas in the Empire that require her level of skill are Area Eleven or our borders with the E.U. Assigning her to Area Eleven would be the more prudent choice of the two. While we are still at peace with the E.U., I think my sister would be restless there."

The Emperor's lip twitched in amusement. "Cornelia, hm?" The man mused before glancing back down at his paperwork. "I have no objection to such an appointment."

* * *

Kallen was bored. Bored almost to the point of slamming her face against the desk just to liven things up a bit. Because she didn't have an administrative position within the Student Council, she didn't have an actual job to do. Milly's solution to this problem had been to make her into their resident assistant and gopher.

She was on stapler duty.

Except the others weren't going through the paperwork fast enough to actually keep her busy. So instead she was occupying herself by playing a game like monkey's in a barrel with a handful of staples she'd carefully bent.

Across the table from her, Rivalz sighed loudly and let the document he'd been looking at drop onto the table. "Why does the equestrian club always need more funds?" He groaned. "If they can't keep within their budget, maybe we should think about disbanding them. They already have the biggest budget of all the clubs on campus."

"What do they need it for this time?" Shirley asked, still staring down at her own document as she twirled a pen between her fingers.

"Apparently one of the horses broke it's leg. The surgery to repair the damage costs thousands of pounds." He grumbled. "If we accommodated the request, all of the other clubs would suffer for it. Denied." He sighed, before carelessly tossing it on the top of one of the piles next to him.

Shirley glanced up them and frowned. "But . . . what happens to the horse if it can't get the surgery?"

"It'll probably be put down." Kallen answered, managing to hook a fourth staple onto her chain. Britannians were like that. As soon as something was no longer useful to them, they discarded it.

"What?" Shirley demanded, her chair skittering back across the floor a few feet as she stood rapidly. "We can't let that happen!"

"Then you're willing to let the rest of the student clubs suffer for the sake of a horse? Let's not forget that your very own swim team has also requested extra funding to help replace the diving boards. And the photography club wants to go to that national conference in Pendragon. Not to mention the soccer team needs new uniforms." Rivalz said, sifting through the much smaller 'approved' pile of paperwork to set the documents down to prove his point.

Beside her, Milly leaned back in her chair with a contented smile to watch the debate. And Kallen could probably count the number of times she'd seen Nina speak on one hand. She went back to her staple chain, carefully trying to link a fifth one on to the end.

"But – but it's a _life_." Shirley protested. "How can we just sit back and not do anything when the horse will _die_ if we don't?"

"That's exactly the sympathetic argument the equestrian club is hoping we'll make." Rivalz retorted. "But the fact remains that a horse is just a horse. It's a commodity, not a necessity. If it were a piece of equipment that couldn't be repaired without several thousand pounds of maintenance, there would be no way we'd even consider it."

"But a piece of equipment isn't _alive_." Shirley argued heatedly.

"Survival of the fittest." Kallen said monotonously, eyes still glued to the progress she was making on her staple chain. "That's the Britannian way, isn't it? If the horse can't survive on it's own, it doesn't deserve to live."

"Not the kind of debates we used to have." A voice she didn't recognize said from the door. She glanced up . . . and froze.

It was _him_.

"Lulu!" Shirley exclaimed, completely forgetting about the horse that was about to be executed as she quickly pulled the prince into a hug and dragged him further into the room.

Prince Lelouch chuckled abidingly and let himself be manhandled by his friends – all of which had gone to greet him at the door. He wasn't wearing his sling anymore like he had on the television only days ago, but she could tell by the stiffness of his posture that where he'd been shot still pained him.

Almost without realizing it, her fingers had crept to the hidden switchblade in her pocket. She could kill him. Assassinate the prince who should have died along with the Viceroy in Shinjuku for the crimes he'd commit.

"Enough, enough." Prince Lelouch laughed as he tried to pull himself out of an oppressive hug from Milly. "I'm just here for my obligatory visit. You made me promise to stop by, remember? It shouldn't be this big of deal."

But the Student Council President didn't move until another figure stepped into the room. Suzaku Kururugi. He stood at the prince's shoulder – stiff, tensed, like a cat ready to pounce at the slightest notice. She was fairly certain she could take the prince, but the prince and Kururugi would be difficult.

She didn't let herself forget that Kururugi was a trained soldier. One who – apparently – would sacrifice his own life to save Prince Lelouch if everything on the news was true. (She hadn't been the only one confused by the sudden turn around from villain to hero.)

"Suzaku," Lelouch chuckled. "The likelihood of me being attacked here is next to nil."

"Then why'd you insist I come with you?" Suzaku grumbled as his gaze swept over the room, falling on her still seated at the table a moment later.

_Oh shit._

She let go of the knife and adopted her best 'sick girl' expression, hoping she appeared oblivious to the way he was sizing her up. She looked back at the prince, where he was sandwiched between Shirley on one side and Rivalz on the other, both talking excitedly in his ear. Milly, on the other hand, seemed captivated by the prince's Japanese bodyguard.

"So _this_ is punch-first-ask-questions-later Kururugi, is it?" Milly asked as she leaned in to invade Kururugi's personal space before reaching forward to squeeze his bicep. "Jeez, you're lucky your head's still attached."

"Quit manhandling him, Milly. Rivalz is going to get jealous." Lelouch snapped, batting her hand away. "And for the record, we were ten when that happened. How do you even know about that anyway?"

So they were childhood friends? Well, that explained why the prince would go so far out of his way to save a Number.

The Student Council President crossed her arms and sent her foster brother a smug look. "You told me once when we were little. I think you were half expecting me to do the same, but I just put you in makeup while you were sleeping." She answered, causing the prince to glare.

"Yeah, thanks for reminding me about _that_." The prince growled. "I'm sure Sayoko really appreciated having to wash my pillowcases every morning because of the makeup stains."

Milly shrugged, not bothered by the prince's accusations as she turned her attention back to Kururugi. "I'm Milly Ashford." She said brightly as she offered him her hand.

Kallen bit on her lip hard to suppress her surprise. The President hadn't even hesitated to shake hands with a Number – to address him as an equal. Even Kururugi looked a little taken aback before he remembered himself.

"A pleasure to meet you. I'm Suzaku Kururugi." He replied somewhat awkwardly.

For a second there was an awkward silence before Milly abandoned all pretense of propriety and pulled the Japanese bodyguard into an oppressive hug. "Thank you so much for saving Lelouch."

Kururugi looked shocked, holding up his hands in a very open display that he wasn't touching her. "Uh, you're welcome? I really don't need your thanks. I would have done it anyway." Kururugi spluttered.

Prince Lelouch laughed, abandoning his childhood friend to the clutches of his foster sister as he turned away. And then he noticed her. He nodded his head in greeting, a slow, easy smile creeping across his lips. And for the first time she could see why all those other girls had been so infatuated with him.

The prince practically oozed confidence and that distinctive, aloof 'cool' that so many of her classmates lusted after. But that wasn't what she cared about. All she cared about was that he had detached himself from the group and was coming over to greet her. Her eyes flicked back to Kururugi as her fingers crept for the knife again, but the bodyguard was tracking each of the prince's movements with his eyes even as he politely detached himself from the President.

No. Moving now would be too risky.

"Hello. I don't believe we've met. I'm Lelouch vi Britannia." The prince introduced, offering hs hand to shake.

She refrained from pointing out that they'd been in the same class since middle school. Her attendance record hadn't exactly been stellar and neither had his. And they had never actually introduced themselves to each other.

"I'm Kallen Stadtfeld." She answered demurely as she pushed herself to her feet and curtseyed as she shook his hand. "It's an honor to meet you, your highness."

Oh, she knew these sycophantic formalities like the back of her hand. They had been beaten into her since she was a child. The correct way to address royalty. Just the right amount of respect and arrogance. She was, after all, the daughter of an Earl. She was nobility, and therefore need not be quite as respectful as a mere commoner.

The prince tilted his head slightly as he examined her for a moment, before something clicked and he smiled again. "Ah, so _you're _the daughter of Earl Stadtfeld. Your father was at my wedding." He explained.

Right, the prince was married to that Chapman bitch. She'd met Abigail Chapman all of twice and had had to refrain from punching the woman in the face both times. She honestly couldn't believe how conceited and arrogant the woman could be.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Stadtfeld. There's no need to be formal. Please, just call me Lelouch." Prince Lelouch said with a warm smile at the same time that Kururugi finally managed to fully extract himself from Milly and come stand at the prince's shoulder.

It was almost hard to believe that she was looking into the eyes of a mass murderer. Not only was this boy responsible for over a thousand deaths in the Middle East, but he was also partially responsible for the Shinjuku massacre.

Ah, she couldn't think about that. She couldn't think about the prince's crimes and keep the polite smile on her face. It was hard enough not to drag him closer with the hand still in her grip and stab him in the chest. After everything he'd done . . .

But then, Shinjuku was their fault too. Naoto's resistance group. If they hadn't tried to steal Code-R . . . and they still hadn't managed to recover it anyway. Most likely the boy in front of her was sitting on a chemical weapon that could devastate half a city. And looking so god damned calm and composed as he did so.

"Of course . . . Lelouch." She hesitated, again fighting back the urge to stab him.

"Ah, Lelouch, so you've met your replacement!" Milly beamed. "Well, I suppose she's not really your replacement since Rivalz had taken up the post as Vice President, but we still needed another member to help with all the work."

Kallen refrained from rolling her eyes and griping about just how much work she had been doing before the prince arrived. She glanced pointedly at her staple chain abandoned on the table but no one seemed to care. The prince had been sucked back into a conversation with Rivalz and Shirley.

A moment later she realized the debate about the horse had started up again, Rivalz and Shirley arguing on either side of the prince while trying to sway Lelouch to their side. But the prince was only smiling warmly as he watched the antics of his friends.

He didn't look like a mass murderer at all.

* * *

Lelouch yawned, sneaking back through the service tunnels at Ashford with Suzaku at his side. He'd forgotten how tiring it could be running interference between everyone. Still, it had been good to see them all, considering he wasn't sure when he'd next have the chance. He would be moving against the Kenshiki soon and he refused to put them at risk.

Contact would be cut off for a while.

He stuffed his hands into his pockets as he nonchalantly fingered the key Nina had slipped into his palm. He already knew that whatever address Nina had listed as her research lab was where his sister was hiding, and with this key entry would be easy. But he couldn't convince himself that it was a good idea to go to her.

Even this visit to Ashford had been meticulously planned to prevent anyone from finding out about it. If the Kenshiki weren't already aware of his association with this place, he wasn't going to inform them. He absolutely did not want them making Ashford Academy a target. But even if they did, he'd already stationed extra security around the school.

Such measures wouldn't be possible at Nunnally's safe house. He could protect her best by staying away. If anyone ever found out. . .

His fist closed around the key, the metal edges biting into his skin as he thought about the possible dire consequences. He absolutely could not let that happen.

"Are you alright, Lelouch?" Suzaku asked.

"I'm fine." He frowned. He let his guard down way too much around Suzaku for it to be healthy.

"Did you hurt your shoulder again? I noticed they were all hanging off of you. You should have worn your sling at least, just to remind them you were hurt." Suzaku chided.

"I'm fine." He repeated. "It doesn't hurt at all." It was the truth. He'd taken a couple painkillers before leaving the house.

He supposed this was the 'fussing' that Roy griped about every time he asked about his ribs.

"Right." Suzaku said skeptically.

"Well what about you?" Lelouch said, deciding to go on the offensive. "You were shot too. How are you feeling? I noticed the doctor hasn't been harping on you."

"I'm completely fine." Suzaku said defensively. "It doesn't hurt at all anymore."

"Good then." Lelouch said as they came to the end of the tunnel where the car that was waiting for them.

They returned to the house mostly in silence, only brief, meaningless comments passing between them until they reached the gate and Suzaku stiffened.

"You're kidding me!" He exclaimed, looking out the window at an oversized van. "What the hell are they doing here?"

"Who?" Lelouch asked, somewhat surprised by the reaction.

"Lloyd."

Lelouch frowned as the car paused at the gate and caught sight of the engineer that had testified on Suzaku's behalf. The one who had saved Suzaku's life when he'd failed to notice a pulse. "What do you think he wants?"

"Probably to drag me back to work." Suzaku answered.

"You work for me now." Lelouch growled. If Suzaku was part of his Royal Guard, he couldn't have other responsibilities elsewhere. Besides, when Suzaku was out of his presence, he ran the risk of making a mistake. Not to mention he made a pretty target for all of Lelouch's enemies. Soon it would become apparent to everyone that the best way to get to him was to get at Suzaku. In that regard, his actions at Suzaku's court martial had been foolish. But, like everything else, it was a balance between risk and reward.

"Yeah, well I didn't exactly properly resign." Suzaku grumbled.

He did have a point. He'd been intending to have Edith send the paperwork over, but this worked too.

"I'll deal with it." He sighed.

* * *

Her prince was difficult to access. More than difficult. In fact, the security he had placed around him made her wonder if he didn't suffer from paranoia. Which was . . . troublesome. She really didn't want to end up stuck with someone who had lost touch with reality again. Mao had been bad enough. In fact, she was pretty sure it was because of Mao – her biggest mistake – that Marianne had attempted to telepathically tear a strip off of her the other day.

Geass was not always stable. It altered it's user's mind and, if the user did not have the mental fortitude to adapt to such a change, madness was the likely result. If her prince was already coping with a mental illness, he would fall quickly.

_"He's not insane!" _Marianne's voice hissed in her mind. _"He's taking appropriate precautions to deal with the situation he created."_

Right. She'd done some research about him in the days since she'd escaped from her imprisonment. Prince Lelouch vi Britannia. The Wolf of Britannia. The Anti-Terrorist. She could understand why there might be people who would be after his head.

All the more reason for her to get close to him. He was useless to her dead.

Which brought her back to her main problem – how to get at him. He didn't go anywhere alone and it was impossible to get inside without being spotted (or injured and leaving a bloody trail). She'd found that out the first night she'd discovered his location. Razor wire hidden in the ivy. Honestly! She'd have to pay him back for the damage it had done to her hands.

Sure, breaking in probably wasn't the smartest idea when she was dealing with a possible paranoid, but it was her style. She always did this – showed up when they least expected it. And Lelouch's reaction to her presence would be particularly entertaining considering she'd taken three bullets for him and had technically died in his arms. She wanted to see his shock. In all her years, she had found that there was nothing more amusing than humans and their emotional reactions.

Yes, it was petty things like this that drove her now. After so many centuries, many of the grander things in life had lost their appeal. She enjoyed simple pleasures, and there was nothing simpler than garnering a reaction from someone. She wanted Lelouch's reaction. She wanted it so badly it was almost like a hunger. Something deep inside assured her it would be spectacular.

She frowned when she noticed that the van with the peculiar lavender-haired man that had been parked outside of the prince's estate for the last few hours had been admitted only twenty minutes after the prince returned home. Was that what she needed to do to get in? Be painfully conspicuous and stand next to his gate and wait for the prince to notice her?

But that would take all the fun out of it.

If she did that, she wouldn't be able to see his reaction to her. He'd be prepared for her by the time she finally met him face to face. Still, she'd been camped out here – hiding in the ridiculously perfectly trimmed hedge on one of the prince's less paranoid neighbors yards – for almost a week now and hadn't made any more progress into breaching the prince's villa than her first initial attempt to scale the wall.

It wasn't that the pain had stopped her. As an immortal, pain was of very little consequence to her. If she couldn't die, nothing that hurt could actually . . . affect her. So it wasn't actually the razor wire that had made her give up on her lovely home invasion. It had been some of the other security measures she'd witnessed.

Above all, she did not want to be incarcerated again. Clovis, that sadistic bastard, had given her a whole new understanding to what pain was. Pain was something she tried to avoid when she could. Like most people, she didn't enjoy being in pain, even if it lost some of it's dire consequences. She had always tried to avoid being hurt. It was human nature.

That wasn't to say that her immortal life had been a wholly painless experience. She had been hurt many many times. She had been burned to death, decapitated, poisoned, stabbed, shot, dismembered, and drowned. She had been killed many many times by many many different people. But Clovis was special.

Never before had her meaningless deaths and her agony been studied so scientifically. She maintained that it was Charles' fault. If it hadn't been for his stupid invasion, that haughty blond prince would never have come to Japan. And if Clovis had been elsewhere, he never would have recognized her as one of Marianne's friends. He wouldn't have assumed that she knew where Prince Lelouch and Princess Nunnally were taking refuge. And she wouldn't have had the misfortune of being killed in front of him – and reviving.

She couldn't stop her code. It healed her at a constant rate, no matter the injury. Even if it wasn't beneficial for her to suddenly come back to life at that exact moment, she revived when her body was healed. End of story. So it was Charles' fault she had been imprisoned for the last however many years. Charles' fault for sanctioning the invasion and for raising such a malicious little brat.

She hoped her prince had been raised with at least a modicum of human decency.

_"Nervous, C.C.?"_ Marianne snickered, voice whispering against her consciousness.

Ever since the body-hopping Empress had forced open the telepathic connection that she'd left closed since she'd been captured, she'd had to put up with the mocking, running commentary on everything she did. Which admittedly hadn't been much more than hiding in the bushes and watching.

She wasn't really worried though. She could shut Marianne out if she wanted to. But her former contractor's pleasantly snide persona had done wonders for relieving the monotony of stalking her prince. When things got more interesting, she'd block out the woman again.

_"You think you can? I broke into your mind once, I'm sure I can do it again."_

"You've always been confident in your abilities." She murmured softly. "But you shouldn't underestimate my ability to guard my own mind."

_"So you're saying that you _let_ me in, C.C.?" _Marianne asked triumphantly.

"I didn't see a reason to halt the invasion." She answered before forcefully shoving the other entity out of her mind and barricading it.

She felt a slight pressure on her consciousness – almost like a thought hovering on the brink of being remembered – but Marianne's attempted invasion failed, even despite the former Empresses' frustrated and determined attacks.

She sighed. "Now I'm bored."

Glancing back at her prince's gate, she wondered if it would be worth it. The prince was sure to be interesting. After having such a blissfully dysfunctional childhood, he was sure to be entertaining to watch (no wonder he was paranoid), even if she did miss the initial reaction.

She waited half a second for Marianne's retort before remembering she'd locked the woman out. She sighed again. Aside from losing the ability to die, loneliness had to be the worst thing about bearing a code.

She hadn't actually loved any of the people she'd made a contract with. Mao maybe – but not really. Mao had simply been a little, helpless thing that she could coddle for a while – playing out her maternal instincts that should have long since been dead. It hadn't stopped her from abandoning him when he'd finally lost his mind. And even Marianne she didn't didn't particularly . . . care for. Marianne was vivacious – a force of nature that drew in the people around her. She made people want to stand close and hover in the shadow of her brilliance. Marianne was . . . entertaining. That was all. Things happened around Marianne which is why she'd allowed herself to develop a slight modicum of . . . affection for the woman, but nothing that even came close to actually moving her heart.

But then, nothing had managed to move her heart even when she'd been a live. Even centuries ago, as a child she had been unloved. And when she'd been given her geass, people had loved her. But how could she love someone who had only come to care for her through manipulation? It had been great at first – to feel wanted – but the novelty had soon worn off and she'd understood her power for what it really was. Just a simple illusion to help her fool herself.

No. No. This didn't matter anyway. She wasn't looking for love, she was looking for a way out. She wasn't about to let whatever desiccated remains were left of her heart open now when she was so close to her death. Finally. Finally she would be free from this existence. She'd be free to join the collective consciousness and move on from this cursed life.

Which was why her prince was so important. She could feel it, like a deep resonance in her soul (if she still had a soul) that he was the one. He was the one who would finally release her from her mortal bonds. He would be the one to take her code. Somehow, she just _knew_.

And if that wasn't enough encouragement, she didn't know what was.

Abruptly, she stood, combing any accumulated leaves or twigs from her long mane before heading towards her target. The gate. She would wait for him. After all, he couldn't stay cooped up in that house forever.

* * *

AN:

^.^ Hope you enjoyed the new chapter. Due to Mother Nature being a bitch and dumping a foot of snow the same day I was supposed to go to the cemetery to begin my research, I have postponed that particular assignment until I won't have to wear snow pants to complete it. Besides, trying to write while wearing cloves is never fun.

I know that in canon Milly didn't recognize Suzaku, but I find it hard to believe that Lelouch never spoke of his time with the Kururugi's to her. Plus, she's been thinking a lot more about when Lelouch first came to the Ashfords lately so . . . yeah. That's my justification.

Anyway, let me know what you thought of the chapter. ^.^ And thanks for reading.

Allora


	48. Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Lelouch was not particularly enamored with having to meet with Suzaku's ex-employer unanounced. There were other things he could be doing. In fact, there were other things that he'd planned to do. The eccentric engineer's blatant intrusion into his schedule was going to set him back by hours. He had research to do concerning his first step against the Kenshiki. Since none of them had decided to turn themselves in, he had to include an extra step in his plan – which would take time to gather all the intelligence he needed. Not to mention Hector and the others would coming over later that evening to solidify the plans for their first public appearance at Clovis' funeral the next day. And he still had yet to hear from Schneizel about his request.

There were other things he could be doing. Other things he should be doing.

But he wasn't fool enough to pass this opportunity by, either. This was the man who owned that white Knightmare from Shinjuku. The one that, by some twist of fate, Suzaku had ended up piloting. The one that had assisted him and Gottwald by keeping Q-1 distracted while they betrayed the terrorists.

"I'm Earl Lloyd Asplund of the Advanced Special Envoy Engineering Corps, your highness. It's a pleasure to formally meet you." The engineer said loudly, dropping into a semi-mocking bow.

Edith shifted slightly from her place on his left, brushing against his office chair. A silent signal that she had supplementary information for him if he wanted it. He inclined his head ever so slightly to her in approval, never taking his eyes off his two guests for a second.

"Earl Asplund is on The List from the Prime Minister." Edith whispered quietly in his ear as the woman accompanying the Earl introduced herself nervously.

"And I'm Cecile Croomy, also of the Advanced Special Envoy Engineering Corps, your highness. Thank you for taking time out of your schedule to meet with us." She said quickly.

Lelouch's eyes narrowed slightly, though the rest of his face remained impassive. So this man was one of Schneizel's pets. One of his supposed 'allies'. One of the tools Schneizel intended to change this country with.

"I could hardly let you sit at my front gate after everything you did for Suzaku." Lelouch said diplomatically, inclining his head slightly to where his friend was standing guard on his right. Two of the people he trusted most standing like book ends on either side of him. "Thank you for saving his life. And thank you for testifying on his behalf at his court martial. That was a potentially politically disadvantageous thing to do."

Asplund shrugged, as though he were addressing a co-worker instead of a prince of the Empire. "I've never really been one for politics, your highness. Far too complicated. Nothing what it really seems. I'd rather work if solid facts and figures."

Lelouch fought to keep his face impassive. Was this man trying to fool him? Whether one moved in political circles or not, making a social pariah of oneself was probably the stupidest thing any noble could do. But Schneizel wouldn't abide the presence of a fool in his entourage.

"I'm sure most people would like to say the same thing." Lelouch said carefully. "I hate to rush this, but as Miss Croomy said, I do have a schedule to keep. Would you mind informing me what it is you're here for?"

"Ah," Asplund brightened, obviously this was the part he was hoping to get to as well. "We're just here to take Private Kururugi back. He is, after all, a part of the A.S.E.E.C."

"Impossible." Lelouch said firmly, ignoring the way Suzaku tensed beside him.

"Nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it, your highness." The engineer said with a teasing smile.

"Suzaku Kururugi is a valued member of my Royal Guard." Lelouch informed their seriously. "I'm not willing to part with him."

Asplund blinked in surprise, his face blatantly displaying his shock. He found it hard to believe that Schneizel could put his faith in someone who was so open.

"Y-your Royal Guard?" The engineer demanded incredulously. "But he's a Number! The nobles will tear you apart for such an appointment. Especially now that the Purist Faction has so much sway. You must rescind the appointment!"

"I refuse." Lelouch smirked. These were arguments he'd heard before from the others. Even from Suzaku himself. But he wasn't about to take it back. Suzaku would remain at his side. No matter what.

"But I need him!" Asplund exclaimed. "None of the other test pilots have come even close to his scores. No one else can synchronize with the Lancelot to the same extent. We absolutely must have Kururugi back -"

The engineer's outburst cut off at the same time that Lelouch's gaze turned glacial and Miss Croomy stepped forward and elbowed Asplund in the ribs. "What Lloyd means to say, your highness, is that the A.S.E.E.C. would love to assist you in your endeavors against Area Eleven's terrorists in any way we can. Especially if that assistance entails letting a certain esteemed member of your Royal Guard pilot the Lancelot into combat."

So this was the mouthpiece of the A.S.E.E.C. Earl Asplund might have been the genius who had created that white Knightmare, but he lacked the social aptitude to make connections with other important members of society. He truly was one of those reclusive, socially-inept geniuses who couldn't interact in regular society.

He turned away, glancing at Edith who lowered her ear to his level. "What about her?" He asked quietly. "Is she on The List?"

"No, there's no Cecile Croomy on the list." Edith confirmed. "But the entire Advanced Special Envoy Engineering Corps is funded by the Imperial Research and Development Department, which is led by the Prime Minister. You could say that they are all his employees."

He'd had her look up everything she could on their two guests when he'd first returned to the house. It seems that research that come in handy, though it was somewhat disappointing. So, they both belonged to Schneizel.

A single eccentric genius in Schneizel's pocket, he could tolerate. But not if their entire organization was run by the Prime Minister himself. It wasn't that he didn't trust his brother – to a degree – but he'd rather not rely on Schneizel's influence too much. It was a shame. That Knightmare was supposed to be pretty amazing, according to Suzaku.

"Just what is your objective in proposing such a thing?" Lelouch asked. "What is it you're after?"

If they already had the ear of the Prime Minister, there was nothing he could do for them that Schneizel couldn't. Were they possibly hoping to influence him? Worse. Had Schneizel sent them? Were these people intended to be his watchdogs? Surely not. They didn't seem particularly capable of that task.

"Combat data for the Lancelot." Croomy answered.

Lelouch frowned. No, that wasn't just what they wanted. Their demands were twofold. One, they wanted him to bring along their fancy new Knightmare on his campaign against the Kenshiki. And two, they wanted Suzaku. Why? At most, they couldn't have known Suzaku for more than a week and a half before his arrest.

Why would they go so far for him? A mere Number? Even if Suzaku's piloting skills were spectacular, there had to be others who could pilot the Lancelot just as well. He wasn't even a Knight.

Or were they really so eccentric that they would risk antagonizing a prince just because they liked Suzaku?

He didn't want to believe that. Someone like Lord Asplund ought to have had more sense. He wanted to believe there was some subplot or ulterior motive, but the longer he observed the two engineers, the less it seemed likely. They really just . . . wanted Suzaku to pilot the Lancelot.

Lelouch sighed and let his eyes slide shut as he tried to imagine everything he could do with Schneizel's pet project. What it would be like to have the world's first seventh generation Knightmare under his command. Even if it technically belonged to Schneizel.

"Well, Suzaku?" Lelouch asked eventually. It really was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Still, he wouldn't force Suzaku. If worse came to worse, he would recommend Hector as a test pilot for the Lancelot.

"Well what?" Suzaku grumbled.

"What do you think of their proposal?" He asked, arching an eyebrow as he watched Suzaku out of the corner of his eye.

"What?" Suzaku demanded incredulously. "You mean you're actually going to give me the choice instead of making all of my decisions for me?"

"Not with that tone." Lelouch smirked.

"You're such an asshole. Of course I want to pilot the Lancelot." Suzaku growled quietly enough that their guests wouldn't hear, then, more loudly and sincerely added, "Please, let me."

Asplund's grin grew to the point that Lelouch was sure his face was going to crack. "Wonderful!" Asplund exclaimed. "I knew you wouldn't let me down, Kururugi. Your net worth just doubled!"

"It's a joke, Lelouch." Suzaku chuckled awkwardly before Lelouch could get an effective glare off.

"There are conditions for my approval." He said sharply, cutting through Asplund's jubilant musings.

"Naturally." Asplund recovered smoothly. "Name your terms, your highness."

"The first is obviously that Suzaku is forbidden from taking orders from anyone but myself or the captain of my Royal Guard. That being the case, even if he is operating the Lancelot, he will still be under my command, not the A.S.E.E.C."

"Of course." Croomy agreed immediately, taking back control of the negotiations from Asplund.

"Suzaku will wear his Royal Guard uniform even when on A.S.E.E.C. premises and will never join the rank and file of the A.S.E.E.C. You may think of him as a contractor."

Croomy nodded.

"The Lancelot will undergo a safety inspection by an unbiased mechanic of my choosing." Lelouch informed them calmly, ignoring the scandalized look on Asplund's face. He was certain he could trust von Hoffman's assessment of the prototype and some of the things Suzaku had told him about it had been worrying. "And you will install an ejection system."

Asplund chuckled nervously. "Heh, well, you see . . . we don't really have the budget to design an ejection system at the moment."

"I will pay for it." Lelouch said, nonplussed. He was thoroughly unamused. What the hell was more important than an ejection system? It was the system the Knightmare frame was supposed to be built around. It was integral. "You will have it fully installed and tested before putting the Lancelot back in the field."

Asplund scratched his eyebrow and glanced at his subordinate. "I guess we can put the MVS simulation entry on hold for a little longer. It will take a couple weeks to rip the frame apart and get the ejection system installed though. Are you sure you can wait that long? There's been rumors flying around that you're about to make your move against the Kenshiki."

"You'll find that I can be very patient when I need to be." He smiled coldly. "But as for my plans with the Kenshiki, I won't be confiding in you. That's not how this alliance will work. If I require the Lancelot, I will contact you and have you rendezvous with my unit."

"Fine, fine, keep your secrets, your highness. Your mysteriousness is why the media finds you so charming to write about."

"Finally, you will send me a copy of everything you tell the Prime Minister about the Lancelot and it's pilot."

"Oho," Asplund chuckled. "You did your homework."

"I don't make a habit of inviting strangers into my home without checking up on them." Lelouch replied blandly.

"Touche." Asplund grinned.

Lelouch sighed. "Are the terms agreeable?"

"Most agreeable, your highness." The engineer said triumphantly, sweeping into a theatrical half bow. "So long as your mechanic doesn't meddle too much." He added somewhat bitterly under his breath.

"I assure you, von Hoffman is quite capable. I believe this concludes our business, does it not?" Lelouch asked.

"Yes, your highness. Thank you very much." Croomy said quickly before saluting and tugging Asplund towards the door.

"By the way," He added as an afterthought, lips twisting into a smirk. "The A.S.E.E.C. will still be responsible for Suzaku's wages. I expect them to be commensurate with his net worth."

* * *

Milly had never been a patient woman. She never would be either. It was something she'd come to terms with long ago. Patience was, quite simply, not a virtue she possessed. Everyone who knew her was aware of this fact as well.

So when someone knew her as well as Lelouch did, making her wait was unforgivable. Though really, she supposed, it wasn't so much that he was making her wait as it was that he was making Nunnally wait.

When Nina had mentioned after they'd concluded their Student Council meeting, that she'd given Lelouch a key to Nunnally's safe house, Milly had half expected to find the prince already there when they'd arrived for their weekly dinner get together. When she'd found the place empty except for Nunnally and Sayoko, she'd just assumed that Lelouch was running late and had informed his sister of his imminent arrival before heading to the kitchen to begin making dinner for eight.

Now she was regretting it. Her own damned impatience was causing Nunnally even more pain. She'd gotten Nunnally's hopes up and now they were being dashed. It was already almost nine and there was no sign of Lelouch. Dinner had gone cold, been reheated in the microwave and eaten unenthusiastically at around eight thirty.

There was still no sign of Lelouch and watching Nunnally trying to keep her smile on was becoming just painful to watch. Shirley had already gone home because she had an early swim practice in the morning and Rivalz was sleeping on the couch. Nina had gone back upstairs, ostensibly to keep a look out for Lelouch, but she was probably actually working on her research.

"Hey, Nana." She said softly, making up her mind. "I'm just going to go get some fresh air. I'll be back in a few minutes, okay?"

"Okay." Nunnally nodded, her smile faltering for only a second.

She squeezed Nunnally's hand softly before making her way to the elevator. Angrily, she flipped open her phone and punched in Edith Cardston's number. The one that Lelouch's wife had told her never to call again.

"Edith Cardston speaking. How can I help you, Miss Ashford?" Lelouch's assistant answered after the first ring.

"I need to speak with Lelouch." Milly said calmly. There was no point in taking out her frustration on this woman. If anything, she'd just end up getting hung up on and wouldn't be able to give Lelouch an earful.

"Of course. One moment." Edith replied before the phone was muffled.

A minute later, Lelouch was on the line. "What's wrong, Milly? Did something happen?" He asked quickly.

"Where the hell are you?" She demanded loudly, not caring that she was disturbing Nina from her work or that her voice was echoing in the wide open space of Nina's lab.

"I'm at home. Why?"

"Why aren't you -" She cut off suddenly, remembering that Lelouch would probably have a hernia if she said anything too incriminating on a phone line that hadn't been checked. "I thought that since Nina gave you a key, you might have taken the time to show your appreciation for her work by coming to visit her and her guest."

Lelouch sucked in a breath. "How the _hell_ do you know about that?" He growled.

. . . Oh. That was right, Nina wasn't supposed to tell them about Nunnally. Nunnally was just supposed to have lived in solitude for the last half a year without any comfort from her friends or family at all.

"Listen to me, you idiot," Milly snarled into the phone, "You've basically imprisoned her. If it weren't for Nina's compassion in inviting us here, she'd have probably gone completely loopy by now. As it is, she's probably clinically depressed. She thinks that you don't love her anymore. So, Lelouch, get your ass over here and tell her that she's wrong."

"What do you mean she thinks I don't love her?" Lelouch demanded breathlessly.

"I mean you haven't even tried to contact her since you returned to the royal family. You've been neglecting her. And now that you're back in the same country, you won't even come to see her. If you were my brother, I'd probably hate you too." She added maliciously. She'd hurt Lelouch if it meant Nunnally would get what she needed. And what she needed was her big brother.

It sounded like Lelouch was having a hard time breathing on the other end of the line.

"Milly . . . I can't. You know that I can't." Lelouch said finally.

"Why can't you? You came to see us." She pointed out unrepentantly.

"That's different!" Lelouch snarled. "You guys are already out in the open. It's easier to protect you. I can't just – if anyone ever found out about her, do you know how quickly she would become a target? Even my own subordinates would betray me. I can't trust anyone with her."

"So you're just going to tuck her away somewhere and forget about her then?" Milly demanded. Honestly, Lelouch could be so thickheaded sometimes. "So long as she's safe she can be unhappy?"

It was pretty difficult to manipulate Lelouch. In fact, it was almost impossible. But she'd found that nettling him until he was angry could lead to a compromise sometimes. Not always, but it was worth a shot. And if it didn't work, it wasn't likely that she was going to see him again for a few weeks so he'd have plenty of time to cool down anyway.

"Of course I want her to be happy." Lelouch growled.

"Then make her happy. Get your ass over here."

"It's not that easy, Milly."

"Then make it that easy." She retorted. "You've always been one to blaze your own trails. Don't tell me you're just going to abandon her because it's difficult to see her."

"I'm doing the right thing. I'm protecting her. I'd appreciate if you tried to understand that."

He snapped.

"How is this right?" She demanded.

"It's right because -" Lelouch suddenly cut off mid-rant.

In the background, she could hear a door closing. "Lelouch, Sir Hector and the others have just arrived." Edith interrupted.

Milly's eyes widened. He wouldn't hang up on her, would he? He wouldn't ignore Nunnally for the sake of business or whatever it is this Hector person wanted, would he?

"Thank you, Edith. I'll be right there. Have them wait in the den." Lelouch said calmly.

"Lelouch!" She protested into the phone.

For a long minute, he didn't say anything and she held her breath in anticipation. He wouldn't really. . .

"I'm sorry, Milly. I have to go. Can you pass along a message for me? Tell her that I love her. That I will always love her and that nothing will ever change that. And tell her that I miss her."

"Tell her yourself!" She barked before snapping her phone shut.

She couldn't believe him. She hadn't been this mad at him in a long time. How could he just abandon Nunnally? Because it was too difficult to make contact? Or was it because he was scared?

_"Even my own subordinates would betray me."_

Was he really in that precarious of a position? She knew, of course, that he would have enemies after he returned to the royal family. And she also knew that there would be people willing to take advantage of his youth and inexperience. But for someone to threaten Nunnally to control him . . . but that was the only way anyone would ever be able to really control him. If someone threatened Nunnally, Lelouch would bow to any command.

She didn't agree with it. She didn't agree with his plans to keep Nunnally safely sequestered away. But she understood. She understood far to well. Aside from the inherent threat to Nunnally's safety, Lelouch didn't want to be controlled. It was one of his greatest fears – being made into an unfeeling tool.

She didn't doubt even for a second that he loved Nunnally with all of his heart. Nunnally had always been the center of his universe. But he was also protecting himself by keeping away. Protecting himself from becoming any more of a puppet than he already was.

She sighed heavily. Damn Lelouch. Now she had to go back inside and tell Nunnally that he wasn't coming. She felt horrible for getting Nunnally's hopes up like she had only to dash them now. But Lelouch still loved her. And she would pass along his message, even though he'd pissed her off.

Nunnally was still loved. She'd make sure the girl understood that.

* * *

Suzaku examined his new uniform critically from where it hung on his wardrobe door. Honestly, Lelouch could be so flashy sometimes. As far as he could tell, it was the exact same as a Knight's uniform except in black and silver. But as far as he was aware, only the Emperor was allowed to identify his subordinates with colors. The Knights of the Round dressed in white and gold. Lelouch had put his Royal Guard in black and silver. Direct opposition.

It was like he was subtlety challenging his father.

It wouldn't surprise him it that was it. Lelouch had made no secret that he hated the Emperor. Ever since he'd met Lelouch, he'd never once heard the prince refer to the Emperor as his father. Maybe it was easier to hate him that way, if he didn't think of the Emperor as the man who had fathered him. But they were still family. No matter how much Lelouch wanted to deny it, he couldn't really escape the fact that they shared blood.

He sighed. Or maybe he was completely off and this uniform was just Lelouch's particular brand of drama. He'd always liked causing a fuss. Maybe Lelouch just liked the color scheme. He held up the cape with an embroidered wolf's head on it before releasing another sigh and carefully folding it up.

He would never wear it.

He was at a loss as to why Lelouch had even given it to him. In Britannia, a cape was a sign of nobility. For someone who was not of noble status to wear one, it was a massive social transgression. It was okay for the rest of Lelouch's Royal Guard since they were all Knights and therefore minor nobility, but for him it was different. Part of him wondered if Lelouch was just testing him to see if he would wear it or not.

There was a knock at his door, drawing him out of his thoughts. Edith maybe? Or one of the house's staff. Lelouch would have just let himself in – it was his house after all, and he had yet to knock. But it was late and most people wouldn't have interrupted him at this hour.

"Come in." He called, stuffing the cape into his wardrobe before his guest could think he was being pretentious.

But it was neither Edith, nor any of the house staff. He stiffened and snapped to attention, saluting crisply. "Sir."

He'd only met the man once, but he had been informed that he was going to be under his command. Captain Hector Zimmerman had been promoted multiple for his loyalty (probably just because Lelouch felt like showing his gratitude)and had been given the command of Lelouch's Royal Guard. He was Suzaku's new commanding officer.

. . . And there was no reason for him to be in Suzaku's room this late.

Lelouch had told him that his subordinates from Area Eighteen would be staying at the villa that night before going to Prince Clovis' funeral together the next day. It was going to be their media debut in Area Eleven. He had, thankfully, not been invited. Lelouch had thought it would be unbecoming to show up to the funeral with a man accused of the Viceroy's murder. Even if he had been fully acquitted, not everyone would believe in his innocence. Lelouch didn't want to turn it into that big of a media circus.

Behind the Captain stood another man he'd only been introduced to once - the Royal Guard's Lieutenant, Roy Yates. He leaned casually in the door frame while Zimmerman entered the room and studiously looked around – not returning Suzaku's salute or ordering him 'at ease'.

He took a deep breath and calmly let it out, forcing himself not to squirm. This wasn't the first time this had happened. It was far from the first time. In fact, it had been a favorite past time of his previous commanding officer – waiting for him to make a mistake and break protocol.

It wouldn't happen.

He kept his eyes faced forward, focusing on the Lieutenant instead of the Captain who had passed behind him and begun rifling around in his things. There was nothing to worry about. There was nothing incriminating for them to find. He didn't need to panic.

_Calm. Steady._

"So?" Zimmerman said finally from directly behind him. It was a classic intimidation technique. With the Lieutenant in front of him and the Captain behind, he was effectively surrounded.

He wished he wasn't intimidated, but he could feel himself beginning to sweat. When he'd asked Lelouch why he'd chosen Zimmerman as his captain, Lelouch had told him a bit about the man. Zimmerman was more than just a Knightmare pilot. He was one of the military's Aces. He was also a veteran of the Infantry Corps. He knew how to handle himself even out of his Sutherland. As did the Lieutenant.

"Sir?" He asked hesitantly when the Captain didn't continue. It was a mistake. He knew he should have just kept his mouth shut and waited for Zimmerman to say what he wanted to say, but he hated having that man behind him knowing that he wasn't allowed to really defend himself even if attacked. He couldn't retaliate, even if Zimmerman and Yates decided to assault him because they outranked him and were Britannian.

"What are you really after?" Zimmerman asked as the Lieutenant closed the door.

Shit. Closing the door was a bad sign. With the two of them so close, forcing it open would waste a precious half-second that would allow him to escape should things turn south. There was always the balcony, but he was on the third floor. He could probably make the jump onto Lelouch's balcony, but that probably wouldn't look too good.

"I want to protect Prince Lelouch, sir." He said firmly, trying to force confidence and conviction into his voice.

"Why?" Zimmerman asked.

Why? What could he say? Should he admit to being friends with Lelouch? But if Lelouch hadn't told them, then he was probably trying to keep it secret. But then, Lelouch had told the Purists that they'd been friends. What should he say?

Lelouch was already damaging his reputation by what he'd done for Suzaku thus far. And Zimmerman and Yates were both people Lelouch respected. He didn't want to be responsible for tarnishing Lelouch's image.

"You're the son of this country's last Prime Minister, right?" Zimmerman asked.

"Yes, sir."

"A man who resisted Britannian rule to the last."

"Yes, sir." Suzaku agreed again. It was true. His father had resisted the Britannians, calling for do or die warfare. And in his fervor, the man had missed a threat much closer to home.

"Your family was forced to go into hiding to prevent being assassinated."

"Yes, sir." He answered after a mere moment of hesitation. He supposed that since his existence had been so loudly broadcast, it wasn't that hard to guess that the rest of his family were still alive too.

"Then why would you want to protect a prince of the country that conquered your homeland?" The Captain asked.

"It's not about that." When he thought of Lelouch, he didn't think of Britannia. Not really. Lelouch was just Lelouch – his friend. Whether or not he was a prince was unimportant. He wanted to protect his friend.

"Then what is it about?" The Captain demanded slowly coming around to face Suzaku, pinning him with a glare. "What do you hope to achieve with this charade? He's let you get rather close to him, hasn't he? You could have killed him a dozen times by now. What are you waiting for?"

"I'm not waiting for anything! I will never hurt the prince." Suzaku protested.

"Then what do you hope to get from him?" Zimmerman demanded.

He opened his mouth to protest again, but found that he couldn't. Not really. He'd agreed to this for Japan. Because Lelouch had made some vague promise about giving him Japan. Because he had a better shot at changing Japan's situation if he allied himself with Lelouch instead of just hoping that the Emperor would somehow notice him.

For the second time, Zimmerman had caught him at a loss for words. And he shouldn't have. This time especially would seem indicative of guilt. What did he hope to get from Lelouch? What did he want from Lelouch? Japan.

But that was only a partial answer. That had been the deal he'd made for swearing himself to Lelouch. But even without such a bargain, he would still have protected Lelouch. He'd always protected Lelouch. Granted, not over the last seven years, but before that during the war, and since being reintroduced recently. He took that responsibility seriously.

"You son of a bitch." Yates growled, snagging Suzaku by his collar. "Do you think we're just going to sit back and let you take advantage of Lelouch's misguided kindness? Out with it. What the hell are you trying to weasel out of him?"

But he was saved from having to answer when the door swung open.

"Oi, Suzaku -" Lelouch interrupted loudly – too loudly and obliviously for it to have been authentic. The prince paused on the threshold and raised his eyebrow questioningly at his subordinates. "Am I interrupting something?"

The Lieutenant's fingers slowly slipped from his collar. "No. We were just getting to know Private Kururugi a bit better." Yates said darkly as he turned away from Suzaku. "We'll be turning in for the evening then, right, Hector?"

They both nodded respectfully to Lelouch before sidestepping around him on their way out.

"Roy. Hector. . ." Lelouch said quietly without looking at them. "Do you really think I'm misguided? A better question. Do you really think I'd let someone I didn't trust into my home? Even to visit? So, if I've invited Suzaku to stay her permanently, what do you think that means?" Lelouch's voice was calm but cold almost to the point of being icy. "You are not my only allies. Do not forget that."

Suzaku grimaced. All that time spent worrying over damaging Lelouch's reputation with them, and here he got them into trouble anyway. "Lelouch, it's okay. Really." He said, trying to defuse the situation. He earned a glare for his efforts.

"We apologize." The Captain said diplomatically. "We'll trust your judgment."

"Good." Lelouch said, before closing the door behind him and effectively blocking his subordinates out.

Suzaku sighed. "So how long were you out there for anyway?"

Lelouch shrugged. "I saw them coming in here. Figured I'd see what they were up to. You did well. You didn't give anything vital away. But you could have just admit that we were childhood friends. Hector already knows about you. Or rather, he knows I was friends with a Japanese kid during the invasion. He probably hasn't put it together yet if he was in here demanding your intentions."

"Well, it wouldn't look very good for you to acknowledge that we're friends. I don't really feel like inconveniencing you more than I already have." Suzaku grumbled before flopping onto his bed.

"You're hardly an inconvenience." Lelouch said, rolling his eyes. But the sarcasm didn't quite reach. Lelouch had been in a bad mood all evening and he wasn't sure why.

"What's wrong?" Suzaku asked before throwing his pillow at the prince.

"Nothing. Nothing I can fix at the moment, anyway. I'll just have to invest my time in damage control later." Lelouch frowned before picking up the pillow and setting it back on the bed, flattening out any wrinkles as he did so.

"Damage control?" Suzaku asked. "Because of the Captain? You should have just let them go without those final parting shots. I didn't need you jumping in to my rescue either, for that matter."

"Oh? And what was it you were going to say to them, Suzaku? About 'just what the hell you're trying to weasel out of me'? I'm actually quite curious." Lelouch asked haughtily. At least it was a genuine emotion.

"Yeah, well, my business with the Eleventh Prince of Britannia is private." He said sarcastically.

"Roy would have strangled you." Lelouch sighed.

"You think so? He looks more like a punching kind of guy. Blunt force trauma."

Lelouch chuckled mirthlessly before nodding his agreement. "Anyway, the reason I was headed here in the first place was to tell you that you'll be spending tomorrow with the A.S.E.E.C. Lord Asplund has requested your services."

"But I thought they were ripping the Lancelot apart to install the ejection system?" He asked. Surely Lloyd hadn't lied to Lelouch about that. He couldn't have since Lelouch was making sure his own mechanic looked the Lancelot over.

"They want you to run simulations in a modified Sutherland. At least, that's what that Croomy woman said. Since you haven't gone through the official Knightmare training program, she wants you to run as many simulations as you can to get more familiar with the controls." Lelouch answered. "Since I'm going to be spending most of the day tomorrow mourning Clovis, I told them they could have you."

"So sound so grieved." Suzaku sighed. Lelouch seemed almost wholly unaffected by the murder of his brother – by murdering his brother. Sometimes, it was just so hard to try to relate to him at all.

"As a prince, I've been taught not to let my emotions show in public." Lelouch shrugged. "Besides, there are few within the royal family that I would actually miss."

"Because none of them are Nunnally?" He asked, then immediately regret bringing her up. Maybe it was selfish, but he didn't want to see Lelouch when he was broken up about Nunnally.

Lelouch's eyes widened momentarily before he clenched his hands into fists and glanced away. Suzaku watched him sympathetically. He didn't know what it was like to lose a sibling, but he knew what it was like to lose his family. He had been disowned by the Kururugis and Lelouch had lost both his mother and his sister, leaving him with only his hateful father. In reality, they were both almost like orphans.

"Sorry." He apologized a moment later when Lelouch didn't respond. "I didn't mean to bring that up."

"It's fine." Lelouch grumbled softly before heading for the door. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Suzaku."

* * *

AN: Ta-da. Another chapter for you all. I'm not dead/dismembered/critically ill or anything of the sort. I've just been particularly distracted by shoujo anime for the last week. It's actually pretty amazing how much anime you can watch in only a week. o.O Anyway, a little girly romance is good every now and then.

I hope you all enjoyed the new chapter. Now I have something important I want to ask you all. I remember in a previous AN way back when, that I promised never to write from an OC's pov in this story. However, I've received a ton of requests to write from Abigail's pov. So . . . now I'm wondering if I'm letting the story suffer due to my own stubbornness. Tell me what you think.

Also, now there's an even more important thing I have to say. Komo has been amazing again and has mangafied an excerpt from Chapter 46. The link is on my profile. I hereby command you to check it out.

^.^ Thanks for reading. Don't forget to review.

Allora


	49. Chapter 49

Chapter 49

C.C. sighed. There had been a lot of activity at Lelouch's villa lately. Several vehicles had gone in and out of the gate since that man and woman with the van yesterday. None of them had stopped to notice her.

In fact, the only people who had noticed her were the guards. And after one of them had mistaken her for a bum and tried to shoo her away from the property, she'd haughtily pointed out that they hadn't stopped that man from waiting for the prince the previous day. The man had begrudgingly conceded her point and left her alone, though she was sure they were keeping an eye on her.

People really just didn't trust each other these days. She remembered a time when you could go up and knock on anyone's door and be given a meal and a place to sleep in return for a little gossip or story-telling. Hospitality. Sometimes she missed the old days. Society these days was so cold.

The sun was already high in the sky and it was past ten when movement at the gate finally gave the first indication of something happening. She peeked in through the wrought iron despite the dirty looks the guards gave her and saw three cars pulled up along the driveway along with two bikes. A motor escort.

Then it seemed like the prince would be moving soon.

"Finally." she grumbled under her breath as she removed the hat she had 'borrowed' from an abandoned apartment in the ghettos and straightened her equally illegally obtained clothes.

_"My, my, C.C. are you actually _primping_ to meet my son?" _Marianne snickered in the back of her mind.

She'd gotten bored halfway through the night and had decided to break her way into Marianne's mind instead of the other way around. Of course, the fact that the Empress had been sleeping at the time had only added to the entertainment value. Especially when she'd woken the woman up with a loud, lively mental rendition of an old folk song she remembered.

Yes, this was her idea of revenge. It had been made all the more sweet with Marianne's repeated attempts to banish her from her consciousness had been thwarted. Marianne just didn't have the mental fortitude to beat her. Though it was only to be expected. After all, C.C. had had centuries to strengthen her mind.

"It's hardly primping." C.C. said monotonously. "I just want to be sure he recognizes me."

She had no idea how great of an impression she'd made on her prince. Being a prince, it was possible that he was accustomed to people dying to protect him. But then, his reaction when his companion was shot didn't seem to indicate that was the case. Then again, she was almost certain that that boy was the same one that her prince had befriended after being sent to Japan.

It was another fifteen minutes before the entourage of vehicles began to move – only for the dark, tinted-windowed limo to stop short just past the gate. She was annoyed she couldn't see his reaction, but she smirked nonetheless as she slowly approached the vehicle. He had to have noticed her. He had to be panicking. She wanted to see it.

Briefly, she entertained the idea of knocking on the window, but one of the motorcycles revved it's engine before decidedly putting itself in her way. She sent a dirty look at the helmeted rider – probably a woman judging from her stature – just as the car doors opened and the prince emerged, followed by a woman in a business suit - who relocated herself in the front seat.

As she'd thought, she'd missed the grand spectacle of his reaction and his face was cold and calm. Two steps brought him level with the motorcycle and another brought him directly in front of her, eyes flying all over her figure. Looking for evidence of her wounds, she assumed.

"Lelouch." She smirked. Ah, she was enjoying this too much. "It's been a while."

His hand suddenly shot out and clamped around her wrist before he dragged her back to the car, shoving her in ahead of him before turning back to the motorcycle rider. "We'll proceed as planned. Forget about her." He ordered.

It wasn't Geass but she felt a shiver run through her at the sound of his tone all the same. The boy was so demanding. So authoritative. It was little wonder that the Geass had manifested itself in him as it had. Her prince expected absolute obedience even without the power of kings.

He would be interesting, just as she'd guessed. She wondered, briefly, what he would be like with a Code. Terrifying, probably. She couldn't wait.

She let a satisfied smile pull across her lips as she stretched out across the back seat, reveling in the luxuriously comfortable leather seats. It had been a while since she'd been on anything so soft. Clovis and his lackeys hadn't been particularly worried about her comfort.

The door closed and she felt his eyes on her, though she refused to look at him – testing his patience a little. He would be fun. Good for her after the years of forced confinement and torture.

"_What_ are you?" He demanded coldly, sending another shiver down her spine. It was that same tone. He was demanding her obedience. She snorted. Who did he think he was to demand anything from her?

"That's not very polite, you know?" She replied as she shamelessly kicked off her boots and brought her feet up onto the seat, "Most people would have asked _who_ I was as opposed to what."

"I watched you die. I was covered in your blood. And yet you're here now and apparently fine." Lelouch mused. "What are you? A clone of that girl?"

She smirked slightly and shook her head. "Guess again." She teased.

He glared at her. "Some kind of artificial human? Are you even human?" He demanded as he grabbed her wrist again and felt for a pulse. It was there, of course – healthily maintained by her Code.

She sat up and leaned forward, invading his personal space as she looked him directly in the eye. "I'm a witch." She said sarcastically. It was one of the many titles she'd been bestowed over the centuries. One of the less offensive ones. After all, being accused of consorting with the devil was better (if only marginally) than being accused of being the devil itself. "So, how do you like it?" She asked as she reached up, her fingers hovering next to his left eye – a hairsbreadth away from touching him.. "How do you like the power I gave you?" She purred.

He scowled at her again and grabbed her hand before pushing her away back onto the opposing seat. "It's interesting and useful. Now answer my questions." He ordered and this time she saw the sigil flare, his command washing over her like silk over skin.

She shivered and sat placidly, deciding to play with him a little. It was worth it when he smirked triumphantly, believing in his victory.

"What are you?" He asked again.

"I'm a witch." She answered monotonously, pleased with his frowned response.

"What's your name?"

"C.C." She answered and was blessed with another scowl.

"What's your real name?"

She smirked. "You didn't really think that I'd give you a power that would work on me, did you?"

Her prince frowned and studiously observed her. "C.C. then, what do you want? Why are you here?"

"You didn't forget, did you? Our deal? The contract you agreed to?" She asked. She wouldn't be letting him off the hook. Just because she'd technically died, didn't mean their agreement was null and void. "In return for the power I gave you, you promised to make my one wish come true, remember?"

"Yeah, okay. I remember. So what do you want?" He asked with annoyance.

She smiled mysteriously before stretching out across her seat again. "You'll find out when you're ready." She said before closing her eyes and willing her body to sleep. She had been going without sleep for days now – not that it had a particularly adverse affect on her body since her Code maintained her, but she could still feel the exhaustion. She was hungry too, but she'd deal with that later.

"Oi!" Lelouch protested. "Just tell me and I'll grant your wish. And who said you could sleep in here?"

She grinned sleepily before rolling on her side with her back facing him and burying her face in her arms. "But we're accomplices, Lelouch. Surely you don't mean to deny the source of your power, do you?"

_"You're still so selfish." _Marianne sighed.

She didn't answer, unwilling to give herself away, but even more unwilling to expend the effort on Marianne's account. She doubted her prince would be too amiable after learning that his mother had abandoned him instead of being killed.

_"I didn't abandon him."_ Marianne protested. _"It was just safer for them this way."_

"Tch. Unbelievable." Lelouch huffed quietly after the silence had dragged on for a moment. She chuckled softly to herself before letting herself slip into unconsciousness.

* * *

Jeremiah felt nauseous at having to attend Prince Clovis' funeral ceremony – a man he himself had killed. Never before had he been forced to mourn for one of his victims. He wondered if he'd be sent to a particularly damning part of hell for it. Though, if Dante had anything to say about it, he was already bound for the deepest pits of hell for his betrayal of Clovis. Making a mockery of the man's funeral was of little consequence in comparison.

"What's wrong?" Villetta whispered beside him, obviously picking up on his distress.

"Nothing." He replied curtly as he stood up on the stage in a massive reception hall in the Viceroy's Palace waiting for the event to begin. People were still steadily filing into the massive auditorium where they would be viewing the live broadcast from the homeland.

He stiffened slightly when he caught sight of Prince Lelouch entering the room. He hadn't really seen the prince since the Kururugi disaster when the boy had promised retribution (except for a brief interrogation about the matter, though he did still send daily reports of his activities to the prince). Retribution that still hadn't come. He had no idea how angry the prince was, but the anxious anticipation of their punishment was almost more maddening than anything the boy could come up with.

He knew Prince Lelouch could be ruthless when it suited him. If he wanted to, he could utterly destroy the Purist Faction and everyone in it. And Jeremiah would do nothing to stop him. He had sworn to always strive to follow the boy's will – to make his whims and wishes a reality.

He had erred massively by allowing Kewell and Villetta to implement their framing plan. It wasn't that he was incapable of making decisions on his own, or that he wasn't allowed to. He was, after all, still the Acting Consul and made important decisions for Area Eleven every day since his appointment without the need for Prince Lelouch's permission or approval. But in this matter, he had erred because the prince was right – he _had_ told Jeremiah to hold off on finding a scapegoat – and he had every right to want to punish Jeremiah for his mistake.

Still, his shame over his misconduct was no reason to to be rude to the boy now. He would take whatever punishment Prince Lelouch could throw at him, and then, if he were still permitted, would continue to serve the boy in whatever way he was able.

In the sea of mourning black and officer blue, it took him a moment to realize that the people standing with the prince were not dressed in mourning, but rather black Knight uniforms. He frowned, trying to think of any faction that they could be associated with, but came up with none until one of them turned slightly back the way they'd come and he caught sight of the silver wolf motif embroidered onto the cape.

Wolves.

Now he had no difficulty understanding who these people were. They were the prince's 'wolf pack' that Clovis had teased him about. These were the people who had made Prince Lelouch's victory in Area Eighteen a reality. The ones who had charged into the fray and made the impossible possible. It seemed his prince had finally decided to embrace his epithet as opposed to scoffing at it.

"_Personally, I would have chosen something a little less on the endangered species list. The Rabbit of Britannia, maybe."_

His lips twisted into a wry smirk as he suppressed a chuckle. It wouldn't do to be seen laughing at the Viceroy's funeral.

He approached the prince, dropping into a respectful bow as he watched the 'wolves' tense at his approach. Good. At least they took their job of protecting the prince seriously. "Your highness."

"Lord Gottwald." Prince Lelouch said, nodding his head slightly in greeting.

Ah, so he wasn't forgiven. Before the Kururugi incident, his prince had gotten into the habit of addressing him only by his surname as opposed to by his title. The habit hadn't resumed.

"I wasn't sure if you'd show." The prince continued with a cold smile. A reminder. They both knew who had really killed Clovis.

"As Acting Consul, my absence here today would have been intolerable." Jeremiah answered.

"True." His prince nodded, before gesturing to his companions. "This is Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald." Prince Lelouch introduced. "He's the man in charge of this country for the time being. Lord Gottwald, this is the beginnings of my Royal Guard."

He fought to keep his smile in place as each of the members were introduced one by one. He'd been passed over. He'd sworn life and loyalty to the prince, had a history with the vi Britannias spanning back ten years and he had still been passed over for such an honor.

It was jealousy, he could admit. That horrible, twisted envy that was clawing at his heart. That these people could stand with his prince while he was excluded. He'd read a bit about them, of course. He'd been tracking Prince Lelouch's accomplishments ever since he'd learned where the prince had been hiding for the last few months. When word had reached his ears about the prince's victory in Area Eighteen, he'd looked into the records of all those that had accompanied him.

They were all well above the norm. Each and every member of the prince's squad members had Knightmare simulation scores between the high eighties and low to mid nineties. It topped out, of course, with their former commander. Zimmerman consistently scored between ninety-six and ninety-eight percent efficiency on Knightmare simulations. Technically speaking, anyone who could score ninety-five or higher was considered an Ace. Jeremiah's highest record was at ninety-three, though he more consistently scored around ninety-one.

Not that simulation scores were everything. Real life experience also counted. Not that his prince's Captain of the guard was lacking in that department either, but he was at least gratified to know that he had more experience in that particular field. Zimmerman had never made it past the rank of Corporal before his recent promotion. Jeremiah had been through officer training and had been granted more and more responsibility until he'd finally ended up where he was today – a Colonel and the highest ranking officer in the country aside from the prince. He had been born and bred to lead.

It should be him. He was more qualified to serve the prince. More qualified to act as the prince's avenging arm. To follow his orders. His wishes and whims. To do whatever the prince could ask. But it wasn't. It was Zimmerman – a crack pilot but not even an officer.

Beside him, Villetta approached and bowed respectfully. "Your highness, I'm sorry for your loss."

"Lady Nu." The prince greeted, his face remaining impassive and ungrieved before he glanced away (a subtle snub) and ran his gaze over the assembled masses of grieving countrymen. "Clovis was well loved by the Britannian people." Prince Lelouch finally said. "He will be missed."

"Certainly, your highness." Villetta agreed.

"All the more reason for us to find the real culprit responsible for his death rather than uselessly pinning the blame on an innocent man." The prince said emotionlessly. Jeremiah clenched his fingers into a fist behind his back and wondered if his betrayal would be brought to light. But the accusation never came. Instead, the prince turned to him and gestured to the line of chairs set across the stage. "As Acting Consul and one of Clovis' closest followers, the people will expect you to be highly visible. Please, take the center."

The center. The place were everyone's eye would be drawn the most. A place of honor. The place where the prince would be expected to sit. Why on earth would the prince want to put him in the spotlight like this? Unless he was right and the prince was setting him up as a sacrifice.

What could be more sensational than revealing the Viceroy's killer at his funeral?

"As you wish, my prince." He complied, preparing himself for the worst.

But it never came.

All throughout the funeral, through the procession of mourning and the Emperor's fiery speech, which wasn't so much a eulogy as it was propaganda, he waited for the prince to say something. He waited to be condemned.

To his right, the prince sat calmly composed with two of his guards standing behind his chair. He couldn't help but watch the boy out of the corner of his eye, hoping to catch wind of his prince's plan to rat him out mere seconds before it happened. There was no obvious indicator, though he did notice the slight, triumphant curve of the boy's lips. He was enjoying Jeremiah's discomfort.

They both knew the score. They both knew just who exactly had murdered Clovis la Britannia. And they both also knew that Jeremiah was not exactly in the prince's good graces at the moment. His entire existence rested in the hands of a seventeen year old boy who may or may not decide to reveal his treachery to the world.

He understood now why the prince hadn't pulled the trigger himself. It was about control. By using Jeremiah, he'd be able to hold Clovis' murder over his head for the rest of his life even if he still mysteriously couldn't remember the event. Prince Lelouch knew a deep dark secret of his and he wouldn't be afraid to use it. He had, essentially, turned Jeremiah into his puppet.

Not that he hadn't been already, but Jeremiah figured the extra insurance had to comfort the boy.

He took a deep breath and forced his nerves to subside.

"Progress always bears with it some misfortune." The Emperor continued. "The old must be discarded or adapted to make way for the new. Even the death of my son Clovis demonstrates Britannia's unswerving commitment to progress. We shall not weep and mourn, but move forward. And at the fore of this progression will be the new Viceroy of Area Eleven – my son, Lelouch vi Britannia."

The prince's eyes widened momentarily as he sat up a little straighter in his seat. However, the initial traces of surprise were quickly suppressed under a bland smile and nod towards the mass of other mourners and the video cameras that were recording the event.

Leave it to the Emperor to turn his son's funeral into a public announcement. Much as he hated to admit it, the man was becoming less and less someone he wanted to follow. At first, he hadn't really wanted to believe what Prince Lelouch had told him surrounding the circumstances of his exile. But it seemed like that boy had been right – the Emperor cared nothing for his children. Clovis wasn't even in the ground yet and he'd already been forgotten – shunted aside to make way for Prince Lelouch. A day that was supposed to be used to mourn the Third Prince had been transformed into a triumph for Prince Lelouch.

It was somewhat sad.

* * *

Flashy and insensitive. It was the Emperor's style.

Schneizel sighed and lifted the phone to his ear. It was mid-evening in Area Eleven, but he doubted his brother would be too busy to speak to him – even with his new appointment. It rang three times before his assistant answered and 'regretfully' informed him that Lelouch had asked not to be disturbed. To which he had 'regretfully' informed her that he wasn't so much asking as demanding to be put on the phone with Lelouch.

"Hello, Prime Minister." His brother sighed into the phone. "What is it that you need from me?"

Schneizel chuckled. "Such sarcasm, Lelouch. Or shall I call you Viceroy?"

"Ha ha. I suppose I should thank you for that." Lelouch replied drably. "I doubt the Emperor was all too pleased with the suggestion."

"It took some convincing." Schneizel lied smoothly.

He had decided to keep Lelouch on his board. It was too early in the game to let his Queen go to waste. He needed to keep Lelouch within his sphere of influence, so having his brother indebted to him wouldn't hurt. Whether or not that debt was based on a lie didn't really matter so long as Lelouch believed it. And since only the Emperor and himself had been present during that meeting, the fallacy was unlikely to ever come to light (if only because he couldn't foresee the Emperor and Lelouch ever addressing the matter in conversation).

"But, of course, it wasn't impossible for you." Lelouch said, his response an uncertain mixture of sarcasm and admiration.

Lelouch was too stubborn to truly show his gratitude and he had really damaged their relationship when he'd tried to have Edith Cardston killed. Schneizel wondered just how differently the conversation might have gone if he hadn't attempted to have the woman assassinated.

"Of course." He agreed.

Lelouch was quiet for a moment before he reluctantly spoke again. "So . . was there something you wanted? Or did you just call to make sure I remembered how great your powers of persuasion are?"

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" Schneizel smiled.

"Is it obvious?" His brother answered blandly.

He chuckled. "Very well, I'll get to the point. Have you made a selection yet?"

"I said I'd think about it." Lelouch said darkly.

"And you've had time to think about it. It's time to choose. Especially in your new position. We cannot risk your safety." Schneizel pressed. He had decided to keep Lelouch on his board and therefore he needed to make sure his Queen was protected.

"In my position?" Lelouch asked incredulously. "Might I point out that _you_ have yet to appoint a Knight of Honor and you're the Prime Minister. You're hardly in the position to pressure me into selecting one."

"I have Kanon." Schneizel shrugged.

"And I have Edith. Though that's hardly the point." Lelouch snapped.

"Ah, but I doubt your dear Edith knows fourteen different ways to kill someone with her bare hands." Schneizel replied with a slight smirk. Some of his friend's more useful talents were the ones he was least suspected of having. Kanon made such a good partner to him because he was perpetually underestimated.

"I have bodyguards." Lelouch protested.

"It's not the same and you know it."

"I have a Royal Guard now." His brother tried again.

"Yes, I saw that. They're your squad mates from Area Eighteen, aren't they?" Schneizel asked, before continuing without waiting for the confirmation. "But even that isn't the same as having someone devoted solely to protecting you. Your Royal Guard will be used in your campaign against the terrorists, won't they?"

"That doesn't make them any less able." Lelouch replied coldly.

"It makes them less focused. They will be concentrating on taking down your enemies and winning you honor as well as your protection." Schneizel explained.

"So I'll make one of them hang back." His brother tried again.

"But you won't. I know you, Lelouch. I know how you think." He explained coolly. "You won't sacrifice your offensive ability just to protect yourself. You're overconfident in your own ability and you believe you can protect yourself. You're self-reliant. You hate depending on others. It's not all that surprising considering you've been taking care of yourself for the last seven years. But your situation is completely different than it used to be. You no longer have the luxury of anonymity. You are a very public figure and people _will _try to kill you."

"I'm aware of that." Lelouch growled.

"Would you like me to tell you how many times people have attempted to assassinate me?" Schneizel asked.

"You mean you've kept a tally?" Lelouch asked sarcastically.

"Eighty seven." He said firmly.

The number was higher probably than it would have been if he'd had a true Knight of Honor, like Lelouch had said. Because he had never appointed one, his enemies often liked to believe that he was vulnerable. But Kanon wasn't eligible to be made a Knight of Honor because he had never been a part of the military. His particular skill set had been learned . . . elsewhere. And Schneizel wouldn't trust his back to anyone but Kanon. In eighty seven assassination attempts, he had never even sustained a serious injury (though Kanon had come close to dying a couple times).

"So what do you think, Lelouch? Do you think you could survive eighty seven assassination attempts on your own? Select a personal Knight." He ordered after a moment of silence. "Perhaps if our brother Clovis had had a Knight of Honor, he might have still been alive today."

"Or they both would have been dead." Lelouch said bitterly.

"Oh? So that's the problem? You don't want to take anyone else down with you?" Schneizel asked.

Lelouch didn't reply, though Schneizel caught the slight hint of an annoyed sigh over the phone line.

"Ask any member of your Royal Guard if they would die for you. The answer should all be the same, so choose whichever one answers the quickest to be your Knight of Honor."

"I don't want one." Lelouch finally said.

"Unfortunately, it's not about what you want. It's about what I want. This is an order, Lelouch. Select a Knight of Honor to protect yourself." He said authoritatively.

"And if I refuse?" Lelouch asked.

He sighed. Leave it to Lelouch to make things difficult. "Let's not do this, Lelouch. You are important to me as my brother and as my ally. Is it so wrong for me to want to protect you?"

"What is the consequence for disobeying you?" Lelouch asked firmly.

But that was a good question. What was the consequence? What could he really hope to threaten Lelouch with? Somehow he doubted threatening Lelouch's life would work (not to mention that it would be counterproductive) and he'd learned his lesson about going after his employees. Ah, but there was that girl. The smart one . . .

"Did you know that the Imperial Research and Development Department offers a lucrative intern opportunity to some of the brightest minds in Britannia?" He asked conversationally.

"I wasn't aware of that." Lelouch said evenly.

"Neither was I. But I'm sure it could be arranged. And I'm sure someone intelligent enough to win the Moris Foundation Research Bursary would be just the kind of participant they're looking for."

Lelouch didn't speak as the implications of the unsaid threat sank into him. Schneizel gave him the time to process it. It hadn't been a necessarily dangerous threat. He'd never said he'd hurt the girl. But he would have her moved to Pendragon if he thought he needed to.

"I'll think about it." Lelouch said finally before the phone went dead.

Schneizel chuckled softly to himself. He'd 'think about it', but they both knew what the final conclusion would be. Schneizel had won, but only at the cost of uttering threats. It was not, generally, the way he preferred to operate. But Lelouch would never allow himself to be docilely swayed to his will. That wasn't who Lelouch was – which was just fine with Schneizel. His brother's independence was the reason he would be so useful.

He wondered who Lelouch would choose as his personal Knight. His money was on the Ace from Area Eighteen.

* * *

Lelouch had decided to give himself one night to grieve for Clovis. Just one night to wonder 'what if . . . ?'. What if he hadn't had his brother murdered? What could he have done differently? Just one night to relive that day's events and ponder over how things might have changed if he had just done one or two things differently.

It was useless and futile, he knew. But it was also vaguely comforting, in a strange, self-loathing way. Just as the brandy he had taken from Clovis' office and was now pleasantly indulging in was vaguely comforting. His brother's favorite drink burned mercilessly down his throat with every sip.

It wasn't that he was trying to drown himself in the alcohol. That wasn't it at all. It was just that the simple act of consuming Clovis' brandy somehow made him feel closer to the brother he had destroyed. The brother he had once been so close to. The brother he had once loved above all the others save for Nunnally.

It didn't help his guilt, but for just one night, he'd decided to indulge himself. Just one night to focus on Clovis and everything he had been. Everything he could have been. One evening to ponder on the future he had stolen from his brother.

. . . But the rest of the world seemed to have different plans.

First it was Schneizel who had interrupted him. Ordering him to select a Knight of Honor in return for not taking Nina hostage. Ordering him to devalue one of his subordinates lives to the state of nothing more than a human shield.

Unsurprisingly, it was far easier to ask someone to kill for him than it was to ask someone to die for him. After all, he actually liked his subordinates. His 'wolves' as the news had taken to calling them (how cliché) were all people that he genuinely liked. And how could he ask someone he liked to throw away their life for his sake?

He hated the very idea of using someone else as a shield. How could such an appointment be considered an honor? How could throwing away one's life be a good thing? It was human nature to want to survive. It was instinct. All living things would fight for their survival.

Or was that where the honor lay? In the sacrifice? A Knight of Honor would lay down their own life in order to protect their prince. Was it the denial of human instinct that was responsible for the distinction?

Either way, he didn't like it. It cheapened their lives. It made them into something dispensable. Something that didn't need to be protected or cherished. And how could he possibly do that to someone he liked? He was sure he could ask any one of his subordinates to be his Knight of Honor and gain a favorable reply. What he wasn't sure of was whether or not he could stomach it if one of them _died_ trying to protect him.

He had taken them under his wing, in a way. He protected them as much as he was able and genuinely cared about whether they survived or not. They were _not_ expendable.

Really, what he wanted to do what make someone he didn't like or care about into his Knight of Honor. Not that he could. He liked the people he trusted. Generally, if he didn't like them it meant he didn't trust them. So choosing someone he didn't trust to protect him kind of defeated the purpose of the appointment. Though it might have worked only to appease Schneizel.

Still, his Knight would be with him all the time. It would be unnerving to have someone he didn't trust that close to him at all times.

"Lelouch?"

Blinking, Lelouch glanced up to the door where Hector stood – knuckles still resting upon the half-opened door. He hadn't heard him knock – either because he'd been too engrossed in his thoughts or because the brandy was finally getting to him. He glanced down at the glass and found it empty, so he set it aside and waved Hector in.

"What did you need?" He asked, even though he was fairly certain he'd told Edith not to let anyone bother him. Not that he'd actually been doing what he'd sequestered himself away with Clovis' brandy to do. His thoughts hadn't turned to Clovis and what might have been ever since Schneizel had called.

He supposed what he was really doing now was just sulking. And that didn't require any particular amount of privacy, so Hector could stay.

"Edith. Another glass, please." He called out towards the hall behind Hector as he gestured towards the arm chair opposing his.

"Of course, Lelouch." She replied immediately before taking off towards the kitchens to accommodate his demand. Honestly, if she'd had even a modicum of combat ability, he'd have found himself better guarded than any Knight could manage. She was always around – living in his shadow while awaiting his demands. He supposed he understood why Schneizel valued Kanon so much.

"I wanted to get on the same page as you on a couple matters." Hector said as he settled himself in the chair across from Lelouch, eying the bottle of brandy suspiciously. Edith returned a half a minute later bearing another glass, which she set on the coffee table between them before excusing herself.

"It's brandy." Lelouch explained as he filled both glasses. "It was Clovis' favorite. I pilfered this bottle from his private collection."

Hector grimaced. "I'm sorry. Today's probably not a good day to worry you with things. I overheard some people talking earlier about how close you and Prince Clovis were."

Lelouch snorted. "Years ago, we were. But that was before my exile."

"Exile?" Hector asked immediately.

He smiled sardonically. "What? You mean you didn't know you'd sworn yourself to the black sheep of the Imperial family? Surely you didn't believe the story I was forced to tell on the television?"

"I wasn't aware." Hector said carefully. "Why were you exiled?"

"Why, indeed." Lelouch mused as he stared down into his drink. "I suppose it's what happens when a common-born prince decides to backtalk the Emperor immediately after the protection his mother afforded him disappeared." He said bitterly. "I demanded justice for my mother when the Emperor failed to expend enough effort to find her killer. He then plainly told me that I was nothing to him but a piece on his board and that I'd be sent to Japan as a political hostage. It seems my mother was the only thing keeping the vi Britannia line intact."

"What?" Hector choked, staring at him wide-eyed. "Your father -"

"Don't call him that." Lelouch said firmly. "If I ever had a father figure, you can be sure it wasn't the Emperor."

Hector was quiet for a moment, no doubt carefully weighing his options and whether or not pursuing this conversation was 'safe'. He had to know that these were Imperial secrets and therefore meant only for the ears of royalty. It was always dangerous when those not of the court learned of all the skeletons in the Imperial family's closet.

Not that Lelouch particularly cared. Let the world know how much of a bastard the Emperor was. It wouldn't hurt him. He didn't thrive on the good name of the Imperial family. And he would never truly consider himself one of them. It had been too long and he had lived his life as 'Lelouch Lamperouge' for enough time to separate himself from his royal identity. 'Prince Lelouch' was a mask. A facade. Just as the 'Wolf of Britannia' was.

He could live without the mask. He could live without his royal standing – he already knew this for a fact. He had, after all, survived seven years without relying on his blood status. So let the world know the Imperial family's dark, dirty secrets. It wouldn't particularly affect him unless anyone found out that he was the one leaking the information.

But he didn't really think Hector was foolish enough to gossip about something so very dangerous. If not to protect Lelouch's safety, then to protect his own.

"About Kururugi." Hector said eventually, apparently deciding to steer clear of anything that might get him into trouble.

"What about him?" Lelouch asked.

"Roy and I weren't trying to start trouble." Hector said. "But his situation here is suspicious. He all but admit that he's trying to get something out of you."

"I'm well aware of what Suzaku wants from me." He sighed. He'd been somewhat disappointed when he'd found them harassing Suzaku last night. But no real harm had been done and at least it meant that his Royal Guard was taking their job seriously.

"Would you mind enlightening me as to why you've put so much trust in him? Simply saving your life isn't enough to excuse so many warning bells. He is the last Prime Minister's son, right?" Hector pressed.

"He is Prime Minister Kururugi's son." Lelouch confirmed. "I'd have thought you'd have put it all together by now. I just told you, after all, that I was sent to Japan as a political hostage. Who do you think I was sent to?"

"The Prime Minister." Hector murmured with dawning understanding then frowned. "Then . . . Kururugi is . . ."

"That friend I mentioned that I'd thought was dead." Lelouch answered. "It turned out he was less deceased than I'd anticipated."

Hector sighed as he relaxed slightly in his seat. "It would have saved us some trouble if you'd said so to begin with."

Lelouch shrugged. "Maybe I was testing you?"

"Is that still necessary?" Hector asked. "We all risked ruining our careers and our futures by coming here for you. If you hadn't already sent our transfers in, it wouldn't have mattered what even you said. We'd have been labeled as deserters."

"I'm aware of that. And I appreciate it." Lelouch said calmly.

"We're yours, Lelouch. What more do you need to test us with?" Hector said earnestly.

Lelouch narrowed his eyes slightly. Much as he loathed parroting Schneizel, this at least was an appropriate time in conversation to bring it up. And he was at least marginally curious."Would you die for me, Hector?" He asked, focusing acutely on every twitch and tell his subordinate might give away.

Hector's gaze tracked back across to his own and he tensed slightly. "Yeah." He said after a second – not of hesitation but likely rather a moment of frantic deduction as he tried to figure out just why Lelouch was asking him.

"Just like that?" Lelouch asked, slightly unimpressed. Hector hadn't even had to think about it. His gaze hadn't wavered at all. It was an immediate, certain response. Was he the only one concerned with self-preservation?

"Just like that." Hector agreed.

_"Ask any member of your Royal Guard if they would die for you. The answer should all be the same, so choose whichever one answers the quickest to be your Knight of Honor." _

Lelouch sighed before taking another sip of his brandy. Hector would likely make a good Knight of Honor. Not that Lelouch would select him. He didn't know how he'd ever be able to face Lukas if he did – if Hector ever died trying to protect him. Selecting a Knight of Honor was like giving someone a death sentence.

"It shouldn't surprise you. Any one of us would die for you, Lelouch." Hector continued after a moment. "It's what it meant when we swore oaths to you. But why are you asking? Has something happened?"

"Nothing particularly life threatening." Lelouch shrugged. "No more so than normal, in any case. Have I satisfied your worries, Hector? Are we on the same page now?" He asked as a clear dismissal. He'd really rather be alone with his thoughts right now.

"Almost. Just one more thing. Is that girl you picked up this morning another one of your childhood friends?"

"No." He said as his expression twisted into a scowl at the mention of her. C.C.. A self-proclaimed 'witch' and the only person alive who knew about his Geass power.

He'd been mildly annoyed when he'd returned to the vehicle after the funeral and the half dozen meetings he'd been forced to attend with the advent of his new appointment to find her still sleeping in the back seat. He supposed part of him had hoped that she'd just wander off back to wherever it was she'd come from and leave him alone. She was an unwanted complication in his already complicated life.

Though, of course, that would have been too much to hope for. He had never been that lucky. And so now, between juggling his revenge on the Emperor, the administration of Area Eleven, and the elimination of the terrorist threat in Area Eleven, he also had to deal with a woman who could expose his secret power. A woman who wanted something from him, yet refused to say just what it was.

Debts and favors. He understood that game – it was necessary for anyone who actually wanted to affect this world in any great way. But he hated the way she was holding it over his head. He always preferred to pay off his debts quickly. In fact, the only person to which he was left owing was Schneizel – and only because he wasn't in a position to help his brother. Yet.

But C.C. didn't seem like she was interested in collecting on her debt any time soon. In fact, she seemed quite content just to mooch off of him. And, infuriatingly enough, until he knew just what she wanted and how far she was willing to go to get it, he was going to be stuck with her.

"She's not a friend." He continued. "But she can cause me less trouble if I know where she is."

Hector's gaze narrowed into a glare. "Is she blackmailing you?" He demanded.

Lelouch snorted mirthlessly. "Something like that."

There was silence for a moment before, "Do you want me to get rid of her?"

Lelouch honestly considered it for a moment. Ignoring the fact that she had saved his life (twice , technically, by being shot and by giving him Geass), she was still a massive threat to him. If people knew about his Geass, everyone he had to deal with would refuse to meet with him face to face. Which would make that power precisely useless.

But at the same time, he couldn't forget that C.C. had been shot three times right in front of him. He'd been absolutely drenched in her blood that day in Shinjuku and yet, here she was, perfectly fine after sustaining an injury that should almost certainly have killed her (and if not, at least made her into a vegetable for the rest of her life).

He'd pondered and rejected a dozen different explanations for the phenomenon, but none really did the situation justice. So even if he did want to sic Hector on her, he wasn't sure if his Captain would be able to accomplish the feat. And who really knew what that girl was capable of anyway? He wasn't going to risk losing Hector should C.C. decide to retaliate. At least not without a better understanding of her abilities.

"No. Just keep a close eye on her. I suppose she's the one exception to my rule about letting people I trust into my house." Lelouch sighed.

"I'm the exception to a lot of rules." C.C. said from the door, looking utterly unrepentant for eavesdropping. He wondered how long she'd been listening. Apparently even using Seckel's squad as an 'escort' wasn't enough to keep her out of his hair.

"C.C." He greeted coldly with a slight nod. A moment later, Seckel and three others appeared, apologizing profusely for letting her disturb him.

"My, my, Lelouch. You don't look pleased to see me." She chided, hands on her hips. He caught a gleam of mischief in her gaze.

"On the contrary," Lelouch replied coolly. He would be damned if he let her rattle him. "please join us. Brandy?" He asked, gesturing to the bottle.  
"No. I've never really liked it." She said as she settled herself on the arm of his chair, draping herself possessively around his shoulders as though he belonged to her. A moment later she took the game too far. "Why don't we tell the good Captain how we met?" She asked, further invading his personal space by pressing her cheek against his so that Hector was pinned with both of their gazes.

"It's late." Lelouch said darkly as his elbow pressed against her ribs and threatened to send her sprawling to the floor, "And I believe Hector has to be getting home. Besides, I wouldn't want to bore him with something so thoroughly unremarkable."

She chuckled softly, breath tickling against his cheek and reminding him just how very close she was. Close enough to slip a knife into his back before Hector would even be able to react. He watched her closely out of the corner of his eye, taking particular note of the slight smile that crept across her lips as her fingers began to creep across his back.

"Are you saying I'm unremarkable, Lelouch?" She asked as her fingers stopped in precisely the most vulnerable spot on his back – directly over his heart. He didn't know if she'd felt the bandages under his shirt or if she knew just what organ she was threatening (or both), but in any case, it was enough for him to finally apply the pressure he'd been holding back.

His elbow pushed and she toppled to the floor in an undignified tangle of limbs as he gracefully rose to his feet and put a few steps between them. She didn't yelp or berate him or even move. She just lay there where she'd fallen, staring dispassionately up at him – and he was reminded of the first time he'd laid eyes on her. When she'd laid passively on the floor of the truck while he and Suzaku had worked to free her from her bindings.

He clenched his fist before turning his back on her. "I'll see you out." He said to Hector before leading the way to the door.

Somehow, he just knew that dealing with C.C. was going to be a constant trial of his patience.

* * *

AN:

Another chapter for you all. :D I hope you all enjoyed it.

And thanks so much for all of your responses about whether or not to write from Abigail's pov, though really from like the second or third review I'd already made up my mind not to. At least not yet. At this point, I'm not sure I can do her enough justice to please you all. So I'll continue to tease you with snippets about her character for a while longer until I'm more comfortable with her and then I'll think about it again.

Anyway, as for the updating schedule for the next couple weeks . . . I have no idea how well it's going to go. I have that big cemetery demographics project due on the 13th of April and I have another paper due around that time too. So I'll be a bit busy with other things. Also . . . I finally got Fable III (ha ha, not quite as good of an excuse for delays, but it's just so fun smashing Hollow Men) so I might be a bit distracted by that for a while. Tee hee.

Still, I don't foresee myself not writing on this at all, so another chapter will likely be coming out even while I have to work on my school assignments.

Thanks for reading. Don't forget to review.

Allora ^.^


	50. Chapter 50

~*~ For Komo and L.L. who bribed me with so many awesome fanarts. Go check them out! ~*~

Chapter 50

Lelouch awoke between two and three in the morning the first night after C.C. joined the house to the sound of a scuffle in the hallway outside his door. Further investigation (with his gun drawn and ready) had revealed Suzaku pinning C.C. to the ground with a dangerous gleam in his eye. C.C. looked unconcerned by the fact that Suzaku had her pinned, or the fact that his hand was dangerously close to choking her.

Suzaku had been none too impressed when he'd returned home from the A.S.E.E.C. to find C.C. lounging on one of Lelouch's sofas eating a piece of pizza (though that seemed mostly due to the misconception that he thought Lelouch had been hiding her since the Shinjuku incident and that she was there at Lelouch's insistence). Nor had he been all that impressed when Lelouch told him that she'd be staying at the villa for a while. His uneasiness was compounded all the more, it seemed, when he caught her sneaking into Lelouch's room in the middle of the night.

Suzaku had suggested he lock his door at night. Apparently he'd only been made aware of the unfolding situation because she'd mistakenly barged into his room first. And while neither of them could find anything that could be used as a weapon on her person, it was the general consensus that breaking into his room in the middle of the night wasn't an admirable trait.

So he'd locked his door on the second night and had woken up shortly past three to find C.C. in he process of crawling into bed with him. He had promptly turned her out of the room after she'd admit to picking the lock.

The third night, he'd been exhausted from being in meetings all day and restructuring the administration. He hadn't woken up until eight thirty – only to find C.C. occupying the other half of his bed with a barrier of spare pillows built up between them. Whatever it was she was trying to do, it seemed seducing him wasn't it. If he didn't know better, he'd have said she was afraid to sleep alone.

But he did know better since the girl seemed wholly fearless. Which meant that a more likely explanation was that she was trying to annoy him. It wouldn't be the first time. In fact, he was sure that a rather large portion of her day was devoted to coming up with new and ingenious ways of pushing his buttons. From bullying the kitchen staff into serving him only pizza (a food he had never been particularly fond of) to rearranging most of the books in his library into a scaled down version of a medieval castle (which he had to admit had been amusing right up to the point where she refused to put them back) to wandering around the villa in nothing but one of his shirts (as least as far as he could tell).

He was certainly not deaf to the rumors circulating around the staff that she was his mistress. And even he couldn't fault them for coming up with something so ludicrous. He would likely have come to the same conclusion had he been observing the situation from a place less involved. He let her get away with much too much (if only because he hadn't come up with a viable means to put her in Check yet), but she had learned quite quickly where the line was and that she should never cross it.

Her antics were annoying and frustrating and sometimes embarrassing, but they were never harmful or dangerous. She never put him in a difficult position with people he didn't trust. In fact, she tended to make herself scarce whenever he had visitors that didn't already know about her presence in the house.

It was only this discretion that prevented him from simply locking her in her room and leaving her to rot until she told him what she wanted.

So, over all, he supposed her presence was tolerable, even if she was annoying. Most of the time he tried to forget she was even there. Today, however, she was being particularly intrusive as she lounged on the sofa pushed against the wall in his office at home and hummed quietly to herself. It wasn't that the volume of the tune she was humming was inconsiderate, it was simply that there was something about the tune that was catching. And she probably knew that, which is probably why she was humming it. It was distracting.

He sighed and massaged his temples, giving up momentarily on reviewing the state of Osaka. He'd be visiting the devastated city as soon as he was able to square things away with the administration. He had a number of candidates in mind to act as his proxy while he was attending to military matters. Not that he intended to simply hand over the reins of the country to some lackey, but he would at least be delegating a rather large majority of his responsibilities to others until Osaka was stable again.

And the first step to bringing stability back to Osaka was the destruction of the Kenshiki Faction. In the weeks since Clovis' death, the first hints of the revitalization of Osaka had begun emerging – beginning with a few tentative business owners who had opened up shop again to serve the few tentative customers who were willing to leave their homes. Money made the world go around, after all. The public transit system was still in ruins and even if it wasn't, he doubted the people would be willing to use it. He imagined the taxi drivers were making a killing. The citizens were attempting to avoid gathering in large groups that could potentially be made into a target.

Even if the Kenshiki hadn't said a peep in two weeks, the fear of their next strike had still permeated every block of the city and essentially shut it down. Which was unacceptable.

"What?" C.C. asked peevishly as she ceased her humming – drawing Lelouch out of his thoughts. Apparently he'd been staring at her for a while now as he traversed the complicated landscape of his own mind.

"Nothing." He frowned. "What song was that?"

"Song?" She asked.

"The one you've been humming for the last hour." He elaborated with a scowl.

She blinked as though the question perplexed her before getting up and leaving the room without answering. He sighed and let her go. He was still getting used to her mood swings, but this hadn't been the first time she'd walked out in the middle of a conversation. It seemed to be her chosen method of avoiding the topics she'd rather not discuss.

All further inquiries into the nature of his Geass power had been met with a similar response.

Rolling his eyes, he turned his attention back to his work. Duke Calares looked like a promising candidate for his proxy. The man held the rank of Captain in the military and, more importantly, he had an interest in politics. In fact, he'd been dabbling in politics since the invasion though he'd never sworn himself to Clovis. He might have been a lot of bluster, but he would be easy to control. Gottwald may have been an adequate Acting Consul and a more military minded administrator may have been ideal for dealing with the chaos that erupted after Clovis' death, but Gottwald was first and foremost a soldier. And soldiers didn't make great politicians (case in point – Cornelia. He figured there was a reason she'd never been appointed as Viceroy of any of the Areas she'd subdued.)

In any case, Gottwald wouldn't be in any position to act as his proxy.

As though called by the turn of his thoughts, Edith knocked on the door a few minutes later, a stack of papers held against her chest and an anxious expression on her face. "Lelouch, these just came from the Emperor's office." She said, as she set the stack in front of him.

He barely glanced at the top page before he smirked. "Finally."

Edith hesitated. "Are you really going to go through with it? Isn't it a bit extreme? I mean, Suzaku's fine. There was no real harm done."

"Of course I'm going to go through with it. The Purist Faction is a blight that I intend to remove. It's not just what they did to Suzaku, though that is a part of it and the excuse I needed to justify my actions out of more than spite. The Purist Faction would deny the Numbers their very existence if they could.

"You, as only half Britannian, would also fall under their scorn. And they also stand against everything I am. I am not nobility, even despite my father's blood. That is something I have always been aware of. Until I married Abigail, I had no titles to speak of, while all of my siblings hold both titles and lands as well as a claim to the throne. The Purist Faction would destroy me if I let them. It's safer to destroy them first before they become a significant problem." He explained.

". . . But . . . this is. . ." Edith gestured wordlessly at the papers in front of him. "Their families will . . . can you afford to burn this many bridges?"

"If they were adherents to the Purist policy, then there aren't really any bridges to burn." Lelouch shrugged. "I was going to head to the base today anyway. Could you please call ahead and have everyone I have a paper for assemble? Also, please alert my Anti-Terrorist Task Force of my imminent arrival. We'll kill two birds with one stone."

Edith looked like she wanted to say something more, but she restrained herself before merely nodding and heading out of the room, fishing her cellphone out of her pocket as she went. It wasn't that her concerns weren't justified. He'd be making enemies of a number of powerful people with this move, but he'd already made up his mind and with the massive shift in the power structure of the country, it wasn't likely that any of them would be in a position to act out against him anyway.

* * *

"That the prince protected that Number at all is disgraceful." Kewell muttered. "I don't see why we should have to be punished for it. I'm sure he's guilty of something worthy of death anyway. He is Genbu Kururugi's son, after all. There's no telling what kind of trouble he could stir up."

"It's the prince's right to punish us as he sees fit for any transgression he faults us on." Jeremiah replied calmly, despite the anxiety twisting in his stomach,

"The prince is only a prince at all because his mother managed to seduce her way into the Emperor's bed. He should have just taken her to bed then cast her aside. A bastard child would have been a better solution to the shame she brought on the royal family." Kewell continued bitterly. "And we wouldn't have to deal with the boy's ludicrous notion of justice now."

"Kewell, if you ever -" He began to threaten, both hands clenched into fists to try to stop himself from strangling his subordinate for his slander of both Empress Marianne and Prince Lelouch. He'd always hidden his lingering guilt and loyalty to the vi Britannia's pretty well, but sometimes it took all of his willpower to keep him from doing something potentially damaging.

"Unfortunately for you, this bastard son was born into the family and is now _sixteenth_ in line to the throne and so it seems you'll have to endure my ludicrous notion of justice." A cold voice from the door interrupted them. It was Lelouch, standing impassively with a stack of papers tucked under his arm and Kururugi and Zimmerman flanking him on either side.

Kururugi . . . in the same black uniform as Zimmerman. The same uniform he'd seen at the funeral except for the distinctive cape.

Kururugi . . . was also a member of the prince's Royal Guard. His insides twisted anxiously. Kururugi did not _belong_ there. He did not deserve the honor the prince had bestowed on him. Friend or not, he was still a Number. He shouldn't have been eligible.

And he lost what little respect for Zimmerman he'd had – standing straight almost shoulder-to-shoulder with Kururugi as though he didn't think the boy's rank was scandalous. The presumptuous brat had to have called in on the life debt he'd collected on the prince to be allowed into the Royal Guard.

Kewell, at least, knew better than to respond to the prince's retort and had clenched his jaw shut. It was possible that the prince intended to punish the faction as a whole for their actions against Kururugi (as was likely because there were a few people present who had had almost nothing to do with Kururugi's set up). And if that was the case, there would be nothing stopping the prince from punishing them collectively for Kewell's stupidity as well.

Kewell had always tended to speak before thinking. That trait was only accentuated when he lost his temper. He was one of those people who loved to run a bitter commentary to make sure everyone around him was aware of his displeasure. However, he should have known better than to speak out against the prince when they'd been summoned by the boy for a meeting.

They lined up quickly at a silent gesture from Jeremiah before saluting their new Viceroy. He had officially stepped down as Acting Consul the day of Prince Clovis' funeral and had since returned to his regular duties. He was now nothing more than a military officer and nobleman.

"So then, you're Kewell Soresi, right?" Prince Lelouch asked without looking up from the papers he was sheafing through.

"Yes, your highness. I'm at your service." Kewell replied.

The prince smiled wryly before wordlessly fishing a sheet out of the stack of papers and handing it to Kewell. "No, you're not." He said finally before turning to the next down the line. "Louis Argent, correct?" The prince continued, already fishing out the next document.

"What?" Kewell said incredulously, his eyes scanning wildly over the document he'd been given. "You can't do this! You can't strip me of my titles! Only the Emperor -"

"Which is precisely why it took so long for me to get around to this." Lelouch cut him off. "Do note the Imperial seal affixed to the bottom."

"But -"

"But?" Prince Lelouch asked coolly as he turned back towards Kewell. "You ought to be thanking me for my mercy. It would have been much simpler if I'd just ordered your execution. Instead, I went through the trouble of having you stripped of your titles and transferred."

"Transferred?" Kewell asked ashenly.

Prince Lelouch nodded. "It's on the second page." He said, gesturing towards the sheet in Kewell's hand. "I believe you're bound for Area Two."

Jeremiah suddenly felt sick. This was the prince's revenge. When he'd considered the prince destroying the Purist Faction, he'd thought that it would take the form of a massive purge (and he'd been more concerned with wondering if he would be included amongst the casualties or not), but this was so much more potent. To a faction that prided itself on it's nobility, to be made into nothing but simple commoners was devastating. And then being transferred to some stable Area where there would be almost no chance of redeeming themselves was almost just as bad.

His gut clenched ever tighter and tighter as the prince drew closer, leaving ruined ancient noble families and the devastated remains of the Purist Faction's ruling elite in his wake. With each person the prince passed – each receiving the same punishment - his hope dwindled, then finally died.

The loss of his titles, he could live with. Granted, his father would probably have a heart attack, but he knew that nobility wasn't the be all end all. Both Empress Marianne and Prince Lelouch had proven that nobility did not automatically engender superiority. Even without his title as Margrave, he would still be Jeremiah Gottwald – an elite Knightmare pilot and an officer in Britannia's military.

What he couldn't live with was his exile. His prince would banish him to some hopelessly peaceful country where he would spend the rest of his days drowning in tedium.

_And they would never see each other again._

The thought echoed in his mind raising bile and weakness with each reverberation. This was it. The end. Another failure to add to his tally and the boy wasn't going to give him another chance. His legs felt like they might give out on him as he listened to Villetta draw in a shaky breath and accept her punishment.

Then it was his turn, last in a long line of destroyed pedigrees and ambitions. And he couldn't bear to watch. He bowed his head and prepared himself for the same treatment as the others – a blasé hand off of a sheet of expensive paper with the ability to send an entire family into ruin.

He waited . . . and it never came. Taking a deep breath, he slowly raised his head to meet his prince's stony gaze. The boy's expression was neutral, though his eyes were still cold and angry.

"Jeremiah Gottwald," The prince began. No title. Now that he thought about it, the prince had refused to address any of the others by their titles too. "As the leader of the Purist Faction who perpetuated the crimes against Suzaku Kururugi, and as the Acting Consul – a position of authority in which the people must place their trust – and, most especially, as a man sworn to me, your failure is especially grievous.

"As a leader, one is expected to be held to a higher standard. The people put their trust in you as the Acting Consul to find Prince Clovis' killer. In response to which, you sanctioned the fraudulent arrest of an innocent man in an attempt to deceive the masses and to further the Purist Factions goals. You broke the trust that was given to you by the people of Area Eleven. And you broke my trust by acting against my wishes – even when expressly told not to."

Jeremiah began to feel a little dizzy and it took a moment before he realized he was holding his breath. This was it. This was it. What did his prince have in store for him? He had broken the boy's trust. Surely that deserved something particularly foul as recompense.

"For all of these reasons, I have decided that your punishment is death."

Death. . . Execution. He was going to die shamed by the very prince that he had only longed to serve. His breath was gone again. He felt like he had been punched. And his heart was hammering in his ears as the prince's pronouncement repeated itself in his mind. His eyes slid shut and he bowed his head in shame.

"I understand." He murmured.

"And do you accept your punishment? Do you accept that your death belongs to me?" Prince Lelouch asked, prodding at the wounds his declaration had left. But his death had always belonged to the prince. Always. Ever since that first meeting, when the boy had refused to forgive him, refused to let him serve, and refused to take his life.

"Yes, your highness."

"Do you want to know the manner of your death?" Prince Lelouch asked, a smirk tugging at his lips.

Was this it then? The hint he'd vainly searched for all throughout Prince Clovis' funeral? Was his treachery going to be revealed now here, in front of all of his subordinates and allies. The Purist Faction would tear him limb from limb if they ever found out that he was the one who had murdered Clovis. Or did the boy merely find the manner of his impending doom morbidly amusing?

The prince leaned forward slightly so he could catch Jeremiah's gaze before answering. "You will sacrifice yourself for me."

He blinked. He was supposed to take his own life? "How do you mean?" He asked quietly.

"I mean that you will abandon all allegiances and ambitions in favor of my protection. I will become the sole focus of your existence and you will willingly give up your own life if it is necessary to protect me."

But that sounded a lot like . . .

"You will become my Knight of Honor."

He stared at the boy incredulously. This was his punishment? This – the very highest form of respect that any royal could show a soldier – was his punishment for defying the boy?

"This isn't benevolence or mercy. I fully expect you to die in the course of your duties." The boy said calmly, as though answering his thoughts. "Until that time, I will make use of you."

Even so, the boy had granted him the only death he had ever truly wanted. To die in service to his prince – to shield the boy's life with his own. A sacrifice. Yes, the boy had worded it correctly. He would sacrifice himself to let the boy live. An even trade.

His legs finally gave out and he sank to his knee, arm crossed over his chest in fealty and obeisance. "I will protect you with my life." He swore vehemently as he bowed his head to hide his disgraceful shell-shocked expression.

"You will abandon your ties to the Purist Faction." His prince ordered.

"Yes." He accepted. "I resign from my position as leader of the Purist Faction." He said easily, ignoring the disgruntled sounds of the other people in the room.

Then the prince stepped forward and he felt the gentle brush of fingers against either shoulder – an unofficial knighting. "Then I dub thee Sir Jeremiah Gottwald, Knight of Honor of Britannia and sworn vassal of the vi Britannia house." The prince said calmly, following the traditional script. "We can deal with the rest of the pomp and ceremony later. Now, rise."

He did so, feeling relief and wonder well up in him at the unexpected turn of events, only to come face to face with a piece or parchment bearing the Gottwald name and the Emperor's seal. He stared at it uncomprehendingly for a moment. While there was no greater honor than being named Knight of Honor, the title was not a hereditary one and wouldn't extend to the rest of his family. The rest of his family retained their nobility through the hereditary title of Margrave – the title that they were just stripped of with the Emperor's approval. . . or not.

"You will keep your title as Margrave only because you will be more useful to me with it." Prince Lelouch explained calmly. "So long as you are never presented with this, you shall remain a noble. However, I suggest you don't forget I have it. If you ever betray me or if you ever break my trust again, you _will _ lose your ancestral titles along with all of your family members. Understood?"

"Yes, my prince."

"Good. Then the rest of you are dismissed. Gottwald, you're with me, obviously." Prince Lelouch said as he turned on his heel and head back towards the door. The Number didn't move when Zimmerman fell into step on the prince's left, respectfully vacating his place at the prince's side for the newly appointed Knight of Honor, despite the less than pleased look on his face. Jeremiah took the silent cue and stepped past the boy who followed along behind as the prince made his way through the base towards the parade grounds.

Across the parade ground stood over a hundred Knights standing at attention in their distinctive caped blue uniforms along with just as many Infantry Corps soldiers and Engineers. They snapped a salute as one as the prince approached them, one that the prince returned as he came to rest front and center surrounded by his entourage.

"I am Lelouch vi Britannia." The boy said loudly, "Eleventh Prince of the Empire and sixteenth in line to the throne. You are the Anti-Terrorist Task Force that I have created to aid me in my campaign against terrorism in Area Eleven. Each and every one of you were selected by me personally to help me in this endeavor.

"You are the finest soldiers Area Eleven has to offer. My selections were not biased by blood status or ethnicity, but rather the the degree of skill you have exhibited. Amongst you, there are nobles and commoners, Britannians, Numbers and those of mixed heritage. I will tell you right now, whatever misconceptions you carry about being favored or disfavored for something as fickle as what kind of family you were born into – abandon them.

"The only way you will gain favor with me is by proving yourself worthy of it. The only way you will earn my scorn is by betraying the trust I've put in you all. I expect you to work as a united entity. If you are noble and cannot accept that the man next to you is of common blood, or if you are of common blood and can think of the man next you as only an arrogant nobleman who relies solely on his blood status for his achievements, you have no purpose in being here. If you are Britannian and you hate the thought of working with Elevens, or if you are Japanese and you cannot accept that you will have to rely on and be relied upon by Britannians, you also have no purpose in being here.

"If that is the case, you are free to leave now. This is the only chance you will have to leave without repercussions." The prince finished, waiting to give them a chance to make up their minds. To Jeremiah's surprise, no one even shifted. The thought of Elevens and Britannians working together to bring down Eleven terrorists seemed like he was just asking for failure.

But he would be the last one to criticize the prince after his magnanimous treatment mere minutes ago. The boy had had every right to destroy him, but had decided to bestow honors instead. If this stunt won the prince their loyalty, he supposed he could forgive the high-handed disregard for propriety.

"Good, then." The prince said with a smirk. "Adrian Hopkins, step forward."

A Knight in the second row and left of center stepped forward, surprise and trepidation visible on his expression for a moment before he schooled his features into something more appropriate of a Knight and saluted. The man was probably in his late twenties with curly brown hair falling around his ears. Jeremiah was sure he'd seen the man around before, but he wasn't anyone overly important. At least, not as far as he knew.

"Sir!" Hopkins said, holding himself in rigid attention.

Prince Lelouch swept out his arm in a grand gesture towards the man cape flying wide with the movement. "_This_ is your new Commander."

Hopkins' eyes widened dramatically in surprise. Apparently, the prince hadn't given the man any warning. It seemed the boy was in a mood for surprising people today. For a moment it seemed that he didn't know what to do, before he immediately dropped to one knee. "Then . . . allow me to swear myself to you, your highness."

"I accept your pledge." The boy said, smirking dangerously as his gaze swept over the assembled soldiers.

It was the beginnings of an army. A highly specialized army that, if it could learn to work as a cohesive unit, would be capable of utterly destroying any enemy set in it's path. The terrorists had absolutely no chance of survival. Providing they didn't fall apart at the seams, of course. It would take a lot of concentrated effort on the prince's part to overcome the ingrained prejudices that had been drilled into every single one of the soldiers before them.

Nobles and commoners. Britannians and Elevens. It would take a lot of work indeed.

* * *

Dinner that evening was an interesting affair. Suzaku, seated next to the Captain who was on Lelouch's left, was sitting directly across from Edith, who was looking none too pleased with being seated between Lord Gottwald and the Lieutenant (though it was difficult to tell just who's presence she was opposed to). To his right sat Amanda Lyons, who he'd spoken to an exact number of three times in the past. Following along down the rest of the table sat the rest of the Royal Guard and Sir Hopkins (who still looked a little shell-shocked) and, at the very end, opposite from Lelouch in a place that should have been reserved and left vacant in honor of his wife, sat C.C. sipping on a glass of wine and generally being a terror to the serving staff.

He found himself under the disapproving stare of Lord Gottwald more often than not, though he noticed the the Captain seemed to be receiving it just as much. The again, it might just have been that he was seated next to Zimmerman, and so the man was just getting caught in the line of fire. In any case, Lord Gottwald had been glaring at him all day and he'd been attempting to avoid the man's gaze (which was made particularly difficult when they were seated almost directly across from each other).

Edith kept sending him sympathetic looks and Captain Zimmerman engaged him in polite conversation. Whatever Lelouch had said to the Captain seemed to have worked in turning around his attitude. The man seemed almost eager to talk with him and, somehow, they got into a discussion about soccer and Basic Training and the Lancelot (at which point Lyons joined in).

During a lull in the conversation between the third and fourth courses (Lelouch's table usually wasn't this elegant, but tonight the kitchen had prepared a whole five course meal for them), Suzaku glanced over at his friend and realized for the first time (probably) just how impressive Lelouch was. It wasn't that he'd never noticed that Lelouch was a prince of a vastly powerful Empire, nor was it that he hadn't accepted that Lelouch was now the leader of Japan. It was simply that, to him, Lelouch had always just been 'Lelouch' – no honorifics or titles attached.

It was only now, as he watched Lelouch reclining in his chair with his chin resting lazily in his hand as he listened to something Lord Gottwald was saying to him, that he realized just how influential his friend was. That Lelouch was more than just 'Lelouch'. That there was a reason all of these people at the table had decided to swear loyalty to a boy years younger than them. Lelouch was regal, powerful, and dangerous too.

Lelouch must have felt eyes on him as he glanced at Suzaku and nodded his head slightly before returning his attention to his Knight of Honor and was drawn back into whatever conversation they were quietly having. A moment later, Suzaku was swept back into the conversation between Miss Lyons and the Captain and he tried to forget the uneasiness he felt at having the man who had remorselessly attempted to have him executed so close to Lelouch.

He also tried to ignore that fact that C.C. was conversing with the newest addition to Lelouch's group of supporters and was probably filling the man's head with useless nonsense and lies. He didn't trust that woman as far as he could throw her. He'd been running on the assumption that she'd died in Shinjuku until he'd returned from a long day of being Lloyd's guinea pig to find her sprawled on Lelouch's couch looking like she owned the place.

There was something strange about her. Stranger than the fact that Prince Clovis had been keeping her in that capsule for however long she'd been in there – locked away as though she were dangerous. It was that sometimes her eyes seemed ageless or wise or something unnatural. For the most part, she was drab and blasé with few interests other than what her next meal would consist of and how she could annoy Lelouch next.

But sometimes, and it was only fleeting and he was sure it was his imagination and he was also sure that no one else noticed it (though possibly because no one, not even Lelouch, watched her as closely as he did) something in her expression changed and it was in those seconds that a shiver went down his spine and he was sure that she could see through him or into him and under all the layers of deceit and lies and justifications he'd made to himself before crushing them to see the full extent of his dirty little secret. He felt completely bare and then she'd blink and she'd seem just as nonchalant and disinterested as she'd been before.

He didn't understand why Lelouch was letting her stay in the villa. It was obvious he didn't really trust her either. But Lelouch had yet to justify his decision, despite the number of times Suzaku had asked over the last few days – his inquisitions always met with a simple plea for him to leave it be and to trust Lelouch's judgment . . . which he did.

It wasn't until after dessert when they were indulging in after dinner drinks that Lelouch addressed someone other than Lord Gottwald or Hector.

"Adrian," He said loud enough to draw the attention of everyone at the table. "I hope you haven't been believing whatever it is C.C.'s been telling you. You can't believe more than half of what she says." He drawled, earning a dirty look from the green-haired woman.

"Of course not, your highness." Hopkins said quickly.

"I resent that, Lelouch." C.C. pouted. "But since you let me attend this evening, I suppose I'll let it slide."

Lelouch ignored her, instead raising his glass in toast to the man. "Congratulations on your promotion. I look forward to working with you."

Everyone around the table followed suit and raised their glass as well towards the man who flushed in pleasure or embarrassment. "Thank you. I look forward to serving you, your highness."

"You may address me by my name. Almost everyone else here does." Lelouch said with a small smile.

Suzaku caught the veiled snub and almost choked on his drink. He called Lelouch by his name, and so did the rest of the Royal Guard (usually). And Edith and C.C. definitely did. Which meant that Lord Gottwald was the only one in the room who hadn't been granted that honor.

He knew that the Britannian system of addressing people was different from the Japanese one he had grown up with and that they didn't put as much emphasis on how people were addressed, but he also knew that Lelouch intended this as an insult. He was letting his Knight of Honor know that all was not forgiven. In a way, it was mildly comforting that Suzaku's almost-execution hadn't been easily brushed off.

Hopkins hesitated for a second before nodding his head towards the prince. "Lelouch, then. Thank you." He said awkwardly.

"Now then, aside from celebrating Adrian's promotion," Lelouch began with another snub of Lord Gottwald. Gottwald may have been allowed to sit in the place of honor at Lelouch's right, but it was Hopkins that they were there to celebrate. He hadn't once mentioned the impromptu knighting that had taken place earlier that day, nor had he actually referred to Gottwald as his Knight of Honor.

"There were some things I wanted to discuss with you all. Obviously, I'm behind schedule when it comes to dealing with the Kenshiki. Between my brother's murder, being shot and now taking up the post of Viceroy, I am now well past the deadline I set for myself. However, I haven't been completely idle.

"The Osaka garrison has be restructured and are engaged in keeping peace in the city. It obviously won't be enough to get the city back on it's feet, but for now there is a degree of calm which is beginning to allow the people to pick up their lives again. For the time being, the garrison will continue to act as a policing and peace keeping force in the city.

"Which means that it will be up to the Anti-Terrorist Task Force to take out the Kenshiki Faction. The problem is that they've been so quiet lately it's been hard to draw them out." Lelouch explained. "Which is why I will be going to Osaka with the Anti-Terrorist Task Force to help draw them out. Of course, that means that my Royal Guard will be accompanying me."

Suzaku narrowed his eyes. "You're talking about using yourself as bait."

Lelouch glanced at him and smirked. "I suppose that's one way of putting it. The other is that they're more likely to make their presence known if I'm actually in the city. In any case, it's uncertain how long it will take for the Kenshiki to bite. I have intelligence agents from the garrison searching for all of the members who we know of, but so far to no avail. They've covered their tracks well.

"For this first foray, I will be going there in my capacity as Viceroy. The media will be calling it a tour of the city to assess the damage so the visit will be short. My Royal Guard will be traveling with me, but the ATTF will be disguising itself as reinforcements for the garrison and arriving a few days in advance. It's unlikely that the influx of troops with go unnoticed, but at least we won't be advertising that they're the company I created for the sole purpose of eradicating terrorism. You'll be leaving tomorrow, Adrian. I've already taken care of all the details.

"I'll be following the day after. I've also decided to appoint Duke Calares as my political assistant. Edith, I expect you to keep him in line. I should hope that you're well aware of what actions I would and wouldn't find acceptable."

"Of course, Lelouch. I'll keep my eye on him and inform you of anything worrying." Edith said resolutely.

"And C.C., you'll be staying here and trying to keep out of trouble." Lelouch said with all the patronizing charm of someone trying to reprimand a child while avoiding a temper tantrum.

C.C. blinked. "I'll be going with you." She said monotonously. Suzaku didn't see the scowl Lelouch sent her way so much as he felt it. "We're accomplices, Lelouch. I have a vested interest in your survival."

To Suzaku's surprise and chagrin, Lelouch folded. "Fine." He sighed as though it didn't matter, even though it did. Just what the hell did C.C. think she could do for Lelouch that the Royal Guard couldn't? He knew for a fact that she wasn't particularly skilled in combat. He'd been able to take her down easily enough that night she'd tried to break into Lelouch's room.

He didn't get it. Though then again, nothing Lelouch had done that day had made sense to him. From punishing Gottwald with Knighthood to promoting Hopkins apparently at random, to the decision to to use himself as bait. Dragging a defenseless girl along into a war zone was just another oddity on the list.

* * *

Euphemia li Britannia had never been particularly spectacular at anything. She'd always known that despite her relative closeness to the throne in the line of succession, that she would never be as qualified as some of her siblings. In fact, the only thing she really had going for her was her girlish cuteness – something she had compounded to make up for Cornelia's definite rejection of all things feminine after their mother had almost had a break down over it. It was a burden she had decided to carry – being feminine enough for the both of them – even though she knew it wasn't really much and that it was silly.

It was nothing great, just as she was nothing great. She wasn't a spectacular soldier like her sister or a great tactician like Lelouch or a suave politician like Schneizel. She was just . . . plain, cute Euphy. However, she did sometimes like to think that she was the nicest of all of her siblings, and that had to count for something even though she wasn't sure what.

"I can't believe she had the gall to show her face here after what her husband did." Some gossiping nobles murmured behind her as they ran a bitter commentary on just about anyone they were able to.

"Did you hear . . ."

She ignored them as she glanced out the window to the beautifully lit garden beyond wishing that one brother in particular had been invited, despite knowing that Lelouch would never have made the trip. From what she had gathered, he and Cornelia had had a fight and they weren't currently on speaking terms. His presence would have soured the evening of her sister's Triumphal Ball, but she still missed him.

Since his return to the family, she had only been able to see him a handful of times, but even those reassurances that it really wasn't a dream or an illusion had still left her empty. It had taken her months to determine that the cause wasn't because she wasn't pleased to see him, but because the wound was only half healed.

When they'd lost him, they'd lost him _and_ Nunnally. They had been lost as a pair and only half had been returned to them. It was the absence of his little sister that kept her from being completely filled with happiness.

Nunnally who she had been so close to. Nunnally who would nimbly braid her hair and make flower chains and play make believe with her. Nunnally, with whom they had used to argue over just which of their esteemed brothers they would marry when they were too young to realize that that wasn't how it worked. The same little girl who, in a fight, had sworn up, down and sideways that she would never be worthy of marrying Lelouch.

Euphy glanced across the room and wondered what Nunnally would think of the woman who _had_ been made into Lelouch's wife. She really liked Abigail, despite how they had gotten off on the wrong foot when the older girl had tried to chase her out of the Aeries Villa, mistaking her for one of Lelouch's fan girls.

She had never really put much stock in first impressions. Lots of people were nervous when meeting someone new and entire relationships shouldn't be judged on a single meeting. At least, that's what she believed and she was always willing to give someone the benefit of the doubt and a second or third chance at making a good impression. Even she got nervous, so she understood that talking to a princess wasn't something that was necessarily easy.

She detached herself from the window and went to greet her friend, smiling brightly as she examined Abigail's daring red gown. Her own dress was predictably pink. At some point in time, her mother had decided that pink was _the_ color for her and her entire wardrobe had slowly been taken over by varying shades of rose.

"Abby!" She greeted warmly as she slipped her arm through Lelouch's wife's.

Abigail smiled charmingly. "Euphy. How have you been? How was school this week?"

Euphemia supposed that, in a way, she considered Abigail as another older sister (which she kind of was, what with being Lelouch's wife). It was nice being able to actually spend time with someone like a sister, so she usually spent one of her weekend days either at the Aeries Villa or accompanying Abigail somewhere.

Not that she necessarily loved spending time with Abigail more than she did with her real sisters, but Cornelia was always off making war on someone so she rarely got to see her, and Guinevere was often busy organizing this charity or that ball and when she wasn't she was usually off holidaying somewhere. And Carline, who was closest to her in age, didn't really like her. Loath as she was to admit it, the feeling was mutual. She found her younger sister a bitter, vindictive little thing without an ounce of mercy or pity. . . But that was just her opinion. She was sure that to other people, Carline was actually very nice.

So, it was Abigail that received the majority of her sisterly attention. Even tonight, when they were celebrating Cornelia's victory and safe return from Area Eighteen, she found herself glued to Abigail's side rather than Cornelia's. But Cornelia was busy, surrounded by a flock of men in starched military uniforms . . . and no, none of them were suitors.

They were likely discussing Knightmares or war or one of the other topics that Cornelia was so fascinated with but that didn't really interest Euphemia in the slightest. Even from where she was standing, she could see the pinching of Cornelia's brows which indicated she was extremely focused on the subject at hand. It was only ever when they were alone that Cornelia let the mask drop and became the sister she remembered growing up with.

Sometimes she got so sick of dealing with the Chief General that she wanted to cry in frustration, but she wouldn't let herself be that selfish. What Cornelia was doing for the Empire was important. More than important, it was vital. She was the Empire's Goddess of Victory and compared to that, Euphy was still just an annoying child.

"Euphy?" Abigail asked, quirking her eyebrow.

"Oh, yes. School's fine. Everything's fine. It doesn't really change, really." She said rapidly, embarrassed for letting her thoughts drag her away from the moment.

"Your dress is beautiful, by the way." Abigail complimented.

"It's pink again." She sighed, "But people do say it's my color."

"It does look good on you, but a little variety never hurts. Why don't we go shopping next weekend?" The Princess-Consort offered.

"Really? That sounds great." She smiled and desperately wanted to ask if they could go watch a movie or eat out or something that would generally be considered 'commoner-ish', but she knew Abigail wouldn't go for it. Sure, royalty could watch a movie, but it more often than not consisted of purchasing the movie reel and watching it in a home theater or buying out the whole theater. And so even if there was popcorn and soft drinks, the atmosphere was completely different. Even the shopping trip would likely consist of going to a tailors and being measured rather than buying something ready made.

"It's a bit stuffy in here, don't you think? Why don't we go out into the garden and fine tune our shopping trip?" Abigail suggested and she had to agree. Nearby a group of middle aged men had begun smoking cigars and the cloying scent irritated her nostrils.

"Sure." She said, leading her sister-in-law away towards the french doors that led into the garden but in order to get there they had to pass by the same gossiping group of women who, apparently hadn't moved on to the next topic yet.

"Don't abide by all that senseless gossip. I have it from a reliable source that Prince Lelouch couldn't be bothered with her and left her here when he returned to Area Eleven so he could resume his relationship with the Ashford girl. They said she couldn't _satisfy_ him." One of the women snickered.

Abigail tensed and, though her face remained smiling, her eyes tightened in hidden fury. "Lady Barlow, it's a pleasure to see you again." She said charmingly as Euphy couldn't help but frown at the woman.

"Princess Abigail! Princess Euphemia. You both look stunning this evening." The slanderous woman said brightly, as though she hadn't just been bad mouthing Abigail.

"As do you. I have to say that that shade of blue matches your eyes exceedingly well." Abigail complimented, before launching into a discussion on the designer's new line. It was impossible to tell that she was angry or that anything bad had happened.

She watched in wonder as Abigail not only engaged in civil conversation with Lady Barlow, but even managed to laugh and steer the conversation in a direction that left the woman smiling when they finally excused themselves and made it to the gardens.

She didn't understand. If someone had said something so hurtful to her, she'd have been fighting back tears. But Abigail hadn't even blinked, and she'd been dealing with this kind of gossip for months now.

"So, what are you in the mood for shopping for next weekend?" Abigail asked. "Just dresses or should we do day clothes too? Or both? I could use some new skirts."

But she couldn't focus on clothes right now. "Why?" She finally asked.

"Why what?" Abigail asked.

"Why didn't you get angry at that woman? Why were you nice to her instead?" Euphy asked and, for the self-proclaimed nicest member of the royal family, the question was vitally important. Maybe she wasn't as nice as she thought she was.

Abigail frowned before glancing away at the tinkling fountain next to them. "Getting angry at her wouldn't have changed anything. Besides, everything I do now affects the vi Britannia name. Suppose I had insulted her and then it turned out that Lelouch wished to make an alliance with the Barlows later, how do you think he'd react if he found out I'd ruined that opportunity? People tend to remember bad experiences far longer than good or mediocre ones."

She blinked at the woman, amazed. "So, you did it for Lelouch?"

Abigail shrugged. "No, not really. Lelouch is hard enough to deal with even when he's not mad at me for something or other, so I do try not to deliberately aggravate him most of the time. But it was mostly for my sake. I have few allies in Pendragon. The web is so convoluted here that it's difficult to get a foot in the door. No one would have dared to slander me on the west coast, but here I'm fair game. I'm not in a position that allows me to make enemies so I have to endure it."

Enemies and alliances. Euphemia sighed. What happened to just hanging around with people you liked? Maybe she really was too sheltered and naïve, but she didn't think like that at all. She was too straightforward to deceive someone into thinking they were her friend, but she guessed Lelouch was probably a bit like that too.

They'd probably make a great pair if Lelouch ever actually gave her the chance.

"Besides," Abigail continued bitterly. "who says it isn't true? For all I know, Lelouch did go back to Area Eleven to be with Milly Ashford."

"Now now," A voice interrupted behind them. Euphy whirled around to find Schneizel approaching them with a smirk. "don't let yourself believe such nonsense, Abigail. My brother's not that suave." He comforted.

"Prince Schneizel." Abigail curtseyed in greeting.

"How have you been? Did you enjoy that opera I sent you tickets to?" He asked. Apparently Schneizel was one of the few allies she'd been talking about before.

"Yes, it was wonderful. Thank you."

"By the way, Euphy, Cornelia was just looking for you. She has some news I think you'll want to hear." Schneizel said.

She felt her heart sink. So then, Cornelia was off again to somewhere dangerous. She always did this. Whenever she was about to be sent off somewhere, she'd pull Euphemia aside and explain the whole situation to her. She'd done it since her first deployment when Euphemia had only been eleven years old - sat her down and had explained who the enemy was and how she intended to fight them.

But . . . Cornelia had only just gotten back. She shouldn't be off again already. Usually there were months in between her deployments for them to spend time together. It shouldn't be this soon.

She sighed despondently. It had been over a year since she'd last got to spend any real time with Cornelia (aside from the brief visit when Lelouch had rejoined the family). And now her sister would be off again already. It felt like she was being robbed. "Alright. I'll go find her now. Thanks, Schneizel."

She prepared herself to go back into the ballroom and find her sister to hear the bad news. It was always bad news to her when Cornelia had to go away. But at least this time she'd still have Abigail to spend time with after Cornelia was gone.

She glanced back over her shoulder before entering the ballroom to send a final parting wave to her sister-in-law, but found that Abigail and Schneizel were already engaged in conversation and headed down one of the walking paths away.

She shrugged and turned back to the ballroom, sure that they'd run into each other later. And if not, there was always the shopping trip next weekend to look forward to. She swore that she was going to add at least one new color to her wardrobe, even if her mother didn't approve.

And . . . she wondered where Cornelia was off to next. . .

* * *

AN:

So, because I was bribed with some awesome fanarts from Komo and L.L. (links on my profile page) I decided to spend my day off writing this instead of smashing hollow men on Fable 3 *cough* I mean, instead of writing a paper. In any case, I hope you enjoyed it. I've been looking forward to writing this chapter since like . . . chapter 3. We're at chapter fifty now, so it's been about 47 chapters and 400 pages of waiting. But I'm glad I didn't rush into this. Jeremiah would have always made an excellent Knight of Honor, but now Lelouch so thoroughly owns him it's almost funny.

Also, I found a solution to the Abigail dilemma. Now, all of those who wanted to to see more of her have been appeased and all of those who most emphatically didn't want me to write from her pov are also appeased. I'd always intended to write from Euphy's pov, so I just introduced her to the story a bit earlier than I'd originally anticipated.

And yes, I created a new OC. I hope you like him. I'll get more into who he is in later chapters.

So yes. . . and wow. It seems like only a few weeks ago that I hit 1000 reviews and not I'm only a few away from 2000. That's incredible. Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed. I really appreciate it and I do read them all and am encouraged by all of them even if I don't always respond.

Anyway, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed. Don't forget to review. And don't forget to check out the fan art!

Allora


	51. Chapter 51

Chapter 51

Nunnally had decided at some point in the last few days to completely give up hope on Lelouch coming to see her. After Milly had explained Lelouch's situation to her to the best of her ability, Nunnally had finally realized that Lelouch had no intention of coming there to visit her. And she realized why his voice had sounded like he was fighting back tears and why he'd hugged her so tightly right before he'd sent her away.

He'd known that it was goodbye. He'd known that there would be no safe way of coming back to see her, that he would be followed by the media or spies or whoever. And that the people around him couldn't be trusted with their secret.

He'd had to have known. So she just had to accept that she wouldn't see him again. He wasn't going to just show up in the living room one morning bearing her favorite cupcakes from the bakery downtown and fresh hot chocolate. That wasn't going to happen.

And she was okay with that . . .

. . .

Oh, who was she trying to kid? She wasn't okay with that, but she figured that she was now at rock bottom and so the only place to go now was back up. And if she could just accept that Lelouch wasn't coming for her, she would be fine. She'd be able to move on and resume her studies and afternoon tea with Nina and Thursday night dinners with the Student Council and, well, nothing else. Because that was the extent of the caged existence Lelouch had granted her and yes, she was a little bitter about it.

But she would move past that. She wouldn't let it get her down. Because she couldn't get any more down than she already was. That was right, there was only up left to go. It was kind of refreshing hitting rock bottom. The descent had been horrific, but once she'd finally abandoned the hope that had been strangling her, it had definitely gotten better.

She stopped listening for his footsteps in the afternoon. She stopped making Sayoko buy lemons for her tea (Lelouch's preference) and just had milk and sugar. And she finally had Sayoko push the sofa in the living room back against the wall so that the room was easier to traverse even though it hadn't been like that in their home at Ashford Academy. Even though Lelouch had liked to take naps there on lazy summer afternoons with a book splayed open on his chest.

Because this wasn't the same place. The sun didn't glint in through the windows to fall on the sofa anyway (which had been the main reason why Lelouch had put it there), because she was in a basement and the few windows there were, were probably small and barred.

This entire existence was just an imitation of the life she'd used to lead – the life she'd had with Lelouch. So if she was going to feel better at all, she couldn't keep doing the same things. Some thing had to change.

Something more than the sofa's position in the living room.

"Sayoko . . ." She asked tentatively. Her caretaker was busily dusting the room if the smell of wood polish was any indication.

"Yes, Mistress?"

"Do you think Nina would be upset . . . I mean, can I have a pet, do you think?"

Lelouch had never let her have a pet. Mostly because it was against the school rules and he didn't want to draw too much attention to them by being the exception to too many rules. But she was sure that if she had really wanted one, Reuben would have let her (school rules or not, Reuben had always tended to indulge her).

"Hmm," Sayoko wondered. "I don't see why not. This entire place is somewhere your brother designated for you, so I don't think Miss Einstein has the right to deny you."

"Really?" She asked excitedly.

"Really. What kind of pet did you have in mind?" Sayoko asked. "A bird maybe? I had birds when I was your age."

"No, I don't think . . ." Birds were caged and after being caged herself, she really couldn't stand to do the same thing to something else.

"Not interactive enough, hm? How about . . . a dog?" Sayoko asked. She sounded like she was actually pretty keen on the idea of increasing the members of their little household.

"But dogs need to run and play and I . . ."

"A cat, then?" Sayoko suggested.

A cat. Something small and warm and furry to cuddle with. Something that could sleep in her lap and purr and relish her affection. "Yes. I want a cat. Do you think Nina is allergic to cats?"

"I'll ask her before I go out to the pet store."

"Can we rescue one from a shelter instead?" She asked, remembering that she'd once heard that they euthanized pets who had been kept in the shelters too long.

Sayoko patted her head affectionately. "Yes. That's a very kind thing for you to do. Do you have a preference? Male or female? And older cat or a kitten?"

"I just want one that . . . will let me love it." She said and hated how pitiful that sounded.

"Alright. At attention starved cat of indeterminate gender, color and age. I'll see what I can do. Do you want me to go now?" Sayoko asked.

"Yes, please." She nodded.

"Do you need anything before I leave? It could take a while to find a suitable feline. There's leftovers of yesterday's stew on the middle shelf in the fridge. Do you want me to heat it up for you before I go?"

Nunnally shook her head. "No. I can do it if I get hungry." She may not have been self-sufficient, but she could manage to feed herself at least.

She managed to hold in her sigh and mirthless laugh until Sayoko was gone, letting her hopeful smile fall back into the small frown that had made itself at home on her lips. Sayoko had been worried about her lately, she knew, so she'd been putting an extra effort into making it seem like she wasn't drowning. Hopefully this would finally convince her caretaker that she was getting better.

It wasn't even about a cat, really.

It was about . . . she supposed it was really about replacing Lelouch. She still loved Lelouch with every fiber of her being – she would never love anyone more than she loved her brother – but she just couldn't do this anymore. She couldn't live hanging on every whisper of Lelouch's existence any longer. She needed some closure.

She still loved him and would pray for his safety and success, but she needed to move on. She needed to start living for herself. To stop trying to box her life back up into how it used to be when she knew that she and Lelouch could never go back to the way things were. Their lives would never be as simple as going to school and helping out the Student Council again.

She could do this. She could turn her life around and halt this withering process. And even if the feelings weren't completely genuine at first, she would make everyone believe she was happy by willpower alone. Even to the point of convincing herself.

. . . Lelouch would probably want that anyway. . .

* * *

Lelouch frowned, fingers steepled in front of him as he took in the city around him from the safe confines of an armored limo. His informants at the garrison hadn't so much lied to him as they had glossed over the more disturbing details. Details like the fact that some of the more recent sites that had fallen victim to the Kenshiki had yet to have the rubble thoroughly combed for bodies. Or that looting (which he had always assumed was going on even though no one had mentioned it to him) had left a significant number of shops incapable of actually doing business.

A significant portion of the city was in about the same condition of abandonment and disrepair as the ghettos (thanks to the riots after Clovis' death which had swept through Osaka too, despite the state the city had already been in by that time) and he had yet to see a Britannian out and about on the streets, though he had seen a handful of Elevens nervously going about their daily business. But even they looked wary of being caught out in the open.

Of course, that could be due to the larger than usual military presence in the city. It could also be due to the fact that Hector and the rest of his Royal Guard were escorting the car in their Sutherlands – all except for Suzaku who had more or less refused to pilot one due to the perceived impropriety of it. He wasn't a Knight so therefore he shouldn't pilot one of the Knightmare Corps' machines (or so he'd argued). Gottwald had begrudgingly nodded with approval at his restraint.

That didn't change the fact that Suzaku could probably pilot better than the majority of his Royal Guard, his Knight included (though he was undecided who would win between Hector and Suzaku). He still wasn't quite sure how Suzaku had managed to become an Ace (and yes, all of his recent simulation scores were over ninety-five percent in the evolved and difficult to pilot Lancelot, let alone a Sutherland), but he was sure Lord Asplund wasn't forging the results. He'd seen for himself, after all, how well Suzaku could pilot and even Gottwald had been impressed by his skills and called him an Ace (of course, that was before he'd known that the pilot of the white Knightmare in Shinjuku was an Eleven).

"Stop the car." He said suddenly, pushing the intercom button to the driver as something caught his gaze.

"What's wrong?" Gottwald asked tensely, looking out the same window in an attempt to see what had caught his attention.

"Suzaku, do you see that man there?" He pointed to where a middle-aged Japanese man was walking away down a side street. There was nothing all that remarkable about him. Except Lelouch was sure this was the third time he'd seen the same man. He was also reasonably sure that the man had been traveling in the opposite direction as their entourage each time.

"Yeah." His childhood friend nodded.

"I want you to bring him to me." Lelouch ordered, not taking his eyes off the retreating figure.

"Do you think he's a terrorist?" Suzaku asked in surprise.

"It's possible. Then again, with the state of paranoia this city is in, I'm sure most Elevens will seem suspicious." Lelouch mused. "I just want to talk to him. But use force if you need to. You're wearing the kevlar underneath, right?"

He'd insisted that part of the under armor of his Royal Guard's uniform be made of a lightweight bulletproof kevlar that had been newly developed. He wasn't about to take unnecessary risks with his guards. And the experience of being shot wasn't one he'd wish to share with anyone.

"Yeah." Suzaku nodded.

"Then go get him."

"Right." Suzaku said before opening the door next to him and sliding out – in response to which C.C. stretched out and threw her feet up onto the seat. She'd been primarily silent since forcing her way into his entourage, seemingly content (for the time being at least) with being permitted to sit across from him in the limo as he toured some of the areas that had been affected the most by either the terrorist attacks or the rioting that had taken place afterward.

He watched, vaguely amused, as Suzaku circled around the car and jogged across the street, hailing the man he was supposed to bring back with a friendly wave. The man turned and took one look at Suzaku's uniform before taking off.

Not that he got far.

Suzaku was in the prime of his life, a highly trained soldier, martial artist, and had always been keen on exercise. Lelouch was willing to bet that he'd be able to chase down almost any forty-something year old that would run from him.

It was over in seconds, Suzaku sprinting forward to close the distance between them and snag the man's collar as he swept the man's feet out from underneath him. Predictably, the man attempted to struggle, but Suzaku forced his hands behind his back before dragging the man to his feet and checking him for weapons (of which he found one and tossed away).

Not that carrying a weapon was necessarily indicative of guilt. In fact, with the state the city was in at the moment, Lelouch had to classify it more as prudent than as suspicious. Looters weren't the only ones running rampant in the city. He'd been informed of a few gangs of angry Britannians who had taken it upon themselves to strike back at the Elevens – a form of corrupt vigilantism that had claimed only God knew how many lives.

Due to the inherent bias in the system, the Eleven deaths hadn't been recorded accurately (not that Britannian death tolls were accurate at the moment either). But he was aware of a particularly horrific recent incident where four Japanese men had been brutally beaten to death by a mob of these marauders in broad daylight. So he really couldn't fault the man if he was carrying a weapon.

Suzaku dragged the man back to the car, looking like he was earnestly and vehemently trying to explain just what Lelouch wanted with him. To which the man looked like he was cursing Suzaku as he continued to struggle.

When he got to the car, Gottwald pushed open the door and Suzaku gently pushed the man inside (earning a dirty look from C.C., who had to sit back up to make room for the new addition).

"Welcome." Lelouch smirked, casually at ease even with a glaring Eleven that he didn't know in his vehicle. The man didn't respond, his gaze traveling warily from one occupant of the car to the next as Suzaku slipped back inside the car next to Gottwald. "Do you know who I am?"

The man glared, "The Wolf."

"Correct, in a way, I suppose." He said, resting his chin in his hand as he carefully took in the man's appearance. His clothes were slightly dirty, but otherwise looked new. It was possible they were a recent acquisition from looting, or newly purchased (though probably not). "I'm also your new Viceroy."

The man glowered at him mutely while Lelouch watched him expectantly for a long moment. He eventually cracked, unnerved by Lelouch's stare. "I'm not telling you shit."

"I haven't asked you anything." Lelouch smiled. "Yet."

"So save your breath and let me go."

"You're not a prisoner." Lelouch shrugged. "But is it really that difficult for you to talk to me? I am here, after all, to see about getting your home city back to rights."

"You mean the Britannian Concession." The man sneered.

"Yes." Lelouch nodded. "I won't deny that is my priority, though I'm sure the Number districts could use some work as well."

The man glared again but descended back into a sullen silence that even an expectant staring contest couldn't break. "You dislike me." Lelouch surmised, trying another tactic to get the man talking.

"You _did_ have your little attack dog assault me and drag me over to you." The man muttered with a glare.

"Even so, you should be thanking me. Just think about how much pain you'd be in at the moment if I'd sent Gottwald instead of Kururugi." Lelouch said, gesturing to each of his subordinates in turn to emphasize the difference. For his part, Gottwald looked like he was restraining himself from jumping out of his seat and disposing of their guest with his bare hands for the man's blatant rudeness. If either of them were to be compared to a dog, it would have to be Gottwald. Gottwald didn't care who you were or what your reasons were, if you growled at his master, he'd bite you. "Or one of the Knightmares."

"Thanking _you?_" The man sneered.

He sighed. "As enthralling as this conversation is, I really didn't call you in here so I could listen to how much you loath me."

"I already told you, I'm not telling you -"

"Yes, yes, I've heard that already." Lelouch cut him off with an arrogant wave of his hand, playing the part of a bratty prince to a tee. "I understand your reluctance. After all, with the stranglehold the Kenshiki still have on the city, it's not surprising you're afraid."

"Who said I was afraid?" The man demanded.

"Well, it's only natural, what with the Kenshiki killing people left and right. Even you Elevens aren't exactly safe from them." Lelouch shrugged nonchalantly, eyes still sharply focused on every twitch the man made.

The man snorted. "They only go after the spineless bastards who sold themselves out to the Honorary Britannian system." He spat, sending a loathing look in Suzaku's direction. "And they all deserve to die anyway."

Suzaku winced. Lelouch smirked.

"So you _are_ a member of the Kenshiki Faction." Lelouch concluded a little smugly.

"I never said that!" The man protested in surprise.

"You didn't need to. Gottwald, take his phone. I believe it's in his jacket pocket." Lelouch ordered. "You were watching our progress rather closely, weren't you? And then you sent a message."

But Gottwald didn't wait for Lelouch to explain his suspicions. He was moving from the get go, slamming the man back against the seat and holding him there with a hand splayed against his collar bone as he rifled through the man's pockets. He came up with a phone a moment later and handed it to Lelouch, who accepted it gratefully before silently gesturing to Gottwald to let the man go. Suzaku subtlely shifted so he was blocking the door.

"You don't mind, do you?" Lelouch asked. "Letting me see your phone is probably the only way you can vindicate yourself."

"I didn't _let_ you see anything!" The man snarled, though there was definite fear in his eyes now as his gaze traveled rapidly around the interior of the vehicle. Suzaku was squeezed in front of the door's handle and Lelouch (and therefore Jeremiah) were in between the terrorist and the other door. The possibility for escaping unscathed was low.

Lelouch hmm'd quietly to himself as he began sifting through menus on the phone to reach the last sent message. "One car, five Knightmares. Explosives on road should work on the car. Doesn't look like there's backup." He read aloud when he found it before holding up the phone on display. "What a careless mistake. I'd expected the Kenshiki to be more prepared to deal with me. After all, I even told you when I'd be in the city and what I'd be doing."

He'd always expected that their little entourage would be being watched. He had, after all, done nothing to hide where he was. The presence of his Knightmares made him particularly conspicuous and the media had been having a heyday proclaiming his intention to tour the city. The Kenshiki had been smart to disguise themselves amongst the few hurrying civilians on the streets. He wondered just how many others he'd already passed. One's who were less suspicious than this man who had let himself be seen three times in the last hour.

It was only that this one had made such a mistake that Lelouch had caught him at all. So now what should he do with him?

And then it happened.

One moment the man was staring at him wide-eyed like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle, and the next he was dragging C.C. by her hair into his lap, his other hand snaking around the self-proclaimed witch to rest on her jaw. The threat was implicit. He'd break her neck.

"Let me out." The man hissed. "I swear, I'll kill her if you don't."

For her part, C.C. sat limply and seemed resigned to the situation. She hadn't even let out a yelp when the man had grabbed her hair. She just looked at him and waited.

"You're taking her hostage?" Lelouch laughed, ignoring the way Gottwald had shifted to place himself between him and the terrorist. Suzaku looked like his was thinking of planting his foot in the man's face, but he showed enough restraint to wait for orders. "Take her. I guarantee you'll be sending her back to me before nightfall. I've never met a more annoying person in my life. Suzaku, let him out."

A bluff. He absolutely refused to show how very much he didn't want her to fall into the terrorists hands. He wouldn't show them that weakness. If they could make her give them Geass, it would make them a much more formidable enemy. At the same time, he didn't really want the man to snap her neck either.

"That's cruel, Lelouch. You mean you don't intend to rescue me?" She drawled monotonously as she let herself be dragged out of the car by the man. "After everything I've done for you . . ."

"Of course not. I didn't even want you here to begin with. You're the one who insisted on coming, remember? I'm not going to let you make a nuisance of yourself and ruin my schedule." He said disdainfully, turning his head away and catching Suzaku's eye. His friend was seated next to the door and the carefully escaping terrorist. He'd be the closest to the action when the time came to retrieve C.C..

"Are you really sure about that?" C.C. asked in the same toneless drawl. "You _really_ don't want to rescue me? I don't want to go with him." She said, although she sounded completely unconcerned. "Shut up!" The terrorist snarled at her, tugging sharply on her hair as he fully extricated himself from the vehicle and began backing away. Her eyes narrowed into a glare but she didn't react.

He glared back. "I'm sure."

"Then I have to rescue myself." She surmised glumly as the man began dragging her away from the vehicle towards a side street. The fact that she still sounded unconcerned whilst being taken hostage by a violent terrorist reassured him that she wasn't about to panic and do something stupid like offer him Geass in return for her freedom. Suzaku needed room to move to be at his most effective and the cramped confines of a car really wasn't the best environment for hand-to-hand combat.

"It looks that way." He nodded.

"Chivalry really is dead, isn't it?" She sighed.

"I said shut up!" The terrorist snarled with another sharp tug on her hair, his fingers digging roughly into the delicate skin of her jaw. It would likely leave bruises.

"I'm really tired of that." C.C. said in annoyance before reaching back and splaying her palm against her assailant's side.

Lelouch expected her to begin struggling - for her composure to finally break as she actually succumbed to her human instincts and made war with her flight or fight impulses. But nothing happened for a long moment. At least nothing he could see until a good ten seconds had passed and the man's expression morphed from annoyance to surprise to mad horror.

The terrorist released C.C., his hands flying to his face instead as though to try to hide behind them. C.C., surprisingly, didn't let go of him. She'd somehow gone from victim to assailant. For the barest of seconds, Lelouch was baffled, then he swore he saw a familiar symbol etched in crimson on the girl's forehead.

A symbol that he knew for a fact hadn't been there before.

She'd been sleeping in his bed for the majority of the last week and he'd had ample time to examine her closely while she'd been asleep and slowly encroaching onto his side of the bed (even despite the pillow barrier she made every night). So he knew for a fact that she didn't have a tattoo on her forehead. And that symbol. . .

Geass.

It was Geass.

And she was using it in front of _everyone_!

He was moving before his mind could convince him that the damage had already been done and that interfering now really served no purpose, elbowing his way past Gottwald and Suzaku. The terrorist was talking rapidly to himself (or to C.C.) in Japanese. It sounded like he was begging, his face stricken and eyes rolling madly as they followed unseen targets from between the fingers still splayed across his face. He convulsed and sank to his knees with a horrified shriek.

"C.C.!" He barked as he gracelessly stumbled out of the vehicle, barely even noticing Suzaku and Gottwald were only half a second behind him.

She glanced at him as expressionless as ever – as though she wasn't driving a man insane with only a touch. Her Geass must have been different than his. It explained, at least, how Clovis had managed to capture her. If her Geass was based on touch rather than eye contact like his, it would be more difficult to wield. Especially against someone like Clovis who had rarely let anyone touch him.

"Lelouch." She said innocently, letting the man go. The terrorist was still screaming in terror even without her touch. He fell back against the pavement and flailed while Lelouch glared murderously at his witch.

"What the _hell_ -" He began, but cut off mindful that Suzaku and Gottwald were in hearing range.

Shit. This was bad. He didn't want them knowing about his Geass. There was only so much loyalty could account for and knowing that someone could bypass your every objection and make you do something you absolutely wouldn't was most likely past that point. And while just because C.C. had decided to show off her Geass, it didn't necessarily mean that his own secret was exposed, Gottwald at least knew that something unexplainable had happened to him on the G-1 in Shinjuku. Something that could possibly be explained by a mysterious power. And at that time, they'd been alone.

He watched his Knight out of the corner of his eye, but the man was warily watching C.C. instead of staring at him suspiciously. However, he didn't doubt that the implications of this wouldn't escape him when he had more time to think about it.

"Taser." She explained as she stuffed her hands into her pockets, tone completely guiltless.

God damn it.

Maybe, if he was lucky, he'd be able to sell that story to Hector and the others in the Knightmares, but Gottwald and Suzaku were _right there_ and it was glaringly obvious that there hadn't been a taser in her hand when she'd taken the man down. They'd have to be retarded to believe it.

"C.C.," He said again, forcing calm into his tone. He wasn't going to lose it. He wasn't going to make himself seem more suspicious. Geass was the ace he hid up his sleeve. He refused to acknowledge it in front of witnesses. Even if those witnesses were Suzaku, Gottwald and his Royal Guard. "Why did you do that?"

"I told you I didn't want to go with him." She shrugged. "And I asked you three times if you were going to rescue me."

Of all the impossible women in the world, why did he have to be stuck with her!

She smirked, cat-like satisfaction curling across her lips as she reached to pat him on the head like a well-behaved pet or child. But Suzaku grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the way before her fingers could even connect.

"Don't you dare touch him." Suzaku threatened as he resolutely placed himself between Lelouch and the witch. Well that answered the question about whether Suzaku would be willing to believe the taser story.

C.C. snorted in amusement before changing her target and patting Suzaku on the head instead – causing him to flinch in anticipation of pain or terror similar to what the terrorist was still experiencing from where he lay sobbing and muttering to himself on the pavement.

Lelouch glared at her, causing her smirk to widen. "You lied, Lelouch. You would have rescued me no matter what. If only to stop me from -"

He reached past Suzaku, putting a finger over her lips. "Enough." He said firmly. If she knew that he was lying, then it just emphasized the fact that she'd been trying to aggravate him. "You've already crossed the line, don't make it worse. Get in the car. Gottwald, take care of him, will you?" He said, nodding towards the man who had attempted to kidnap his witch.

"With pleasure, my prince." His Knight said immediately, reaching for his gun.

"Lelouch!" Suzaku protested, but he ignored his friend in favor of following C.C. into the car, glaring daggers at her back while hoping she could feel them.

He was so incredibly pissed off at her right now.

* * *

Suzaku didn't know what C.C. was or what she could do, but he understood now why Lelouch tolerated her presence. It was either to exploit this thing she could do, or because she was threatening him. Maybe a bit of both. He knew full well how confident Lelouch was with his own silver tongue. He probably hoped to control her.

Whatever this thing C.C. could do was, it solved a problem that had been plaguing him ever since Shinjuku. It solved the mystery of just how Lelouch had escaped from Prince Clovis' Royal Guard alive. If C.C. had immobilized some of them, it made the scenario of Lelouch shooting nine elite members of the Royal Guard more plausible.

It also explained why Prince Clovis had been keeping her in that capsule. He was tempted to suggest the same solution to Lelouch. Keeping her locked away where she couldn't hurt him. It's not like she'd been anything but an annoyance to him anyway.

But Lelouch didn't seem like he'd be amiable to the suggestion at the moment. Or any suggestion, judging by the sharp fury burning in his friend's gaze. Even his protest when Lelouch had ordered the terrorist's execution instead of arrest had gone ignored - probably in favor of thoughts of mayhem and revenge on C.C. for letting the secret he'd obviously been trying to keep from everyone slip.

He winced at the sound of the gunshot behind him as Lord Gottwald followed Lelouch's orders. Another of his people lost to Britannia . . . But this death, he supposed, he could excuse. He would protect Lelouch. Anyone who would threaten the prince would become his enemy. And while he would have preferred it if Lelouch had had the man arrested instead of executed, it was ultimately his duty to follow the prince's orders.

He followed Lelouch into the car, unwilling to leave him alone with the green-haired woman. But it seemed that she wasn't interested in incapacitating Lelouch with whatever strange power she possessed. She'd gone back to her seat, her legs curled up and her head pillowed on her arms. It looked like she was trying to go back to sleep. As though nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

Lelouch, on the other hand, had reined in his fury and was staring at the phone he'd had confiscated from the terrorist with a ponderous frown. He flipped through the last few messages before snapping it shut again. "That probably wouldn't work." He mused to himself, heedless of the company of the car. "Still, there's nothing to lose from trying. . ."

Lelouch frowned for another moment as Gottwald finished confirming his kill and, apparently, stealing the man's wallet – which he handed to Lelouch when he got back into the vehicle. "Do you know this city, Suzaku?" Lelouch asked before grabbing a map that had been stuffed underneath the seat.

"Not well." He admit. "We stayed up on the north side of the city for a few weeks after the invasion ended, but we weren't really able to go out exploring and it wasn't for long."

It had been in those few weeks that he'd first become acquainted with his mother's new found loathing for him. When he'd first begun escaping from the safe houses in order to avoid her scorn. She'd never raised a hand against him, not even after he'd murdered his father. But what she had done had hurt more than any physical blow could have.

His name never passed her lips. She never looked at him. Never touched him. For all intents and purposes, it was like he had murdered his mother as well. He had lost her. Irrevocably lost her to her own fear and anger and hatred.

"Gottwald?" Lelouch asked as he spread the map out over their knees and quickly found their current location. He was sure the reference to the map wasn't actually necessary. Knowing Lelouch, he'd probably memorized the route they intended to follow and every possible escape path they could take.

"No, my prince. I've never been stationed in the Osaka Settlement." The Knight answered.

Lelouch didn't acknowledge Lord Gottwald's response as his finger followed a path along one of the roads on the map. Lelouch slipped out his cellphone without glancing away from the map and dialed a number on it's speed dial before bringing it to his ear.

"Adrian, it's me." Lelouch said briskly. "Do you have a team near the 110th street bridge? . . ." The majority of the ATTF had been deployed along the Viceroy's tour route. "You do? Do any of them have sniper training? . . . Tell him to set up covering the bridge. I have a hunch the terrorists might try to take us out there using roadside explosives. . . No, if he's closer send him. I don't care that he's an Honorary Britannian. . . Good. We'll begin making our way to the bridge now. He has fifteen minutes to get into position."

Lelouch snapped the phone shut before diverting his attention back to the terrorists phone and inputting a message. He handed it to Suzaku a few minutes later, ignoring Gottwald and C.C. in the process. "How's this?"

He frowned at Lelouch before glancing down at the phone and reading the message Lelouch had input into a new text message in Japanese. Lelouch was more or less fluent in Japanese, though his pronunciation was occasionally off and he tended to adopt a more formal method of speaking.

Suzaku sighed and fixed the message before handing it back to Lelouch, feeling pity and remorse for the people who were about to walk into Lelouch's trap. They wouldn't be given a trial. Just as the terrorist Lord Gottwald had just killed hadn't been given a trial.

It was Britannian law that anyone attempting to take the life of a member of the Imperial family should be executed immediately and without preamble.

He didn't agree with it, but he also didn't agree with them trying to kill Lelouch. And of the two possible paths they could walk down, he would always choose the one in which Lelouch survived. If he wanted those men to get a trial, the system would have to change first. Which is what he was aiming for in the first place.

Lelouch examined the edited message and shrugged before sending it. If they took the bait, whoever came to set the explosives would be gunned down and Lelouch would call first blood. Which was probably why Lelouch was doing this at all, instead of retreating to the garrison base until the threat to his life had passed.

But Lelouch had warned them all that he intended to use himself as bait, so arguing with him about it now wasn't bound to achieve anything. When Lelouch decided on doing something, it was next to impossible to change his mind.

Lelouch alerted the rest of the Royal Guard to keep an eye open for anything suspicious on or near the road before relaxing in his seat with his arms crossed over his chest and sending another withering glare at C.C. - who didn't see it because her eyes were closed and she was possibly sleeping.

"My prince, what exactly are you planning?" Lord Gottwald inquired awkwardly. Ever since his knighting, the man had seemed uncertain of his place. Not that Suzaku blamed him for being confused. Lelouch had made the man his personal Knight, then continued to treat him in the same aloof and frigid manner as some of the enemies he'd made whilst restructuring the administration of Area Eleven.

"I merely suggested that their ploy might be more effective should they attempt to take the bridge out from underneath us. That way they could target the Knightmares too." Lelouch answered before he resumed looking out the window as the car began making it's way down it's preplanned route.

As it was, the bridge was still a fair ways away when Lelouch got a call from Sir Hopkins informing him that the sniper had taken down four men, all of whom had been carrying explosives. By the time they actually did reach the bridge, the bodies had already been laid out and Sir Hopkins had had a dozen or two soldiers securing the area.

The newly appointed Commander had even come down to the site himself to congratulate the sniper who had eventually been released from his post almost an hour after taking his shots. Over all it was a lot of standing around and patting each other on the back for the actions of a single man.

Lelouch at least, had refrained from being too smug. While he engaged in conversation with Sir Hopkins and a few of the other soldiers, uttering proverbs like "He who strikes first wins.", it was easy to see that the prince hadn't been particularly ecstatic with his victory.

Whether it was because of the four men who lay dead on the pavement a few meters away, or because his opponent had failed to impress him, Suzaku wasn't sure. But he was sure that the smile on his friend's lips was fake.

It had been getting increasingly easy to see through all of Lelouch's masks since they'd been reunited. He was sure Lelouch wouldn't be pleased to hear that, but it was the honest truth. And it probably went back to what Edith had said about Lelouch tending to give up on appearances when they were together.

"Viceroy, this is Private Eiri Kondo. He's the sniper who took the shot." Sir Hopkins introduced some time later, gesturing to the Honorary Britannian in his late thirties standing next to him.

The sniper bowed and sank to a knee on front of Lelouch – the proper greeting of a Number before Britannian royalty. "Your highness." The man said firmly as Lelouch's eyes tightened slightly in annoyance.

"Rise." Lelouch ordered, not letting his disdain seep into his voice. Lelouch hated it when the Numbers were overly submissive to him. A simple salute would have been appropriate, had Kondo been Britannian. But because he wasn't, he was supposed to kneel.

Kondo obeyed, rising himself up to his full height, standing an inch or two taller than Lelouch. The man was severe and carried himself with all the stiff dignity of a man who'd been in the military for decades as opposed to the seven years since Area Eleven had been founded. It was likely he had once served for Japan before it's surrender.

"Thank you for your hard work today, Private." Lelouch said formally. "I appreciate your willingness to follow such orders."

"Thank you, your highness." Kondo said stiffly. "The Kenshiki Faction has made themselves the enemy of all the people of Area Eleven. I feel no remorse in acting against them, even should we share the same ethnicity."

"I appreciate the sentiment." Lelouch nodded.

Suzaku caught the Private surreptitiously watching him out of the corner of his eye even as he continued conversing with Lelouch and shifted uncomfortably. He was well accustomed by now with the scorn most of his people felt for him, but this man could hardly fault him. After all, he was an Honorary Britannian in the military too.

"Was there something you wished to say to Kururugi?" Lelouch asked, obviously noting that the man's attention wasn't focused solely on him.

Kondo's eyes widened slightly at being caught and he stiffened.

"I don't mind." Leleouch continued with an unconcerned gesture towards Suzaku. "Speak freely."

"I was just wondering about Lord Kururugi's position within your entourage." Kondo hedged, addressing the prince instead of himself.

Again, Suzaku shifted, trying to mask his discomfort. The Kururugi's were an old noble family, but he had never before been addressed as 'Lord' anything. Before the invasion he had been too young to be addressed in such a respectful manner, and afterward, aside from not deserving it, the formerly noble houses of Japan had been dissolved. As a part of the Britannian Empire, only Britannian nobles held any official sway. The noble families of conquered Areas were occasionally used as pawns, though in most cases they were simply left disgraced and powerless or were executed.

It all depended on how much power they wielded with the people before Britannia took over. The Kururugis had been on the execution list, though hopefully Lelouch's influence and his own actions in favor of Britannia would bring some measure of ease to the rest of his family.

"I'm a member of his highness's Royal Guard." Suzaku answered, hoping to draw the man's attention away from the furious scowl Lord Gottwald has sending them.

The effort was wasted, however, when Kondo addressed his next question to the fuming Britannian man. "Then, Lord Gottwald is also -"

"I'm Prince Lelouch's Knight of Honor." Gottwald practically snarled.

"Curious, isn't it? That I can make them get along." Lelouch smirked before patting both Suzaku and Lord Gottwald on the shoulders.

"Not really, your highness. You inspire loyalty. We respect you and your willingness to let us serve you. You've given us the opportunity to prove ourselves worthy." Kondo said.

"'We'?" Lelouch asked curiously.

"Myself and the other Honorary Britannians under your command, sir." Kondo answered easily. "Of course, we also respect Lord Kururugi. He's someone who could gain a lot of support from the Eleven population at large. That he's earned such a high rank from you is encouraging."

Suzaku felt inexplicably warmed by the man's sentiments. Suzaku had always been aware of what he was to the Japanese people – always aware that there were some people who would follow him simply because of who his father had been. Kondo understood what he was trying to do. That peace would be possible if they didn't resort to acts of terrorism.

"I see." Lelouch said, his voice sounding a little cold, but Suzaku couldn't figure out why.

* * *

AN: ^.^; Not sure about this one.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it.

In answer to questions from last chapter, yes, the Purist faction's entire families were disgraced along with them. I didn't see how you could strip the title from only a single member of the family. After all, the entire Ashford clan was stripped of their nobility for the actions of a few. Milly obviously wasn't guilty, but she also lost her nobility.

Anyway, more awesome fanarts for Dauntless. Two from Komo Pineconeseed - one's a bunch of sketches for Chapter 50 and the other's a really great color one of Abigail. There's also art from MKTerra who did a shaderific one of Edith. Links are up on my profile, like usual.

Also, upon staring at L.L.'s 'mafia' fanart for Dauntless (now at h ttp: / inkslayer- ll. deviantart . com/gallery /29386 470#/d3 crhfz ) I realized that I'd never really gone into who each of the wolves were extensively. So, I'm going to do a quick thing about their back stories here because I'm not sure I'll get to it within the actual body of the story. I'll do it in the order of L.L.'s mafia piece from left to right.

So furthest on the left is Charles Simpson. Way back when, I described him as "Probably the oldest of the group, looked to be about in his mid-thirties with a jagged, discolored scar running down the left side of his neck. Probably from a burn." So, yeah he's 34 and from a generally middle-class background. He has a wife and a two year old daughter (no, I haven't named them yet), though his marriage is failing. Taking off to Japan at a moment's notice to serve Lelouch, probably didn't help things on that front. His daughter is the reason he hasn't sworn himself to Lelouch - while he would die to protect Lelouch if it were necessary, he's not about to needlessly throw his life away because he has his little girl's future to think about too. Lelouch respects his choice.

Next is Nickolas 'Nick' Denvers. He's the one who's always treated and referred to Lelouch as a prince, rather than a commanding officer. In L.L.'s picture, he's the blond pretty boy fixing his tie. He's 21 and the youngest of their squad after Lelouch. He's also the fifth and youngest son of the prominent Denvers family. His family has been on the cusp of nobility for generations now. His family are all well-to-do business moguls who have been aching for a noble titles for decades now. Needless to say, Nick's decision to join the military didn't impress his family, but then, nothing much was expected of the fifth son anyway. His eagerness to serve Lelouch stems both from the possibility of gaining nobility for his family and because he actually respects the prince.

Suzaku and Lelouch you all know about already.

So on the other side of Lelouch is Hector Zimmerman, which I did tell you a little bit about. He's Lukas Zimmerman's older brother. He's 25. The entire Zimmerman clan is heavily ensconced in the military. Their father was a Major, but died while serving when they were both still kids. Their mother used to be a communications officer, but retired or whatever in order to raise her children. Hector's an Ace and joined the military when he was 18, following the family tradition. He was recruited by the KMF Corps when he was twenty and later became his squad's leader.

Amanda Lyons - 24 was described as "A woman with short blond hair said, her figure completely hidden beneath the standard Knight uniform. It was only her high cheekbones, pointed chin and alto voice that gave her away as a member of the fairer sex." I really like how L.L. drew her. She was pretty much exactly how I picture her. Amanda is secretly carrying a torch for Charles, though she refuses to let that slip lest she be seen as some weak woman. Above all else, she hates being treated differently because of her gender. She's the second best pilot in their group (almost an Ace herself) and makes sure people don't think she achieved her rank by simply being a pretty face. For this reason, she often comes off as serious and less than social - except amongst her comrades who have already accepted and acknowledged her skill.

Last is Gilderoy 'Roy' Yates. He's also 25 and is Hector's best friend. He was also in the Infantry Corps and served in Area Thirteen with Hector - which is where they met. He's mouthy and loud and generally speaks his mind (often without considering the consequences first). He was raise on 'the wrong side of the tracks'. He never knew his father, his mother is an addict and his brother is currently in jail for a violent crime. You could say that he's the single sterling sheep in a family full of black ones. He's cut ties with his family in order to distance himself from that existence, though he's not ashamed of his past and doesn't try to hide it.

So that's them, then. ^.^'

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'm going to go apartment shopping now then actually work on one of my school papers (-.- no more procrastinating for me! the deadline's coming up).

Don't forget to review.

Allora


	52. Chapter 52

Chapter 52

While they were in Osaka, they were staying in one of the barracks in the garrison base. This, of course, was in direct contrast to the heavily guarded penthouse suit in the city's most luxurious hotel that was reserved under Lelouch's name. It was also in contrast to the equally well guarded former mayor's residence and one of the lesser administration buildings that hadn't been bombed yet. Lelouch had decided that the garrison base was probably the most secure place in the entire city and had therefore decided to set up camp there (under heavy guard, of course).

Which was all well and good, but Suzaku hadn't stayed in a barracks since Basic Training (his memories of which were none too pleasant) and he felt a little awkward. Lelouch had sequestered himself away in what would have been the sergeant's suite. Lord Gottwald had accompanied him, along with C.C. (even despite the suspicious glares the man kept shooting her). There was no viable reason or excuse for him to follow Lelouch, so that left Suzaku out in the main room with the rest of the Royal Guard.

It wasn't that he was shy. It was just that he was acutely aware of the fact that he was an outsider here. Aside from being the only non-Britannian, he was also the only one who wasn't a part of their already established group. Everyone else had been serving with each other for at least a year in Area Eighteen.

He set about reorganizing the belongings he'd brought along for the third time and considered ironing his uniform (again) just for something to do. If he looked busy, it was less likely that he would be drawn into a confrontation with one of them (or all of them). After all, it wasn't too long ago that the Captain and Lieutenant had barged into his room and attempted to intimidate him. And even if the Captain was willing to offer the olive branch, that didn't mean the rest of them were.

"Oi! Kururugi!"

He forced himself not to wince at the Lieutenant's hail. "Sir." He said as he straightened himself up and snapped to attention.

Yates held up a deck of cards and quirked an eyebrow at him from where he was seated with the rest of the Royal Guard around the small round table that had been brought in for their use. "Poker. You know how to play it?"

"Yes, sir." He answered, hoping his trepidation wasn't readily apparent in his voice.

"Then sit." Yates ordered, pointing at the vacant seat directly across from him.

Suzaku muffled a sigh and did as he was told. Poker was popular with Britannians and he'd played his fair share of it. But, of course, no one liked losing their money to a Eleven, so it was generally just a more polite means of robbing him. He payed up anyway.

"Yes, sir." He said as a pile of chips were shoved in front of him by the Captain and the Lieutenant began shuffling the cards.

"You sure you know how to play, Kururugi?" Yates asked.

"Yes, sir."

"Then don't expect us to go easy on you." The Lieutenant smirked.

"I wont, sir."

"And drop all those 'sir''s. We're not on duty at the moment."

"Alright . . ." He trailed off, unsure how to address the man in a way that didn't refer to his military rank.

Next to him, Charles Simpson snorted in amusement. "You could always try calling him Gilderoy." He suggested.

Across the table, Yates' eye twitched before he began dealing out the cards. "So, Charles, how's your little girl doing?"

"Learning the joys of coloring." Simpson answered with a small smile.

"And how's your other girl?"

Simpson's eyes narrowed but he remained silent as he picked up his cards and examined them. Suzaku followed his example and looked at his own cards, ignoring the fact that he had no idea what they were talking about.

He had two Queens.

"Roy." The Captain admonished as he tossed a couple chips into the center pot.

The Lieutenant looked appropriately chastised before rolling his eyes. "Fine, fine. That was a cheap shot. Sorry, man."

"It's fine." Simpson answered as he added his bet after Lyons.

"Fold." Suzaku said as he set down his cards and let the play continue onto Denvers on his right.

This was how he usually played. He would pay to see his cards and then fold. It ensured that he didn't go out of the game too quickly. He'd learned from his last squad, that going all in on the first hand wasn't really appreciated. If they were going to invite him to play, they generally wanted to draw it out and rub it in his face that they were taking his money. Otherwise, they would have just mugged him. If he went out of the game too quickly, it wasn't enjoyable.

Denvers smirked before placing his own bet and play continued without him, as it always did. Instead, he focused on the conversation they were having, piecing together what he could about these people who were still little more than strangers to him.

He discovered that the Captain had a brother that was also in the military. A brother who had trained with Lelouch and was now serving near the E.U.. He also learned that Lyons' sister was the woman's direct opposite and studied fashion back in the homeland and that Denvers' father had just bought out a major hotel chain.

As he'd thought. He couldn't really relate to any of them. Not when he'd spent most of his childhood in hiding (either from the Britannians that would have liked nothing more than to see his whole family dead, or from his mother's scornful gaze), had murdered his father, and then had runaway and joined the military of his country's oppressors at the first possible chance.

He got through three hands without incident, folding after the first bet every time, before they caught on. Or not. In any case, he flinched when Yates' hand suddenly slammed down on the table in front of him and the Lieutenant flipped over the hand that Suzaku had folded.

He had an Ace and a Jack.

Amongst the five other cards that had been dealt in the course of the hand, were another Ace and two Jacks. He would have had a full house. He would have beaten the Captain's full house of Jacks and sevens.

"If you'd wanted to just give us your money, you could have saved time and effort by just handing it over." The Lieutenant said loudly, still towering over Suzaku's seated figure. "You play to win at my table or you don't play at all. Understood, Kururugi?"

Suzaku hesitated for a moment, wondering if the bluster was genuine or if he was just being warned to lose more creatively. Over the years, he'd become quite adept at stoking Britannian egos. "Yes, sir." He said after a moment, still undecided on how to proceed.

"And enough 'sir'ing me when we're not on duty. Call me Roy, or Yates or something. Jesus Christ, I don't think I've ever met anyone more uptight and awkward than you." The Lieutenant griped as he sat back down.

"Pay up!" Nick Denvers said excitedly, holding out his hand palm upwards. "Now, admit the real reason you're so pissy, Roy. I won the bet against all odds."

The rest of the table's patrons grumbled as they pulled out their wallets. Suzaku watched curiously, wondering what the hell he was missing until Denvers smiled winsomely at him.

"Not to turn you into sport or anything, but they all thought you either play to win or refuse to play at all. I'm the only one who called that you'd throw the game. Von Hoffman tried the same thing the first time I played cards with him. Of course, he was better at hiding it than you." Denvers explained, counting his money with a satisfied smirk before stuffing it in his pocket.

"Von Hoffman?" Suzaku asked, unsure why the grizzled old mechanic would need to feign losing. Unless it was because the Knights were noble and he wasn't.

"Yeah, the mechanic that's going to be looking over your Knightmare. He's a Number too. A Six, I think, not that it was ever really important except for that time Lelouch was ambushed.

"Lelouch was ambushed?" He asked. He really hadn't heard many stories about Lelouch's time in Area Eighteen except what he'd read in the news about that fort. He hadn't wanted to ask about it – hadn't wanted Lelouch to have to remember that slaughter.

"Yeah, and took out three enemy Knightmares before we could even get to him." Yates nodded approvingly. "The brat really proved to us that he wasn't just another arrogant aristocrat who'd bought his way into the KMF Corps."

Suzaku had never seen Lelouch pilot a Knightmare. In fact, Lelouch seemed altogether too refined to enter combat at all. He knew that Lelouch was a Knight and he knew that Lelouch had gone to war in Area Eighteen, but somehow the image of Lelouch actually piloting still seemed a foreign one.

And then he remembered Lelouch coldly killing a terrorist in the Shinjuku subway tunnel and thought he probably had to revise the childhood image he still held of his friend. Lelouch was, as he'd stated in that subway tunnel, a soldier. Just as he himself was a soldier. They were more alike than they'd been before when they were children. Though only by a single degree.

"Huh." He said ineloquently for lack of a better response and picked up the cards that had just been dealt to him. A two and a five.

He wondered if he shouldn't stay in this hand in order to appease the Lieutenant. But no, he'd been told to play to win, and there was no way he'd have stayed in with this hand if he wanted to win. He folded on his turn and met the glare the Lieutenant gave him with a small smile, abandoning his cards face up on the table so they could see.

He actually managed to win the hand after that, though he lost the majority of the ones that followed. He wasn't actually good at this game. He was well practiced at losing, but actually trying to win was something completely different.

It took some time, but he eventually relaxed. These people, Lelouch's Wolves, didn't seem to be out to hurt or humiliate him. They were just after a game of poker and so he slowly, tentatively, let himself slip into the camaraderie shared between them. He found himself actually enjoying playing a game where he wasn't expected to lose.

"Well, at least he's not like Lelouch." Charles joked after Suzaku won a lucky hand with two pairs.

"You play this with Lelouch?" Suzaku asked curiously.

"Yeah. The kid cleans us out every time we played with him." Yates grumbled. "Got horseshoes shoved up his . . ."

Suzaku smirked in amusement. "That's because he cheats."

"Eh?" Yates demanded. "He does what?"

Suzaku had actually learned this game from Lelouch when they'd been children. It had been shortly after the incident in which he'd destroyed Lelouch's King pieces and refused to play chess with him anymore. Lelouch had suggested a different game instead and had introduced him to poker (after refusing to learn any of the games Suzaku had suggested). So he'd learned poker from Lelouch and had had no better luck with that game than he'd had at chess.

It had taken him months to figure out that Lelouch was cheating.

"He counts cards. He said his brother Schneizel taught him. I guess it was something the Prime Minister thought Lelouch needed to know."

"Son of a bitch." Yates muttered. "I knew there was no way anyone could be that lucky."

Suzaku frowned, hoping he hadn't just damaged the respect they had for Lelouch. "He didn't mean to offend you by it, but Lelouch never leaves things to chance. He considers the counting a part of the game since it requires some thought and skill. It's like . . . well, if you counted cards, he wouldn't be upset by it. Since you'd be doing what you had to to win."

". . . you really do know him well, don't you?" Zimmerman said quietly after a moment.

He hesitated for a moment, unsure how to respond.

_"You could have just admit that we were childhood friends."_

"Well . . . we're friends." He admit, glancing down at the cards in front of him so he wouldn't see the scorn that would no doubt emerge in their gazes. It was _wrong_ for them to be friends. Socially unacceptable. It wasn't that he was about to stop caring for Lelouch, but he'd never dreamed of acknowledging it openly. Their friendship was something that ought to have been hidden from the public eye. It could only be damaging to Lelouch.

"Yeah, we know." Yates shrugged, as though it didn't matter – as though it weren't something that a significant portion of the local population would have liked to see him lynched for.

Play continued. Charles and Nick teased the Lieutenant mercilessly about his given name while Amanda watched with an amused smile and the Captain remained mute and seriously watching Suzaku. In a moment of silence following one of the Lieutenant's angry outbursts, the Captain narrowed his eyes slightly and turned to Suzaku.

"What do you know about C.C.?"

Suzaku tensed and froze, waiting for the inevitable next step. He'd been right there at Lelouch's shoulder when the prince had told his Royal Guard about C.C.'s 'taser' – when Lelouch had outright lied to their faces without batting an eye. He was under Zimmerman's command now and if he ordered Suzaku to tell him everything he knew about C.C. . . . well, he would probably be punished for insubordination.

His first loyalty was to Lelouch and then to the Royal Guard. Lelouch obviously wanted to keep whatever it was C.C. could do a secret, so he would also keep his lips closed, wouldn't he? That was what he ought to do.

But he kept thinking about her eyes – those eyes that seemed to look into and through him and then he thought of Lelouch alone with her and subjected to that same gaze. He hated it. He didn't trust her at all. She was . . . odd. There was something just so very _off _about her and her actions today had only cemented that fact even further in his thoughts.

She was a threat. No, she _could be_ a threat if they didn't tread carefully enough. For now, somehow, Lelouch seemed to have her in his control. At least to some degree. But how long would that last? What if something happened and she turned against them? Shouldn't the Royal Guard be well informed of the situation in case that should happen?

Not that he particularly thought that _he_ was well informed of the situation either, but he knew more about her than anyone else. He knew where she'd come from. And he was probably the closest person to Lelouch right now other than Edith, so he'd seen the way she went out of her way to test Lelouch's patience – like some caged beast prodding an electric fence looking for weaknesses.

But he obviously couldn't tell them that she was the cause of everything that had happened in Shinjuku. If they knew that, then it would only be too easy to put the pieces together. So what could he tell them?

"It wasn't a taser, was it?" Zimmerman pressed. "There was nothing in her hand, I was watching. There was no taser."

He nodded mutely, unable to deny the truth.

Silence had fallen around the table as the others watched the exchange. All sense of cheerfulness and teasing had been replaced with somber and serious contemplation. He wondered if this had been their plan all along – if they'd only invited him to play to get him to relax so he'd be easier to interrogate.

"Did Lelouch order you not to tell us about her?" Zimmerman asked.

"No." He answered honestly. "Not exactly."

Lelouch hadn't explicitly told him not to repeat what he'd seen today to the others. In fact, he hadn't received any orders from Lelouch about C.C. at all. It was a vague and sketchy loophole since he knew Lelouch and knew that what Lelouch didn't say was often more important that what he did.

"Kururugi . . . we also want to protect Lelouch. He warned me to keep an eye on her, but if I don't know what she's capable of, it's hard to do that." The Captain pressed.

. . . He did have a point. But he didn't have the information they were after anyway. He knew where she came from and how she'd met Lelouch, but he didn't know what she was capable of doing. He sighed. "I don't know what she can do. . . . She used to be a prisoner of Prince Clovis'. I don't know what they did to her. That's all I know about her."He finished quickly, hoping they wouldn't push.

He wouldn't reveal more than this much, not even under orders. The Captain must have recognized his resolve because he let the matter drop and a moment later Nick boisterously laid down a Royal Flush and claimed the pot.

. . . And nothing changed. Nothing changed in their demeanor. They didn't scowl when he won the next hand, nor did they bring the game to a close, or ask him to leave. It just continued, as though he hadn't just served his purpose. As though interrogating him hadn't been the only reason they'd asked him to join in.

And maybe, he found himself hoping, they would actually accept him even though he was a Number. Even though he was completely unworthy of their kindness, he found himself craving it. To become one of them. To be able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with these impressive people without feeling scorned or impertinent or out of place.

Maybe . . .

* * *

Jeremiah was sticking close to the prince, especially since that woman had decided to tag along wherever the prince went. She trailed along after the prince, silently observing everything he did with the most unnerving, emotionless gaze he'd ever seen.

He didn't really know who she was. She hadn't been in the prince's home before the Kururugi incident, but it seemed that sometime in the days between Kururugi's court martial and his knighting, she had moved into the prince's villa.

That Kururugi and the rest of the Royal Guard had let her get so close to the prince was unnerving, though it did explain why the prince had suddenly decided he needed a Knight of Honor. Especially after today's spectacle. He hoped they wouldn't so careless with the prince's safety in the future. Now that they'd seen what she could do.

Something strange . . . unnatural. . . something that had affected that man's mind.

He wondered if . . . if he hadn't shot the man . . . if he'd have woken up with no memory of the events that had taken place there. And he wondered if had was possible that she had been there in Shinjuku . . on the G-1 . . . when he and Bartley and dozens of other men had all lost their memories.

Had she snuck up on him, catching him unawares before sending him into a mad, flailing tantrum like the terrorist had? Was that why he couldn't remember killing Clovis . . . and shooting Prince Lelouch? Trapped in his own mad delirium?

He sent another withering glare at her, but the gesture was ignored as she lay across the prince's bed with her face nuzzled into the pillow, completely oblivious to Jeremiah's disdain. And the prince wasn't any more forthcoming about what had happened in Shinjuku than what had already been established between them – that the prince didn't blame him for shooting him. Whatever secret the prince was keeping about that girl, he didn't see fit to share it with Jeremiah.

Instead, the prince seemed content to recline in his chair as he moved pieces across a cheap, cardboard chess board. He'd considered offering to play against the prince, but had restrained himself when he'd noticed that the boy wasn't actually playing the game. He wasn't playing in turns, moving multiple black pieces at a time, and moving some pieces against regulation. It became blatantly apparent when he slid a Rook diagonally across a half dozen black squares.

This wasn't chess. This was the boy trying to visualize his strategy and so Jeremiah remained silent at his post near the door, keeping a watchful eye on the girl who had fallen asleep on the prince's bed just in case she decided to suddenly make a move.

She didn't and an hour passed in a stifling silence that was only disturbed by the sound of chess pieces sliding against the board and the occasional sleepy mumble from C.C..

At three minutes to nine, the prince glanced up at the wall-mounted clock and calmly reset the board.

At precisely nine o'clock, there was a knock at the door.

"Let him in." The prince ordered before he could even check the identity of the visitor. Opening the door revealed Sir Hopkins, still dressed in his starched uniform and bearing the silver and black armband the prince had decided to identify the ATTF with.

"Lord Gottwald. I have an appointment with his highness." Hopkins greeted, snapping a salute which Jeremiah returned before letting the man into the room.

He was still at a loss as to why the prince had promoted this man. He'd looked into the man's military records shortly after his promotion and had found it altogether unenlightening. The man was a Knight, but otherwise, there was nothing particularly outstanding about him.

"Adrian." Prince Lelouch greeted warmly as he actually rose from his seat and extended his hand towards the man.

"Your highness," Hopkins greeted, shaking the proffered hand before flushing slightly at the glare the prince sent him. "Ah, Lelouch, I mean." He corrected awkwardly.

"Better." Lelouch nodded before gesturing to the seat across from him. "Come, join me. You do play, right? I'll even let you play white." The prince said as he placed a single index finger on a corner of the board and rotated it a hundred and eighty degrees.

Hopkins chuckled awkwardly as he sat across from the prince. "Ah, well, I haven't played chess in years."

"I doubt the skill will ever completely leave you." Lelouch said, gesturing for his opponent to move first.

"They say that all of the Emperor's children are masters at chess." Hopkins said conversationally as he moved his first pawn forward.

Prince Lelouch snorted disdainfully, moving a pawn. "Hardly, though my brother Schneizel is quite good. All of the others combined likely couldn't match him."

"I see." Hopkins said as he freed one of his Knights. "I wonder how you knew I knew how to play?"

The prince didn't answer, letting the conversation fall into a long silence as several turns passed between the two – the advancing of pawns and Rooks. Hopkins claimed the first conquest, taking the prince's Bishop, though he had to sacrifice his Queen to do so.

"Why did you join the Knightmare Corps?" Prince Lelouch asked seriously, moving his next piece.

Hopkins stiffened, his shoulders straightening as he regarded the prince almost warily. "I . . ." He hesitated, trailing off.

"You're mediocre as a pilot, at best." The prince continued mercilessly. "Yet you achieved top marks at the Imperial Colchester Institute in military strategy and tactics. In fact, your professors raved about your 'brilliant strategic mind'. If you'd remained in the regular corps, it was likely you'd have been given a minor command upon graduation. It would have been easy for you to work your way up in the ranks.

"Instead, you joined the KMF Corps, even though your piloting skills were less than stellar. You were good enough to make the cut, but amongst the best of the best Britannia has to offer, you are woefully inept. Furthermore, it would be next to impossible for you to advance your position. The KMF Corps promotes primarily based upon the skill of the pilot. It's how men like Gottwald and Hector gained their commands. You knew that, didn't you?" The prince

Hopkins stared at the prince, slightly agape as he processed his response. "I. . ." He said again, before snapping back his composure and sending a self-depreciating smile at the prince. "Yes, I knew that." He answered. "But the KMF Corps carries with it more prestige than any other command I could gain. Even as a bad Knight, I've gained a noble title and all the benefits that go along with it."

Massive tax breaks, an equally large salary, an invitation to court should the Emperor approve it, access to the other Britannian elite, exemption from a number of laws, the list went on and on. To those who were able to force their way into the noble ranks, even if only in the form of of the non-hereditary title of Knight, the risk they put themselves at while piloting was often worth it.

These were exactly the kinds of Knights the Purist Faction had loathed so much.

Prince Lelouch sighed. "I thought so. Checkmate, by the way." He said, gesturing towards the board. He barely gave the man across from him time to process the victory before he began resetting the pieces. "We'll play again. And this time, I want to see some of that 'brilliant strategic mind' your professors used to rave about. Unless your wits have dulled, in which case I'm not sure you'd be suitable for the command of the ATTF."

It was a bit late for this conversation in Jeremiah's opinion. This was the conversation they should have had before the prince had promoted Hopkins. But the boy would do as he saw fit and Jeremiah wasn't about to question his actions. Likely, it all fit into some master plan the boy had concocted.

"Ah, so it was that obvious?" Hopkins said sheepishly.

"I didn't put a fool in charge of my Anti-Terrorist Task Force." The prince said firmly, before smirking winsomely. "And, I'm not a child. I won't throw a tantrum if I lose. In fact, if you can beat me, I implore you to try. It's dull when my opponents lose too quickly. Prove yourself, Adrian."

The boy was the very picture of cocky arrogance as he casually reclined in his seat and called his opponent out. Jeremiah wondered if the prince always wore this face when he played chess or if he was just particularly amused by toying with the Commander of the ATTF.

"Then I'll try to win this time." Hopkins said, sliding his pawn forward to release a Rook.

That the nature of the second game was vastly different than the first was readily apparent to Jeremiah from where he watched at his post next to the door. Neither of them spoke this time, and each spent almost as much time examining each other as they did the board. Knowing your opponent was, after all, one of the best methods of ensuring success.

It wasn't over nearly as quickly, as they both carefully considered their moves before moving each piece. Even the pawns were carefully placed, falling into whatever grand master plan they had each cooked up.

"Check." The prince finally said, though he only had a scant four pieces left on the board.

The endangered King retreated behind a protective pawn and play continued, the prince wearing a content smirk as competitive fire burned in his eyes.

"Check." Hopkins said after three more turns had passed.

Lelouch's King was saved by it's only remaining Knight removing the threatening Bishop. Two more turns and it was over. "Checkmate."

The prince smirked at his victory as Hopkins dejectedly toppled his own King. "I guess I'm not suited to lead."

"I don't remember saying that you would lose your command if you couldn't win." Lelouch said as he leaned back in his seat. "You put me in Check. It's more than the majority of my opponents have managed to do."

"I see." Hopkins hesitated.

"There were other things I wanted to discuss with you." The prince said finally, letting the board fall into disuse.

"I suspected as much." Hopkins replied as he took his cue from the prince and leaned back in his seat, ready to listen to whatever the prince had to say.

"I want you to keep an eye on that sniper." The prince ordered.

"Kondo?" Hopkins clarified.

The prince nodded. "He was inordinately interested in Suzaku." The prince said with a frown.

"Well, he is the equivalent to a prince to the Elevens, isn't he?" Hopkins asked.

Jeremiah frowned. Comparing that cretin with a prince was intolerable. Suggesting that Prince Lelouch and that Eleven brat were equals was even worse. Suzaku Kururugi was a Number, would always be a Number, and even the prince's benevolent pity wouldn't change that.

"Even so, his interest struck me as disturbing. He didn't need to remind Suzaku of the power he still holds over the Japanese population." The prince said, "Suzaku knows what he could do if he chose to."

"So that's why you're keeping him close?" Hopkins inquired.

Prince Lelouch frowned, long, elegant fingers closing around one of the black Knight pieces as he twirled it between his forefinger and thumb, toying with it as he spoke. "No. That's not the reason. Well, I should say that it's not the primary or even secondary reason for having Suzaku at my side, though I can't deny that I've taken it into consideration."

Jeremiah had put it together the day of Kururugi's court martial. Well, he supposed he hadn't put it together so much as he'd had the prince throw it in his face. Kururugi and the prince had known each other for a long time. He was tentatively willing to bet that should Kewell have chosen anyone else to play scapegoat for Clovis' murder and the attempt on Prince Lelouch's life, that the court marital would have gone off without a hitch.

But because it had been Kururugi and because of their shared history, the prince had been forced into action. It wasn't because Kururugi was the son of the last Japanese Prime Minister that the prince had decided to save him. It was because the prince considered the brat a friend.

"I see. I will keep a close eye on Kondo for you if he disturbs you." Hopkins said a little uncertainly.

The prince chuckled. "It isn't only because he attempted to undermine the authority I have over Suzaku. Honorary Britannians, especially Honorary Britannians in the military, are branded as traitors to their country. They're scorned just as equally by the majority of the Britannian masses as well. Have you ever seen an Honorary Britannian that confident in himself?"

Now that the prince mentioned it, the Eleven had seemed almost arrogantly confident with himself, like he knew and was content with his place in the world. Even kneeling at the prince's feet, his spine had been proudly stiff.

"No, you're right." Hopkins agreed after a moment of thought.

"No Honorary Britannian would be that proud unless he had completely adopted a Britannian mindset. But he hasn't. Kondo paid homage to the Kururugi clan, which means he still places value in the old Japanese lineages and power structure. The Kururugis were powerful long before Genbu became the Prime Minister.

"The reason Suzaku could rally this country into a revolution if he chose to, isn't only because Genbu was the Prime Minister. It's also because he's a Kururugi." The prince explained. "I could list, off, hand several dozen people who would love nothing more than to turn Suzaku into their pawn. And not all of them are Elevens."

"Then, you think Kondo's in league with terrorists?" Hopkins asked.

"If he is, he's hidden his tracks well. I really did choose each and every member of the ATTF personally and I checked all of their backgrounds as well, especially when choosing the Honorary Britannians. I wasn't able to find anything amiss about him. But keep your eye on him. I don't necessarily require you to act against him, but your observations would be helpful."

"Yes, of course." Hopkins answered.

* * *

"C.C." Lelouch said firmly, his voice accompanied by a none-too-gentle poke in the ribs.

Contrary to popular belief, she wasn't actually asleep. But she'd gotten tired of the guard dog glaring at her and so had closed her eyes to feign sleep. She'd been awake the entire time, all through Lelouch's silent musings and Adrian's chess games, the debate about the sniper and the much much longer discussion over the security measures that would be put in place for the remainder of their vacation (Lelouch had told her to stop referring to it as a vacation, but she persisted for the sake of her own amusement).

"What." She said, deliberately keeping her tone flat so that it wasn't a question, as she opened her eyes to stare at him.

"You're not sleeping in here tonight." Lelouch glared. "So get out."

"But I sleep in your bed all the time, Lelouch." She said plaintively and was rewarded with a scandalized choking sound coming from the prince's Knight. She quirked her eyebrow at him. "You didn't know . . . Jerry?"

Getting on Lelouch's nerves was entertaining, but harassing his Knight was just as fun, if not more so. Lelouch made her work for her reactions, but Gottwald _always_ reacted first, then sought for calm.

The man visibly twitched before glaring at her. "Don't call me that." He growled.

"Oh for God's sake, you're just going to encourage her." Her prince sighed before grabbing her arm and dragging her up and out of the bed. She considered, briefly, letting herself go limp like a rag doll, but she figured Lelouch would still drag her out of the room, even if he had to haul her across the floor and she wasn't in the mood for road rash. "Out, C.C.."

"Everyone here already knows I stay with you." She reminded him. It was true. Kururugi definitely knew, having intercepted her invasions a handful of times and she was pretty sure the others had put it together, judging from the way the house staff loved to gossip about their prince's 'mistress'.

"That's not the issue. I would very much like for the man who's supposed to be protecting me to be awake and alert tomorrow, which he will not be if you stay in here. Now go. There's more than enough beds in the other room." Lelouch explained sharply.

"Fine." She sighed. He did have a point. Jeremiah was paranoid and fanatical about Lelouch. And she probably wouldn't have been able to sleep anyway because Gottwald would have probably insisted on keeping an eye on her all night and she could just imagine him sitting creepily in the corner while she slept . . . Okay, well she would have been able to sleep (the funny thing about being immortal was that it made you fearless), but she still would have thought it was weird.

She took her revenge for the separation in the form of stealing the prince's pillow, hugging it tightly to her chest as she made her way to the door. "He snores." She said to Jeremiah as she passed him out the door.

It was a lie, actually. Lelouch usually slept soundly unless he was having bad dreams, in which case he tended to mutter to himself. She'd found it slightly entertaining until she'd realized just what he was dreaming about. She'd seen enough murder and mayhem in her life to know that it was a bitch when it came back to you in your subconscious.

But she wouldn't be dealing with that tonight. Tonight she would be dealing with something else altogether. She straightened her shoulders and let her arms drop to her sides, stolen pillow dangling from her fingers as she sauntered self-confidently into the barracks proper.

She'd played this role before – the dangerous mistress to a prince. She knew these games, the way power and influence flowed between the inner circle of royalty. It was best to establish her position with Lelouch now, and if she had to frighten them to do it, she would.

Of course, the last time she had played this role she'd overdone it a bit and found herself beheaded and buried at a crossroads. As fascinating as it had been to learn that her Code would even let her survive decapitation (in addition to being poisoned and stabbed), it wasn't an experience she was eager to go through again.

Thankfully, the witch hunt was long since over and even the most fanatic and sadistic of Lelouch's minions didn't seem like the decapitating sort. She would be fine. She would establish herself irrevocably as an asset and ally of the prince – the one he whispered his plans to in the dark, private hours of the night.

It wasn't that she was craving power. It was simply that she refused to be separated from the boy. He would grant her wish. Her one true wish – he would be the one to take her Code. She could still feel it, the quiet thrum of his potential that resonated in her very bones. He would be the one, and she would do whatever she needed to to keep herself close.

As someone meek and quiet, it would only be a matter of time before she was cast aside – only a matter of time before his wife replaced her or his Royal Guard ejected her from the house, or his Knight killed her. But as someone of authority . . .

She had sat at the side of dozens of powerful men and women in the past. She had fought wars and made treaties, she'd murdered when it was necessary and become so steeped in court intrigues that escaping from it had been impossible without enduring another death. She'd played entire courts like a deranged marionette skit, pulling at the strings to make those in her company dance to her particular tune . . . and she had cut the strings of those that had refused to follow along.

She would take up this role again, dance this dance one last time before passing on her Code. And finally, when it came time to escape the intrigues, Lelouch would have already taken her Code and she would endure the death they gave her with a smile.

This was the plan. The escape she had chosen for herself. Her greatest wish.

They were playing poker when she entered, huddled around a small table with disproportionate stacks of chips in front of them. The only things missing were an iconographic haze of cigar smoke and a dozen drinks littering the table. They didn't speak, tense and silent, as she passed them by and headed for one of the beds on the other side of the sheet the lone female member of the Royal Guard had pegged to the ceiling to create a division.

They'd been talking about her. It was evident in the awkward, almost guilty, glances they shared between them as they no doubt wondered if she'd overheard them. She smirked slightly, casting her gaze over the table (just to compound their discomfort) before disappearing behind the sheet and curling up on one of the beds around the pillow she'd thieved from Lelouch's bed.

It didn't really matter what the Royal Guard thought of her. She didn't need them to like her. All she needed was for them to understand that she belonged with Lelouch. They came as a pair now because they were accomplices. Otherwise, they just needed to serve their purpose and follow Lelouch's commands.

She closed her eyes and buried her face in the pillow to hide the small, comfortable smile that crept across her lips as she listened to the sounds of the poker players shifting in their seats, one of them coughing slightly and the soft _chink_ of poker chips sliding against each other. She'd be able to sleep here. She wouldn't wake up from that dream and panic. The dream where she was alone in a world of dead, desiccating corpses – all of whom she knew. Every contractor she had ever had staring back at her with sightless, decaying eyes.

She wouldn't confuse her realities upon waking, because there would be _someone_ nearby, someone breathing and rolling over in their sleep and possibly snoring. Even if that person wasn't Lelouch, these Royal Guards would make an adequate substitute until they returned to Tokyo. It wouldn't be like when Clovis had had her – when she would awake to stillness and only the pain his people had caused her was memorable in the nothingness of her existence. A nothingness that may as often as not have been a dream.

Being alone was . . .

An age ago, someone had told her (she didn't remember who or when, only that the idea had been whispered to her conscience) that Geass and the Code granted equal parts of power and loneliness. It was something she had accepted easily enough at the time. Of course there would be a price for that power. Nothing was free, after all. Even Geass.

All of her contractors had been asked to pay twice, once to Geass in the form of madness or loneliness and once to her in the form of her wish. . . . She was missing a lot of payments.

It was easy to be alone amongst a crowd of people who didn't know or care about her. She'd grown used to it and, if she was honest with herself, comfortable with it. She didn't really like strangers (even though humanity had long since lost it's 'strangeness' to her. People tended to follow a given set of templates.) and since they had nothing she wanted to offer, she didn't see the point in forging meaningless bonds with them when she knew she'd just have to watch them die a few short decades later.

However, being _alone_ – with absolutely _nothing_ nearby – was something entirely different. Clovis' people had kept her in solitude whenever they weren't trying to riddle out the secrets of her Code. Alone, with only the steady thump of her Code-maintained heartbeat and her shallow breaths for company, unable to sense anything of the rest of the world around her – too weak to even forge a mental connection with Marianne.

She hoped never to go back to that. No, she simply _wouldn't_. She would keep Lelouch close, a tie to this reality. She would keep him close and protect him until he was ready to take her Code, and then she would give him a power even greater than the Geass he already wielded.

* * *

Somehow it felt like Kallen's entire existence had shrunk into nothing more than going to school and being trapped in the Student Council room for emergency budgeting meetings or impromptu event planning sessions. It was like Ashford Academy was trying to take over her life. Or maybe it was just Milly Ashford who was trying to take over. Either way, she was being sucked in.

When she thought about where she would have been a few months ago at five o'clock on a Tuesday – finished classes (if she'd gone to them at all) and on her way to Naoto's apartment – it made her present situation all the more depressing. She called Ohgi every night, usually right before bed when it was least likely her step-mother would barge into her room with some overbearing lecture, but he kept telling her to stay put. He told her she was safer there and would occasionally let slip a disturbing hint or two to the true condition of the ghettos at the moment. Things still had yet to calm down even though the media had moved on to more important things than the plight of the Shinjuku Elevens.

So she was still stuck here, stuck playing student and she was sure her attendance record for the last few weeks was better than it had been in years. Also, she'd discovered that all of those 'friends' Kallen Stadtfeld had had at school were annoying and vapid and generally out of touch with reality. Perfect for maintaining her cover, also perfect for driving her to frustration.

She spent most of her time with the Student Council now just to avoid them, because at least the Student Council had semi-important concerns on their minds, rather than which boy was cutest and if such and such an idol was really breaking up with his girlfriend like they'd read in whatever magazine (as if that breakup affected their 0% chance of ever hooking up with said idol). Instead, the Student Council concerned themselves with keeping up student morale, making sure all of the clubs had enough funding and reviewing the decisions made by the school principal and it's board of governors.

Not for the first time since joining the Student Council was she debating the merit of gouging out her brain with a rusty spoon – this time, however, they had finally put her to work. Milly must have decided that her expending any extra brainpower wasn't about to make her keel over from her 'illness' and so had decided to put her honor student math grades to good use. She was in charge of balancing the budget (a task in which she apparently would forever be second to Prince Lelouch).

She blinked, letting the numbers on the page in front of her blur a little as she gave her brain a break. Milly had actually pulled her out of her last class for this, so she'd been at it for hours. Apparently it was due before ten in the morning tomorrow and no one had felt like doing it before now. Due to the time constraint, even Milly was hard at work sifting through receipts to filter out the ones for junk food, movie outings and souvenirs that had been submitted by the clubs in hopes of getting reimbursed.

. . . Someone's phone vibrated – the long, awkward kind of hum that's almost more disruptive than a regular ring tone. Especially in a silent room.

No one moved to answer it at first, everyone warily glancing at the President who was wearing a scowl.

"Rivalz." Milly snapped.

"Ah ha ha," Rivalz laughed awkwardly, reaching into his pocket to silence the device with barely a glance at the caller id. "Not my fault. Blame Lelouch."

"He's not even here!" Shirley admonished, jabbing him with her pen. "You can't blame it on someone who's not here."

"Yeah, but ever since he came back, I've been getting nothing but phone calls from all of his old opponents. Now that they know who he really is, they all want a rematch with the infamous L.L.."  
Kallen choked. "What? L.L.?"

"Me and Lelouch used to gamble, but we're underage so we didn't use our real names. I used to use R.C., not that that sounded as cool as L.L.." Rivalz chuckled. "His initials from when he went as Lelouch Lamprouge. I used to set up the matches for him and he'd win the games. He never loses at chess, so we made a total killing. Split everything fifty-fifty." The Vice President bragged, but she barely heard him.

_"You've lost faith in me already, Q-1?"_

Q-1.

Chess.

Kallen didn't play chess, but she knew the general rules and layout. It was Britannia's game of choice, after all. Q-1. The Queen. The most versatile piece on the board. He'd been taunting her when he'd said that, teasing her mere minutes before discarding her along with the rest of the resistance like nothing more than pieces on his board.

It all made so much sense now. How he'd been able to just use them and discard them as though they were nothing but tools. How he'd stolen the Knightmares from the pilot she had fought and how he'd known about those Sutherlands in the train car. How he and the other one (that traitorous dog Kururugi?) had gone on into the G-1 . . . to kill the Viceroy.

A coup, she realized. She and Ohgi and the others had unwittingly helped the bastard stage a coup. He had to have known he'd be chosen as the next Viceroy – he was the only other royal in the country. She had helped him murder his own brother. She had helped to tear down one tyrant and put an even worse one in the seat of power instead.

_"He never loses at chess."_

Perfectly calculated.

She felt nauseous all of a sudden, like the soda and cheese bun she'd had earlier was creeping back up her throat and she just couldn't stay there, crammed in that room with the prince's oh-so-loyal friends. The friends who probably couldn't even see the monster that boy was.

She pushed away from the table suddenly and stumbled towards the door as her heart hammered in her throat and her insides writhed in disgust and anxiety and guilt. Guilt, not because they'd stood against the Empire and decided to try to steal Code-R, but guilt because they'd been so stupid to follow his orders. A faceless voice on the radio that went by the name of L.L..

_"If you want to win, you'll follow my orders." _

They'd been stupid. Stupid and desperate and blinded by the promise of victory.

"Kallen? Are you alright? You look pretty pale. Are you having a fit? Should I call a doctor?" Milly asked suddenly, reaching out to steady her.

"Fine. Going home" She gasped, pushing her way through the door.

Her hands were shaking. How had she been so stupid? How had they been so desperate that they'd let a prince of Britannia play them for fools? She was furious and ashamed and incredulous.

No, maybe she was just jumping to conclusions. Maybe this was all just some kind of coincidence. She was sure there was more than one person in Tokyo with the initials L.L.. and perhaps one of those other L.L.'s just so happened to have a penchant for playing chess with human lives as the playing pieces.

. . . Who was she trying to kid? No one but a prince would be that arrogant. Still, she needed to confirm it. Somehow she had to find out for certain before she . . . before she what? Avenged the fallen and her hurt pride? Could she get that close to him? Could she get past Kururugi and whatever other bodyguards he had protecting him? In a Knightmare . . . probably. But Ohgi had those Sutherlands hidden away in one of the ruins Naoto had sometimes used as a safe house and there was no way he'd let her have one to go on what would likely turn into a suicide mission.

How else could she get close to him? Wait for him to visit his school friends again? But he'd brought his bodyguard even to the school. And killing him in front of all of his friends didn't exactly lend itself to her getting away with it.

Prince Lelouch was hunting terrorists. There was no way she'd be able to get close to him.

. . .

There was no way Kallen Kouzuki could get close to him. . . but Kallen Stadtfeld was a different story entirely. Kallen Stadtfeld was the heiress of a prominent noble family – a noble family with ties to the prince through his arrogant wife. Could she use that? She'd still need an excuse or some kind of chance to get close to him.

It was unlikely she could just ask to see him without stating her business. And there was no possible business she could state that would likely draw his attention. He was busy playing Viceroy and making war on the remaining resistances to Britannian rule in Japan.

Yes, she just needed a chance to get close to him. So maybe waiting for his next visit to Ashford was her best bet. And then she would make something up, forge some kind of connection to him and get him alone.

And after she knew whether or not it was true, after she'd confirmed if he really was the same L.L. who had left them to die in Shinjuku, she'd tell Ohgi and they'd come up with a plan to destroy him.

She wondered how the media would take the news that the prince was collaborating with terrorists.

She smirked ferally, suddenly feeling much better now that she'd made a plan. Now that she was prepared. Even if it wasn't true, getting close to the prince couldn't be a bad thing for her. It would make him more vulnerable.

* * *

AN: I was going to write a bunch of stuff here, but I got distracted by a fanfic. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Check out Komo's latest fanarts. The links are on my profile.

Also, I hope the website's back up to working properly. Haven't been able to send reviews since last night. Or at least I haven't been.

Don't forget to review.

Allora


	53. Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Lelouch was beginning to feel the strain of the position he'd put himself in. He'd gone to Osaka mostly to play bait for the Kenshiki, but he had gone there in his capacity as Viceroy and was therefore required to do Viceroy-like things. He actually did have to visit the the sites of the attacks, meet with some of the relatives of the deceased and gather the remaining members of the city council to reorganize the relief efforts in the city and encourage people to stop hiding in their homes and go back to work.

All while wondering if he made a good target for a sniper at that moment or if a bomb was planted in one of the cars parked next to theirs or just how quickly Gottwald would be able to move to save him.

He was sure he was turning paranoid. He was also sure that C.C. was laughing at his antics and silently agreeing with the sentiment. He mostly ignored her, still angry about the show she'd given his Royal Guard (and angrier still when she refused to answer any of his questions about her Geass). He left her to her own devices.

He spent three more days in Osaka before gratefully leaving that war zone and returning home, where Edith and order reined over the chaos in his life. He'd missed the way his assistant always knew what he needed a moment before he asked for it. But at the same time, he was glad he'd left her behind since, unlike C.C., she likely wouldn't have been able to defend herself from a terrorist.

"Lelouch," Edith said pleasantly as she met him at the door and took his coat. "You look tired. I'll have tea brought to you. Also, Lord Calares wanted to speak with you when you have the time and Princess Euphemia called, but she said it was unimportant and that I shouldn't disturb you with it when you were busy."

He smirked, slightly amused. He was barely in the door and she was already in full efficiency mode. She paused when she noticed his expression and blushed before backpedaling.

"I'm sorry. You're exhausted. You should rest first -"

"It's fine. Call Calares and invite him over. The sooner the better. I'll get back to Euphy later. And yes, tea sounds splendid. Bring enough for two. We'll be in my study." He said, Gottwald following at his heels as he made his way to his home office. Suzaku had already disappeared up the stairs to his room to unpack his things and Hector and the others had all gone back to their own respective houses as soon as he'd safely passed through the gate of his villa.

Gottwald waited next to the door, stiff and still and the perfect picture of silent intimidation as Lelouch seated himself at a table instead of his desk and a maid brought in tea. And still the man didn't move, eyes traveling from the window to the door to the tapestry on the wall searching for threats.

Lelouch quirked his eyebrow in thin amusement. "Who do you expect to jump out of the tapestry at me, Gottwald?" He asked.

Gottwald had been relatively easy to be around before he'd agreed to framing Suzaku. The man had been respectful and efficient and nothing at all like this new version. This Gottwald was always tense, eyes always traveling from one end of the room to the other, studying people and objects like they were all inherent threats. Which was good, in a way, but it was also tiring since Lelouch knew that it was because the man was distinctly uncomfortable and uncertain of his position with Lelouch.

Lelouch was in his home. It was probably the place he felt the safest and Gottwald was still looking like a terrorist was going to worm it's way out of the woodwork any second now.

"I apologize, my prince. I didn't mean to unnerve you."

Lelouch sighed before turning to pin the man with his gaze. "You're uncomfortable."

"My comfort is of little consequence, your highness." Gottwald said with a slight bow.

Rolling his eyes, Lelouch busied himself with preparing his tea. "You know, it's not my intention to keep you miserable for the duration of this interim. So long as you die when you're supposed to, you can whistle Dixie for all I care."

The man hesitated before the tension slipped away from his stance a little and he bowed slightly. "I understand, my prince." But he didn't move from his post next to the door.

"Tea, Gottwald." Lelouch groused, gesturing to the seat across from him.

"But Lord Calares -"

"Won't be here for a while, I'm guessing. By which time the tea will be cold anyway." Lelouch cut him off.

". . .I see."

"Sit. And have some tea. That is an order. I'm not going to spend the next however long it takes for Calares to get here with you looming over me in the corner. I'd have sent you home with the others if I didn't think your presence would facilitate intimidating the man." He sighed. "I am more than well protected in my own home without my Knight."

"Has Lord Calares done something to displease you, my prince?" Gottwald asked as he finally left his post and occupied the chair across from him instead, stirring milk and sugar into his tea with a casual elegance born of his noble upbringing.

"Not yet." Lelouch answered mildly. "But it's better he learns not to, before he makes a mistake like you did."

He watched the man visible wince at the reminder. "However I can be of service to you." Gottwald finally murmured before taking a sip of his tea.

Lelouch fought back his smirk, hiding it behind his tea cup as he took another sip. Gottwald had been well trained. He probably had his mother to thank for that. She'd had a sharp tongue even when she was in a good mood and Gottwald had probably learned quickly that it was best not to respond to verbal jabs with anything less than a reaffirmation of loyalty.

It took forty-five minutes for Calares to drop everything he was doing, ensure he was presentable and make his way to Lelouch's house. Lelouch generally preferred working from his home, but he realized that that would have to change soon. The Viceroy's Palace was the center of government in Area Eleven and it was currently vacant. He had no intention of moving into Clovis' old residence, but that didn't mean he could simply move the administrative center into his own home. For one, it wasn't big enough. For two, there was no way in hell he was letting that many people into his home.

Being invited into his house was a unique and elite privilege. It signified at least a modicum of trust. It was not something he was about to extend to every ambitious politician and intern in the country.

He'd rather commute.

"Viceroy." Calares said as he was escorted into the room by Edith, bowing graciously as he stood a polite distance away from the table strewn with the playing cards Lelouch had entertained himself with for the last half hour. Then Calares caught sight of Gottwald seated comfortably at the table with Lelouch and his face tightened with nervous anxiety. "Margrave Gottwald."

"Come, join us, Lord Calares." Lelouch said pleasantly, sweeping the cards away from the vacant seat at the table and sending Edith for something stronger than tea.

To Calares' credit, he only sent Gottwald a single, almost questioning, glance before taking his place at the table and directing his entire attention towards Lelouch. But just because Calares didn't look at him, didn't mean that the man wasn't acutely aware of Gottwald's presence. Which was all he needed – a silent reminder that there were other people in Lelouch's entourage that were capable of doing his job.

In a way, Gottwald was Calares' predecessor and there were few things more unnerving than being brought face to face with your predecessor when you were still new to the job. Especially when that meeting happening to take place under the watchful stare of an Imperial prince. He felt a slight modicum of satisfaction when a thin sheen of sweat began to form on Calares' brow.

Edith returned with brandy and Lelouch forced down his distaste and the momentary flutter of nostalgia and hurt the liquor brought him because it reminded him of Clovis. Edith caught the look and smiled apologetically. Somehow he knew she'd never serve it to him again, so he reluctantly calmed himself and gestured to Gottwald to pour. He'd endure it for today.

"You wished to report to me, Lord Calares?" Lelouch asked after the necessary pleasantries were out of the way.

"I was operating under the assumption that Miss Cardston was reporting to you of my activities." The man replied carefully as he took a sip.

Well played. Calares was not a fool. Likely, he was more suited for the position of Viceroy than Lelouch was. He decided that if there was one good thing his heritage had going for him was that he was automatically put on the fast track towards positions of power. People would rather deal with royalty than nobility if only because it cut down on the confusion of loyalty.

As Schneizel had said once so many months ago, as a prince, he was an embodiement of the Empire. Therefore swearing loyalty to Lelouch as the Viceroy was less conflicting that swearing loyalty to some ambitious nobleman who'd managed to gain the Emperor's (or more likely Schneizel's) favor.

"Then you're content with the reports she forwarded to me? You have no concerns?" Lelouch asked.

Edith was in an immensely powerful position. She was his shield from the plethora of inane concerns that were forwarded to him. Lelouch only saw what Edith had deemed worthy of his attention. She filtered out the rest of the more bizarre and useless draws on his time in order to let him work efficiently. She had his trust and the world knew it. (That wasn't, of course, to say that he didn't check up on her from time to time.)

So nay-saying such a woman was a very dangerous gamble. Especially nay-saying her in front of her, because Lelouch knew (and most likely so did Calares) that Edith was waiting just outside the door like she always did and was likely listening intently to the conversation. If Calares had a valid complaint or an issue that Edith had deemed unworthy of reporting to him, it was a direct criticism of her work.

And antagonizing someone with so much power over an imperial prince's day to day decisions was not a very smart thing to do. At the same time, however, if Edith were corrupt and manipulating Lelouch as she saw fit, informing him was the right thing to do.

Lelouch smirked slightly, curious to see what the man would do. The way he saw it, there were three possibilities. Either Calares would attempt to discredit Edith in the hopes of filling the void her loss would cause, he would try to avoid antagonizing her, or he would act as though she and the massive amount of power she wielded didn't exist.

Calares hesitated before trudging forward, choosing to risk his position in an attempt to help the prince rather than cowering under the might of Edith's whispers. ". . . Britannian healthcare is slipping as a result of the relief efforts that were ordered into Shinjuku. A number of our doctors have been murdered by enraged Elevens after offering their aid and it's left a number of hospitals in the Settlement short staffed." Calares explained cautiously, watching for Lelouch's reaction. But Lelouch gave nothing away, face resolutely impassive. "Miss Cardston has insisted the relief efforts continue."

"And what do you think we should do about this?" Lelouch asked.

He'd been aware that a few of the medics that had been sent into Shinjuku had been attacked but had ordered Edith to continue giving aid. He hadn't been aware it was an ongoing problem. He wondered if he'd have to tour Shinjuku next in order to get his head around the true state of the ghetto. Looking back on it, it probably wasn't the smartest decision he could have made – sending unarmed doctors into a breeding ground of anti-Britannian sentiments – but he mollified himself slightly by reminding himself that he'd been high on painkillers at the time.

"I think we should withdraw our people from the ghettos. Humanitarian work is all well and good, but not when our own people are suffering as the result. A number of smaller clinics have had to close down due to a lack of practitioners. " Calares answered. "If you insist on keeping our doctors in the ghettos, at least rescind your order about letting soldiers enter the ghettos. Without protection, they're easy targets."

"No. I won't sent soldiers into Shinjuku." Lelouch said firmly. "But neither can I ignore the loss of Britannian medial professionals. We'll withdraw the doctors for now except for a half dozen medical camps along the border between Shinjuku and the Settlement. They'll fall under the protection of the Knight police still patrolling the area. If the Numbers want aid, they'll have to come to us to get it. Is that agreeable to you?"

"You are the Viceroy, your highness. You do not need my approval." Calares said tactfully.

"I am the Viceroy." He nodded. "And you are a man who's been active in politics since I was born."

Calares chuckled awkwardly. "Ah, not quite that long, your highness."

"I apologize. I didn't mean to offend you." Lelouch said with a small smile.

He decided that he liked Calares. Ambitious though the man may be, he was content with being Lelouch's second in matters of state. As far as he could tell, the man wasn't scheming or hoping to undermine anyone else's position. Of course, he was still new to the job. There was nothing saying that as soon as he was more comfortable and established that he wouldn't turn out to be a nuisance. But for now, Calares was in his good graces.

"I'm not offended. I'm honored you think so highly of my opinion." Calares said, flushing slightly.

"And that opinion regarding the matter we were just discussing is. . .?"

Calares hesitated before biting the bullet and answering. "I understand that you may wish to counter your more ruthless public image with humanitarian efforts such as sending aid to the Numbers, but I feel that it weakens the way the people think of you. Above all else, you cannot show the nobility your weakness. Because of your age, many will hope to manipulate and control you."

A scowl fell across Gottwald's face and he opened his mouth to criticize, but Lelouch cut him off. "I don't need sycophants, Gottwald. It's good for me to hear things like this."

"You're _not _weak, my prince." Gottwald persisted.

"That's not what he said. He said it was a weak move. From a purely Britannian standpoint, it is. However, you both need to understand that there are more than just Britannians living in this country. The Elevens outnumber us at least three to one. The current policy towards the Numbers creates a breeding ground for distension. And we wonder why terrorism is so bad here. I will not rule this county to the sole benefit of a minority."

He didn't blink, didn't shift, didn't flinch. It was imperative that this one idea be firmly implanted in their minds. This was what he was going to do. He'd already decided – providing of course that he could procure Suzaku's further cooperation. He'd be asking for a lot.

"But . . . the Emperor -"

"I will answer to the Emperor should he ever see the need to chastise my decisions." Lelouch cut Calares off.

In a way, discomfiting the Emperor was the point. But there were a variety of ways in which he could have aggravated the Emperor, many of which would have been easier than revolutionizing this country's social structure. He was going to rule this country as though he owned it – as though the Empire and the Emperor's biased Darwinism didn't exist.

Japan was his.

He watched Calares, fingers steepled on the table in front of him, waiting for a reaction. Waiting to see if his will was stronger than the conditioned responses the Emperor had ground into the Britannian people. It was a subtle rebellion (for now), but one Calares was bound to pick up. It was better to see whether the man could stomach opposition to the official Imperial stance now, rather than later when he and Schneizel began their coup.

Gottwald wouldn't be overly surprised by his intentions. In fact, ever since Clovis' funeral, he'd noticed a definite decline in the man's usual support for the Emperor. Maybe even from before that. He hadn't had to hear a single utterance about their 'glorious Emperor' since Shinjuku, even though research and combat footage revealed that it was one of the man's favorite catchphrases.

"I will follow your lead, Viceroy." Calares eventually said, slightly strained.

Uncertain, but not reluctant to change. Malleable. It would take some work, but Lelouch figured he'd still be able to mold the man into what he needed. "Good."

* * *

Suzaku had disappeared upstairs with both his and Lelouch's bags almost as soon as they were in the door in order to escape the withering looks Lelouch's Knight kept sending him. After four days of constant exposure to the man's ire, they'd gotten back to the house none too soon. His patience was beginning to slip and he'd been bound to make a mistake if he'd have been stuck with the cantankerous man for a few more days.

And he couldn't afford to make mistakes.

He put away his things, went for a shower, sent his laundry down to be washed and made his way to the kitchen to fix himself a thoroughly Britannian snack under the watchful eye of Samantha (the matronly head cook Lelouch had brought with him from Britannia). She didn't really like him – or rather, she didn't like to tolerate anyone else in her kitchen. Even Lelouch was subject to her supervision in the kitchen. Not that Lelouch usually spent much time in the kitchen himself. Mostly he sent people to bring his food to him.

Only after all of these tasks were completed did he finally get around to dragging Lelouch's duffel next door, intending to go through the same process of unpacking Lelouch's things. Not because he had to – he knew one of the maids would have gotten to it before Lelouch retired for the evening – but rather because he'd seen C.C. disappear in there earlier and he wanted to . . . check up on her.

"Of course it's nothing like that. Don't flatter yourself. Your genes aren't that desirable. . . He's safe. That's all that should concern you. After all, you forfeited that right." C.C.'s voice trickled out through the slightly ajar door, her tone somewhat annoyed.. "It's the same no matter how you justify it. . . No. . . I won't let him die. You know that. He's useful to me. Unlike you. Our contract . . ." She trailed off and then laughed at whoever she was speaking to on the phone.

But it was enough.

_"He's useful to me."_

The thought echoed in his mind. Lelouch was a pawn to this girl. She was _using _him. As incredible as it sounded, Lelouch had been trumped.

A part of him wanted to burst into the room and demand to know what she wanted from Lelouch before physically removing her from the house. He wanted to protect Lelouch. He'd do anything to protect Lelouch.

But he didn't want to touch her. He didn't want her to retaliate and use that bizarre power she'd displayed in Osaka on him. He'd be useless to Lelouch like that, unable to protect him at all. And who knew if the effect was permanent or not. He needed to be alert, for Lelouch's sake.

So instead, he slipped away from the door on silent feet and went downstairs, determined to talk Lelouch into kicking her out. He was probably the only one capable of doing it. If Lelouch knew she was using him, there was no way he'd let her stay. Lelouch wasn't a us_ee, _he was a us_er_ and wouldn't stand for it any other way.

His steps faltered for a moment as he considered that he himself was using Lelouch. But that was different. He actually cared for Lelouch. Lelouch was his best friend. And he knew that Lelouch wasn't actually letting Suzaku use him, so much as he was . . . benevolently promising to grant Suzaku's wish. The promise of Japan . . . it was a gift, not a payment. It was something Lelouch had decided to do because he wanted to, not because he felt obligated to repay Suzaku for services rendered.

He wasn't using Lelouch. Not like C.C. was.

He was stopped at the door to Lelouch's office by Edith. She stood silently next to the closed door, inputting data into her palm pilot. "Lelouch is in a meeting with Lord Calares." She whispered to him quietly so as not to disturb the voices within. "You'll have to wait to see him."

And indeed he could hear the muffled voice of Lelouch coming through the door although he couldn't hear what was being said.

So he waited . . . and waited. . . and stood next to Edith for two hours and fifteen minutes – too stubborn to let the matter drop or let himself get distracted and bring it up later. Lelouch would know how serious he was about this, by this act of waiting alone. Lelouch would understand and, with luck, Lelouch would actually listen to him for once and kick C.C. out.

"Edith, please see Lord Calares out." Lelouch called from behind the door, loud enough for the sound to transfer through the thick wood. She moved immediately to comply, opening the door to greet the man Lelouch had decided to use as a mouthpiece with a small, courteous bow.

"Please follow me, my lord." She said – the complete epitome of docile servility that was so incongruous with her true character. She didn't even bow to Lelouch.

He waited for them to leave, bowing slightly to Lord Calares as he passed - but not far enough to miss the slightly questioning glance the noble sent his way - before turning into the room with a slightly aggravated sigh and no knock.

"Well that took you long enough, you workaholic." He criticized, then froze upon seeing Lord Gottwald seated at the table next to Lelouch scowling at him. Edith hadn't said that Lord Gottwald was also there. He'd assumed the man had gone home like everyone else.

"Learn your place, boy!" The Knight snarled at him, rising from his seat.

Learn his place, indeed. He couldn't count how many times he'd been told that – couldn't remember how many times the idea had been beaten into him.

"I apologize, my lord." He said quickly then, because it would likely stoke the man's ego more than a simple salute, he bowed. "I was rude. It won't happen again."

"You can go, Gottwald." Lelouch said sharply, voice cutting through the tension.

"Of course, my prince." Lord Gottwald said, briefly bowing to the prince before sending Suzaku one last withering look and excusing himself.

"Don't ever bow to him in front of me again, Suzaku." Lelouch said firmly, almost as soon as Gottwald had crossed the threshold.

Suzaku waited an appropriate amount of time for the man to be out of earshot before saying anything. "I _still_ don't understand why you made him your Knight of Honor. There were other candidates that would have been better."

"Such as?" Lelouch asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"The Captain." He answered immediately. His respect for Zimmerman had done nothing but grow over the last few days. He genuinely liked the man. "He's an Ace and knows how to fight without a weapon and without a Knightmare. And he's loyal to you. He'd definitely protect you, even if it meant putting his life in danger."

For a long time, Lelouch just stared at him, his expression giving absolutely nothing away. Then he chuckled and smirked. "Do you know, Suzaku, that you just described yourself? Every virtue you just attributed to an ideal Knight was one that you possessed."

He hated when Lelouch did this. He felt like the rug had just been jerked from under his feet. "W-what?" He faltered. Was Lelouch trying to imply . . . that he? That he wanted to be . . . "Don't be stupid! I was just saying that Captain Zimmerman would make a better Knight of Honor."

"As good a Knight as you would, you mean." Lelouch said carelessly.

"You know I'm not even eligible." He growled in return.

_No one_ would accept a Number as a Knight of Honor. It would probably be the biggest scandal in the history of Britannia.

"Are you saying you wish you were?" Lelouch asked, expression suddenly serious as he rose gracefully from his seat to come face to face with Suzaku.

Suzaku noted briefly that his heart was suddenly hammering in his chest with the onslaught of adrenaline, but he couldn't fathom why. They were just talking. They were just talking and Lelouch was just being stupid and making a joke. That was all.

"Don't be dumb." He breathed.

"Suzaku, there's almost nothing I would deny you if you asked me for it. Japan. The Lancelot. . . Even Knighthood." Lelouch said softly.

_Even Knighthood_.

His breath caught in his throat. Lelouch couldn't be serious. This was a joke. A severely twisted and not particularly funny joke. Lelouch was just toying with him. Like that time they'd been children and Lelouch had told him that the Easter bunny would come back the night after Easter and take his ears if he didn't give half of his chocolates to the first girl he saw Easter morning.

He'd known it had been ridiculous even then. But he'd humored Lelouch and given Nunnally his chocolate anyway. He always humored Lelouch and his bad sense of taste when it came to jokes. And this was just the same. Just another bad joke. Another round of the game they had begun when they were children, each striving for dominance over the other.

He just had to _ask_.

He just had to play along and ask. He'd already sacrificed what little pride he'd had left to Lelouch. Asking him for things didn't really phase him. Just ask, show Lelouch he was still in control and then watch as his friend laughed and made some kind of sarcastic comment about how very ambitious and presumptuous he was.

Because that was what was going to happen. That was the only thing that _could_ happen. Because no one would really knight a Number. Not even Lelouch. And even if he wanted to, he couldn't because invitations had already been sent to every important person in the country and an announcement had been made declaring that Lord Gottwald would be knighted in only a few days. So he knew that this was all just a joke.

He wondered if he should bow sarcastically while he did it, but one glance at Lelouch's face told him not to. Lelouch had just spend over two hours sequestered away with Lord Calares – a man almost twice his age with vastly more experience. He didn't necessarily blame him for wanting some reassurance of his own authority.

And Suzaku had agreed to become Lelouch's whipping boy the day of his court martial.

"Yes." He said, knowing Lelouch well enough to know that it wouldn't satisfy. But Lelouch didn't like to win too easily.

"If you want something from me, you have to ask, Suzaku."

He swallowed back his smile. Lelouch would also have to work for his victory. "Yes, I wanted to be your Knight. But you've already chosen and told everyone that you'll be knighting Lord Gottwald."

"Every King in chess had two Knights." Lelouch said simply.

"But there are no witnesses." He pointed out. Part of him knew he'd never be able to win an argument with Lelouch, but that didn't stop him from trying. It never had.

"Edith." Lelouch called and, to his horror, the woman stepped quietly into the room. She'd come back after seeing Lord Calares out, obviously. But suddenly he didn't want to do this.

It was one thing to play along with Lelouch's joke when it was just the two of them. But to do this in front of someone else. He was being impertinent. If it hadn't been Lelouch, anyone else would have likely beat the crap out of him for even breathing a desire to become a Knight of Honor. Even if it was secretly true.

Lelouch was the only one he'd told about his ambitions for the Rounds. And now this. Edith was going to think he was only using Lelouch – that he was coldly ambitious and would do what he needed to to get what he wanted. And he wasn't like that at all.

"Kneel."

He stared back at Lelouch, wide-eyed and gaping and he was sure his friend saw his shock. He felt himself sinking, unconsciously following Lelouch's order as his mind still tried to make sense of the situation. Because this was where the joke had to end. It _couldn't_ go any further. They would both be in trouble if he let this continue.

He opened his mouth to stop Lelouch, but that wasn't 'Lelouch' anymore. That was the Prince staring down at him and somehow he'd missed the transition. Somehow he'd walked into this trap without ever realizing it.

"Lelouch -" He protested.

"Suzaku Kururugi, I, Lelouch vi Britannia, convey upon you the title Knight of Honor of Britannia and sworn vassal of the vi Britannia house." Lelouch said firmly in that imperious tone he hated so much before raising his hand and brushing a finger against each of Suzaku's shoulders.

Each touch settled over him like a weight and he couldn't move, couldn't breath – couldn't do anything but stare at Lelouch in shock and horror. Because Lelouch had actually done it. He'd actually gone through with it and it was too late now for Lelouch to laugh and make fun of him because there had been a witness. Edith had seen this . . . this travesty. He couldn't take it back.

"Rise, Sir Suzaku Kururugi." Lelouch said, but he couldn't. He couldn't do it. He couldn't move. He couldn't even think – mind whiting out around the edges at the sound of his new title. This was so far past impertinent it wasn't even funny. "My Knight . . ." Lelouch said affectionately and suddenly he wasn't the Prince anymore. He was just 'Lelouch' and Suzaku was angry.

"You _idiot_." He hissed as he began to feel his eyes well up with tears. "You stupid -" But he couldn't even think of a word to describe him. He'd spent years perfecting himself – making sure he'd never make a mistake. And here Lelouch had made him make probably the worst mistake possible. He was going to be lynched for this. And Lelouch would be lucky to escape the fallout of this unscathed too. "I can't be your Knight."

Then Lelouch was kneeling on the ground in front of him with something like remorse burning in his amethyst eyes. "I'm sorry. When I first made you swear yourself to me, I told myself I wouldn't use you like this, but I did anyway. You're my equal Suzaku."

He shook his head to deny it. Maybe in private they were equals, but he was a Number and Lelouch was a prince. The public outrage such a sentiment would cause . . .

"You're the equivalent of a prince to the Japanese, but this is the highest I can elevate you. We've always been able to do anything we put our minds to if we worked together. Be my Knight and I swear, Suzaku, that I'll make this country as much like it used to be as possible. I will make it better than it is now."

He was still having a hard time breathing – thinking – but Lelouch was asking him now and it wasn't a joke. Lelouch actually wanted him to be his Knight. Lelouch wanted his help, as absurd as it sounded.

And secretly it was the excuse he'd been hoping for. Never again would he be separated from his childhood friend. In some primal, unconscious part of his mind, he knew he'd always been afraid they were going to be separated again. Afraid that Lelouch was going to send him away and abandon him again. It was the reason he'd let Lelouch win and own him.

As his Knight of Honor, he'd always have an excuse to stand next to Lelouch. He'd be _allowed_ to be Lelouch's friend. Allowed to support him wholeheartedly.

He nodded slowly.

"Then I have an order for you, Suzaku." Lelouch said quietly. "You will _never _sacrifice yourself for me. I won't watch you die for me again."

"Lelouch, that's the entire point of -"

"No. I have Gottwald to act as my human shield."

Gottwald . . . he could only imagine how well the other Knight was going to take this news.

"Yes . . . my prince." He agreed reluctantly, trying out the honorific. He'd protect Lelouch. He didn't care what Lelouch had to say about it, but there was no point in arguing about an eventuality that might never occur.

Lelouch snorted and pushed himself to his feet, nonchalantly brushing off the knees of his pants. "Get up, Suzaku. You don't belong at my feet."

He did as he was told, rising stiffly to his feet, before catching movement out of the corner of his eyes and remembering that Edith was still there – witnessing all of this messed up drama. He hesitated then glanced towards her, preparing himself to meet her scornful glare. But she smiled at him instead, eyes full of nothing but support.

He glanced away, unsure how to respond.

"Suzaku, don't tell anyone about this yet. I want it to be a surprise." Lelouch added, as if Suzaku were about to go brag about this to everyone. He'd be the last person to mention this of his own volition. He knew well enough how people would respond to a Number reaching so far beyond their station.

"Sure." He muttered, still out of sorts. He really had no idea how he was going to get away with this.

* * *

AN: :D

No, it's not that I just couldn't decide which one would make a better Knight. This has been planned since the beginning and it does have relevance to the plot and the political stance Lelouch is going to take.

Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I wrote it instead of studying for my final exam on Tuesday. ^.^ (also instead of packing to move at the end of the month. I'll let the bf do that :D)

Don't forget to review. I love hearing from you.

Allora


	54. Chapter 54

Chapter 54

Lelouch covered a yawn as he climbed into one of his least flashy vehicles (still dignified and black but not nearly as much of a draw of attention as some of the others), followed by Edith and Gottwald. His Royal Guard would be discreetly following in their civilian vehicles so that they could be close at hand should anything attempt to threaten him. The Knight Police were also on standby.

All so that Lelouch could commute to work and keep something like regular office hours at the Viceroy's Palace.

A part of him felt bad for all the trouble. It would have been much easier if he'd just moved into Clovis' old quarters, but he refused. He'd grown rather fond of the villa that Edith had picked out for him and, as the address wasn't openly advertised anywhere, it was somewhat safer.

"You look exhausted, your highness. Perhaps you should take the day off." Gottwald suggested carefully.

He _was_ exhausted. He'd been greeted the morning after his return from Osaka with a private tutor (courtesy of Schneizel) and an order to finish his schooling. So now, along with running a country and hunting terrorists, he also had to study to complete his secondary education. Mornings as the Viceroy, afternoons as the Wolf of Britannia and evenings as . . . a student.

Not that he didn't understand Schneizel's reasoning – no one was gong to take a high school drop out seriously – but he could really think of about a dozen better uses for his time than studying the subjects he should have been learning at Ashford. Every time he opened a book he felt a slight pang for the life that had been ripped from him by Clovis and the Emperor. Lelouch Lamprouge was dead – he knew that. But sometimes he couldn't help but long for the way things used to be.

Thankfully, however, this torture would be over soon. He wasn't required to go through all of the classes. He would challenge the exams in a week and wash his hands of the educational system (at least until Schneizel decided he needed a university degree).

"Being a politician is about responsibility. If I can't even be relied upon to be in my office when I'm supposed to be, it suggests I'm not particularly suited to the job. I have enough counting against me as is, I won't let my behavior hinder me as well."

"But don't wear yourself out, Lelouch." Edith warned. "You were still studying at two this morning."

"It's only for another week or so." Lelouch shrugged, leaning back in his seat as he watched the scenery slide by. "And I'm taking the night off tomorrow to prepare for the knighting ceremony. And the day after that we'll all be celebrating Gottwald's knighting. I'll consider that a break from my studies. All things considered, graduating high school is the least of my concerns right now. Though if I were forced to take the test today, I'm sure I'd be able to pass. Nothing I've covered so far has been new to me."

Edith chuckled softly. "So Shirley wasn't kidding when she said you were a genius that had just never tried in school."

"At that time, it wasn't beneficial for me to let myself stand out." He answered easily before changing the subject. If he was up, there was no reason he couldn't work in the car. "Edith, you offered that incentive for doctors to move to the Toyko Settlement, didn't you?"

"Yes, there's been quite a bit of interest too." Edith answered, then frowned. "And I apologize for not bringing that matter to your attention. There's no excuse for having to have Lord Calares -"

He held up a hand to stop her, aware that she'd continue reprimanding herself even without his encouragement. "It's fine, Edith. The matter has been resolved."

He moved on, changing the topic to the issues he'd be dealing with today instead of giving Edith another chance to beat herself up. Given the opportunity, he knew she'd agonize over the mistake even longer than she already had. It had been three days since Calares had mentioned the problem with the Britannian healthcare and she still hadn't let up on herself.

They were almost halfway to the Viceroy's Palace when the heavy crack of a bullet impacting with the bulletproof glass of the vehicle's rear window spurred Gottwald into motion. One moment, Lelouch was safely belted into his seat and the next he found himself squished on the floor behind the driver's seat with Edith's high heel digging into his thigh and Gottwald hovering over them.

He caught sight of the spider-webbed window and was intensely grateful that all of his vehicles had undergone special upgrades for his protection. He'd have been dead if it had been regular glass. As it was, the vehicle swerved violently out of control as one of it's tires was hit by a second bullet and Edith came dangerously close to castrating him with her shoe. His hand clamped around her ankle before it could get any closer to anything critical as he heard the first shots of return fire from his Royal Guard.

"Are you alright, my prince?" Gottwald demanded, balancing on one arm as he freed his gun from it's holster.

"I'm fine." He answered gruffly, reaching for the radio that would connect him with his Royal Guard.

"Was Lelouch hit?" Hector demanded frantically, voice glaringly loud in the confines of the car.

"I'm fine." He repeated. "How many are there? Is it just a sniper?" He asked.

"No." Hector answered a moment later, the sound of Roy cursing in the background more than audible. "Not sure how many there are yet. Some are in the vehicles around us and they've barricaded off the side roads. They're actually organized this time. It's nothing like Osaka."

"Where are the Knight Police?" He demanded, annoyed by the rhythmic jostling of the vehicle as Samson continued to escape. The man was a professional driver and knew better to stop in the middle of an attack. He was glad he didn't need instructions.

There was silence over the radio for a moment, punctuated only by the mad flurry of the fire fight going on outside the vehicle before Hector responded. "They're moving away. The Kenshiki just bombed one of the buildings at the hospital and have taken all of the patients and doctors of one of the wards hostage."

"What do you mean -" He demanded harshly, but at that moment Edith's phone started ringing. He cursed under his breath.

_This _was the kind of chaos he'd been expecting from the Kenshiki in Osaka. This was precise and efficient and just as ruthless as he'd expected of them. They were drawing away his support before he could even call it – testing him, he realized. Overwhelming him. Either he would sacrifice the hostages to protect himself, or he would allow the Knight Police to do their job and save the hostages while letting himself get shot all to hell. Either way, they won.

He wished he hadn't left Adrian and the majority of the ATTF in Osaka.

He reached into Edith's purse, heedless of the social transgression, and pulled out the phone, holding it to his ear for all of five seconds in order to confirm that what Hector had just said was true before hanging up on the man.

He'd let the Knight Police do what they needed to. He called for reinforcements from the military instead.

There was another hail of bullets impacting with the side of the vehicle and he assumed they'd just passed one of the Kenshiki's barricades. He wondered just how many people had joined the Kenshiki. He'd been under the impression that the majority of the Eleven's didn't agree with the radical stance the Kenshiki had taken. But, he supposed, there were always zealots and all it took was a call to war to get them to crawl out of the woodwork.

His musings were cut off as the vehicle lost control. There was a moment of whirling weightlessness before Edith collided with his chest, Gottwald was pushing them back down and they impacted with something hard enough to crumple the door he was leaning against. Pain shot through his still-healing shoulder and all along his spine, but otherwise he was alright. Lucky, he decided, as he examined the state of the door.

"Edith?" He asked, breaking the sudden shocked stillness of the vehicle.

"I'm okay." She whimpered, which meant she was obviously hurt. But she was alive, which was all he really cared about at the moment.

"Gottwald?"

"No need to worry about me, your highness." His Knight assured him, even despite the blood Lelouch could see trickling down his temple. He realized then that the side window had shattered in the crash and that Gottwald's body shielding him was likely the only thing stopping a stray bullet from hitting him at the moment. Though they would have to be very lucky indeed to get a shot in there at the moment. Through the window behind Gottwald's head he could see the clear, blue morning sky. The car must have rolled.

"Samson?" He called a little louder, but got no reply.

His driver was incapacitated, if not dead, in the middle of an ambush, his car was totaled and his Royal Guard was outnumbered.

There was a screech of tires as Roy parked the beater of a car he'd bought in front of Lelouch's now vulnerable vehicle and Lelouch heard the distinct sound of a helicopter circling above. He caught a glimpse of it through the window a moment later, and almost groaned.

It was kind of pathetic that the first people to rush to the scene were reporters. It was a news helicopter, and likely didn't even have a single weapon on board. Even if they did it was unlikely they would use it. Live footage of a prince's murder would be the story of a lifetime.

A spike of fear shot through him. He was probably going to be killed. His death would be plastered all over the news. He'd die without accomplishing any of his goals and not even Geass could save him this time. And Nunnally would have to hear about it from the news in a dispassionate diatribe about the state of the country.

No.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself not to panic and to think. He needed to turn this around. He needed to think. He wasn't completely helpless here. What were his assets?

Assets.

He snapped open the phone again (somehow he'd managed to keep a hold of it during the crash) and dialed the first number that came to him, holding it up to his ear. Asplund had finished installing the ejection system in the Lancelot and von Hoffman had given it the okay yesterday. Suzaku had been requested for live field testing to make sure there were no glitches in the machine's performance.

"Lelouch?" Suzaku answered after the second ring. He'd insisted Suzaku keep his phone on him at all times, even when piloting.

"Are you in the Lancelot right now?" He demanded, forgoing a greeting.

"Yes, we were just about to start. Is that gunfire?" Suzaku exclaimed. "Where are you?"

"Near the overpass on St. Darwin Boulevard." Lelouch informed him succinctly. "Hurry."

"That's not too far away. I'll be there in ten minutes max." Suzaku promised. "Don't die before then."

"I'll try." Lelouch replied wryly, despite the repeated clanging of bullets impacting with his and Roy's vehicles and the bark of his Royal Guard's return fire.

The phone snapped shut and he glanced up at Gottwald, still bracing himself between the seats and the roof, noticing that there was a fairly significant about of blood soaking through the collar of the white dress shirt of his Knight's uniform.

"Were you shot?" Lelouch asked, insides coiling in guilt as the images of both Suzaku and C.C. throwing themselves in front of a bullet for him surfaced in his mind. Of that blood. Of their sacrifices.

And for a moment he felt horrifically monstrous for what he'd done to Gottwald – for the way he'd turned the man into nothing more than a sheep waiting to be led to slaughter. A sacrifice on the altar of his own mighty ego.

"No." Gottwald answered, shifting slightly to keep himself balanced above he and Edith. "It was glass from the window."

Lelouch hesitated and glanced away, unable to look at the man at that moment – to see the utter lack of doubt in the man's gaze. Gottwald would die for him and would likely grin while doing it.

"Don't . . . don't feel the need to get your punishment out of the way too soon." He said because, for once, his eloquent tongue had left him and he couldn't muster the humility to say something more compassionate.

But Gottwald would probably understand.

* * *

Suzaku had been looking forward to the utter mindlessness testing the Lancelot would have granted him. For a few hours, he'd have been able to just sink himself into his work – into controls and trajectories and maximum outputs – and forget about his impending Knighthood. In two day's time he would be knighted in front of hundreds of Britannian nobles and dozens of video cameras that would be broadcasting the entire damned affair across the entire Empire. And then he would have to weather the disdainful mingling of said nobles at the party Lelouch was planning to celebrate the event and formally introduce them to society. Separating the chaff from the wheat, Lelouch had said – whatever that meant.

It was what he'd wanted though. To show the Britannians that not all of the Elevens were hellbent on terrorism. That cooperation was possible.

He just wished he wasn't risking getting Lelouch into so much trouble over it.

It he'd been being knighted as a Knight of the Round, it would have been different. There wasn't a single person in the Empire that could nay say the Emperor's choice and get away with it. But Lelouch didn't have that luxury. Lelouch was answerable to the Emperor and, if he wasn't mistaken, to the Prime Minister as well. He doubted either one of them would be impressed by Lelouch's choice.

The more the thought about it, the more he was convinced that he should have just kept his mouth shut. Lord Gottwald was a superb Knight (personality issues notwithstanding). He was everything Suzaku was not and he was someone the Britannian people would love. Knights of Honor were practically celebrities in Britannia – at least as much as the royal family was.

It was going to be his fault.

Lelouch was currently one of Britannia's favorite royals. After his victory in Area Eighteen and the rumor that had been circulating that he'd been shot trying to protect Clovis (untrue, but the people didn't know that), it put him right up there in the ranking as probably the third most popular of the royal children - right behind the Prime Minister and the Chief General. The Britannian people loved him and Lelouch benefited from that adoration.

He was going to lose that position and all of the popular support that came with it the second Suzaku stepped up to be knighted. He could just imagine it now, the shocked silence followed by the angry jeers. Walking next to Lelouch at his court martial would be nothing in comparison.

But there was nothing he could do about it. Lelouch had made up his mind and he knew better than anyone that nothing he said would change that. Lelouch was stubborn and once he'd decided to do something, he did it. It was as simple as that.

All of these musings were forgotten however, when Lelouch called him, barely audible over the sound of gunfire in the background. At that point, it didn't matter whether or not he was suitable to be Lelouch's Knight. The only thing that mattered was that Lelouch was in danger and that he was in the Lancelot.

He had the power to protect Lelouch and he would use it.

He launched, heedless of the fact that Lloyd was still imputing the last finishing touches into the software that connected the Lancelot to their van's monitoring station. He couldn't afford to waste seconds, let alone the minutes it would take for Lloyd to finish.

"Kururugi! Where are you going? This is becoming an annoying habit of yours." Lloyd protested, his face coming up in the corner of the Lancelot's HUD.

"I'm sorry, but my first loyalty is to my prince. He's being attacked." He answered before cutting off his communications with the A.S.E.E.C. and pushing the Lancelot to it's maximum speed right off the bat.

He hadn't actually piloted the Lancelot except in a simulation since Shinjuku. It seemed faster than he remembered, but that could have simply been because he'd only been being kept alive by stimulants at that time and his memories of that fight with the terrorists were more than a little foggy.

In any case, whether it was a figment of his imagination or if the Lancelot really was faster now (though he couldn't see how, what with the added weight of the ejection system), he was just grateful the Lancelot was fast.

Fast enough to clear the twenty blocks of congested morning traffic to where Lelouch was in seven and a half minutes, even though he'd left a swath of public damages in his wake. He didn't care. They could take the cost of the repairs out of his paychecks for the rest of his life for all he cared. So long as he made it to Lelouch in time.

He ended up jumping the traffic more often than not, his slash harkens leaving ugly scars on many of downtown's beautiful streamlined buildings as he spidermaned his way over intersections. He could tell the second he got close to where Lelouch was. Traffic had ground to a halt, cars honking impatiently at those ahead of them, not knowing what the hold up was.

Another magnificent leap, harkens plunging into a skyscraper's concrete support to propel him over the mass of vehicles in his way before he saw Lelouch's car – crashed and resting on one side with the wheels still spinning uselessly – hidden behind the car Roy and Hector had been driving (riddled full of bullet holes with the two Royal Guards using it for cover).

The Lancelot landed heavily enough to crack the pavement and stagger the group of terrorists that had been advancing on the flipped car. He caught movement on the corner of his screen and realized it was movement coming from within Lelouch's car.

His heart dropped into his stomach. Lelouch was still in there.

"Lelouch?" He demanded, fingers flying over the controls to connect him to the same frequency as the Royal Guard. "Was Lelouch hurt? Why's he still in there?" He demanded in rapid fire, uncaring that he was breaking all kinds of protocol at the moment.

"He's fine. More importantly, you want to take care of these guys for us?" Zimmerman asked, his tone only slightly clipped, but mostly filled with relief.

"Okay. I'll cover you. Get him out of there."

"There's a sniper too." Zimmerman informed him.

Suzaku blinked in surprise. At least that explained why Lelouch hadn't removed himself from the wreckage. If he could remove himself, he thought worriedly.

"Save me one for interrogation purposes." Lelouch said coldly and Suzaku knew without thinking that this was the Wolf of Britannia, not the prince or the Viceroy or his childhood friend. That voice on the radio was the one who had killed a thousand people in Area Eighteen – the one who had mercilessly pulled the trigger on the truck driving terrorist in Shinjuku. Probably the same one who had pulled the trigger on Prince Clovis too.

Part of him balked at the unspoken order – the assumption that he was going to kill them. He hated killing. Above all else, he hated killing. Hated the rush of power and adrenaline. Hated the feeling of _life_ slipping through his fingers (sticky and crimson with his father disbelievingly staring down at him). He tried to avoid it. He thought he'd done a rather good job of it so far. He never shot to kill, he always aimed to incapacitate only – even if he knew his target was going to die anyway (and part of him thought this was cowardice – a balm to his own conscience so that he blindly didn't have to see that their deaths were his fault anyway).

But . . .

He would die to protect Lelouch. He had died to protect Lelouch and he would do it again in a heartbeat (orders from Lelouch or no). But more importantly . . . he would kill to protect Lelouch.

He didn't let himself feel as he reached for the MVS's (which Lloyd had promised him had been fixed). If he was going to do this, if he was going to dirty his hands in a one-sided massacre, he might as well do it in a method he was familiar with.

There would be plenty of time for retching later.

Plenty of time to regret what he was about to do – to agonize over what he could have done differently. To wonder if there was a way that he could have let them live. He'd have all the time in the world to feel his guilt for this (because there wasn't even a chance that his life was about to come into danger from these terrorists – not when he was in the Lancelot), but not now.

Because right now, they were trying to kill Lelouch. And he most emphatically would not let that happen. He would never let that happen.

It was too easy when he did it – when he moved forward and commit an atrocity in Lelouch's name. Just as it had been too easy when he'd killed his father. Just as it had been every other time he'd been forced to kill. He supposed the only good thing was that it was quick and final. The Maser Vibration Swords had been made for anti-Knightmare or anti-vehicular combat. They could cut through reinforced Knightmare armor like butter. Human flesh didn't stand a chance. They died in an instant.

It was only a matter of minutes before only a single man was left cowering on his knees in the center of a group of corpses. He'd looked like the one who had been giving orders to the others, so it was likely that he knew the most information that Lelouch would want. He used the blaze luminous to shield the man in case the sniper got any ideas before reaching down and _very_ carefully plucking the man up with the Lancelot's fingers.

Reinforcements from the military arrived a moment later, cordoning off the area and forming a shield around Lelouch's vehicle as they sent out scouts for a sniper that was either hidden very well or already long gone. In any case, it was all over then.

He breathed a sigh of relief, turning the Lancelot away from all of the carnage he'd wrought as he tried not to think about blood and bone stuck in the small vibrating bits of his swords (and how impressed Lloyd would be with him when he had to clean it). He didn't want to think about that. He just needed to think about Lelouch and the fact that he was still alive.

"Lelouch?" He asked tentatively into the radio, terrorist still squirming in the Lancelot's grip.

"Thank you, Suzaku." Lelouch replied and sounded genuinely relieved. "Stay in your cockpit for now. The media's still circling around overhead and we need to get to the hospital."

He nodded. It made sense that Lelouch didn't want anyone to see an Eleven piloting a Knightmare – especially not the same Eleven who had so recently been accused of murder. He didn't want to draw any more attention to himself than necessary, especially with his knighting ceremony coming up.

"How badly are you hurt?" He asked, dreading the answer. If Lelouch was asking to go to the hospital . . .

"I'm fine. A little bruised, but otherwise okay. Edith broke her wrist and Gottwald is bleeding all over me, but they'll both be okay." Lelouch answered. "More importantly, the Kenshiki have made a move in Tokyo. The hospital's been bombed and they've taken hostages."

He felt a little sick. The hospital? God damn the Kenshiki all to hell. What did they hope to accomplish by doing something like that? They were just making the situation worse. And on top of that, they'd just tried to kill Lelouch. He felt his tightly reined in anger surge. He couldn't forgive them.

He glanced down at the terrorist still held between the Lancelot's massive fingers and fought the urge to squeeze. Holding something as fragile as a human with a Knightmare was a very delicate process. Plenty of pilots would have lacked the control to keep from crushing the man. He could pretend he slipped.

. . . But Lelouch wanted him alive.

He surrendered the terrorist to the military as Lelouch gave them orders to keep the man alive and intact for the time being. That didn't mean they wouldn't hurt him and warring parts of him felt simultaneously pleased and sickened by the thought.

Lelouch commandeered a Sutherland from one of the reinforcements. Gottwald refused medical aid and did the same while Edith and Lelouch's driver were taken for treatment at the military hospital on the base.

He thought it was strange, looking at that Sutherland and knowing it was Lelouch inside that was making it move. Then he wondered why he thought it was strange. Lelouch's mother had been the original Knightmare pilot and her son had obviously inherited some of her skills. He was a better pilot that Suzaku had expected (somehow he'd considered that KMF piloting would fall into the same category as everything else physical that Lelouch was less than stellar at).

"Been a while, huh?" Roy snickered as Lelouch's machine went through a few short movements, as though familiarizing himself with the controls.

"After piloting every day for a few months, not being in one for almost a month does feel a little strange." Lelouch admit. "But I'm sure I'll still be a match for the Kenshiki."

* * *

Jeremiah had had a lot of long days in his lifetime. This one probably ranked in the top ten. Though it definitely didn't beat out the day when Lelouch had been shot in Shinjuku, it was a close second.

For hours, he'd sat in mute anxiety, desiring nothing more than to find a doctor to check the prince over. Just because he wasn't bleeding and didn't have any readily apparent broken bones didn't mean he wasn't in pain. He'd seen how hard the boy had hit the door when the car had crashed, not to mention how hard his assistant had collided into him.

By the time they'd arrived at the hospital, the terrorists had already withdrawn, hostages slaughtered like sheep. Jeremiah thought it likely that the sniper from the crash had warned them of the assassination attempt's failure. Had he been a terrorist, an irate prince who'd just had his life threatened was probably the last person he'd want to go up against. Especially if said prince had set a precedent for attaining almost impossible victories.

Of course, Prince Lelouch refused to believe that they were truly gone until every nook and cranny of the entire multi-building complex (including the ventilation systems) had been searched to make sure the Kenshiki's retreat wasn't a mere feint. But, after a four and a half hour search by almost a hundred Knight Police, they found that the Kenshiki really had all withdrawn on that single helicopter that had escaped from the hospital's roof.

They'd returned to the Tokyo Base in mid-afternoon, Kururugi taking his flashy Knightmare back to it's makers as the rest of them were (finally!) brought in for medical attention. He waited until he was sure the prince was seen to, batting away insistent physicians, before finally succumbing and allowing them to put four stitches into the gash on the back of his neck.

Prince Lelouch was badly bruised, the mottling of black and purple tender spots visible momentarily as the prince had changed uniforms, but otherwise unharmed. It was a miracle Jeremiah was intensely grateful for.

"Where was that terrorist taken?" Prince Lelouch asked coldly once he was dressed in the uniform denoting his official military rank.

"Ah, he's in interrogation room B-1, my lord." A nervous guard answered from the door.

The prince nodded his thanks before sweeping out of the room, strides steady and purposeful enough to keep all of the concerned officers in the building from interrupting his advance. The prince had already been stopped by a half dozen or so officers with none-too-subtle questions about the attack. He'd ignored them all in favor of searching for a clean uniform that wasn't covered in blood.

The untouchable facade faltered, however, as they turned into the corridor hosting interrogation room B-1 to find C.C. waiting there. Jeremiah's eyes narrowed in suspicion as the prince tensed.

"What the hell -" Lelouch began, but cut off as the girl angrily stalked forward and passed him.

"You!" C.C. growled, index finger jabbing Jeremiah painfully in the chest as he stared down at the impetuous girl. "You can't even get him to work safely? Lelouch almost died. Do I have to do your job for you?"

"C.C." The prince snarled, grabbing her firmly by the wrist and jerking her away from him. But the damage had already been done and the words had hurt more than anything else she could have done to him (including that bizarre episode she'd instigated in Osaka). His prince had almost died. He had almost failed again.

It was only thanks to Kururugi's intervention that Prince Lelouch was alive at all. He was uncertain that he and the Royal Guard would have been able to simultaneously protect the prince and dispose of his enemies. It was a hard pill to swallow.

"Jeremiah's performance today was exemplary. You have no grounds for criticism." The prince said sharply.

"Oh, so it's 'Jeremiah' now?" C.C. asked, arching one eyebrow mockingly.

He hadn't missed the slip either. It was the first time the prince had ever called him by just his given name. He wondered if this meant the boy was beginning to forgive him – to accept him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" The prince demanded instead of rising to the bait.

"I'm here for you. Obviously." C.C. answered, sliding back into the expressionless mask she so often wore. "It's bad for me if you die."

"Your concern is duly noted." The prince sighed sarcastically. "Now go home."

"We're accomplices, Lelouch." C.C. stated blandly, staring at the prince undaunted. "Don't forget that."

"Yes, so help me by staying out of my way and going home. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a terrorist to interrogate." Prince Lelouch said sharply.

But predictably, the stubborn girl didn't move, hands on her hips as she planted herself directly in the doorway of interrogation room B-1. The two glared at each other for a moment but, just when Jeremiah was about to move forward and physically remove her from the prince's path, Lelouch shook his head and sighed.

"I don't have time for this. Suit yourself." The boy grumbled before straightening his shoulders and gesturing for the girl to open the door.

Jeremiah followed them in, through the observation room and into interrogation to find the terrorist in considerably less pristine shape than he'd been in earlier. Someone had worked him over, eyes almost swollen shut, nose broken and lips split and bloodied.

That didn't, of course, mean that the bastard was any less proud. The Eleven straightened up as they entered, gazing at them each in turn through squinted eyes before focusing on the prince.

"Fuck you, you god damn Britannian bastard." The terrorist hissed from where he was handcuffed to his seat.

"Let's not be difficult." Lelouch said as he gracefully sat himself across from the man. C.C. mutely perched herself on the edge of the table as Jeremiah stood stiffly behind the prince's chair. "Tell me what I want to know and I might even be persuaded to let you go."

"Lying asshole. I'll be as difficult as I damned well please. And I'm not telling you shit." The man snarled.

Prince Lelouch leaned forward, a dangerous smirk on his lips. "Is that a Kenshiki catchphrase? Your comrade in Osaka said the same thing."

There was a long silence as the terrorist refused to give in to the prince's goading. This man was, apparently, not as hot tempered as his ally in Osaka had been.

"Gottwald." The prince said after a moment.

"My prince?" He asked, stepping forward, ready to hurt the terrorist until he squealed. He had practice, after all. He cracked his knuckles first before smirking.

"Leave."

He froze, eyes widening in surprise. "Pardon?"

"You heard me. Leave. That is an order. I can question this man on my own." The prince replied succinctly.

"I -" He cut himself off. What could he possibly say? It was an order and he was bound by oath to follow all of the prince's orders. ". . . of course, your highness." He said defeatedly before bowing curtly and turning to leave – noting with intense discomfort that C.C. hadn't moved from her perch.

"Oh, something you want to say to me that you don't want the Purist to hear?" The terrorist asked with a bravado that had to be feigned.

"Something like that." The prince replied calmly as he closed the door with a gentle click and waited in the observation room – watching through a panel of one-sided glass for any sign that the boy was in danger.

He was only six feet away from the door should the need arise for him to rescue the prince, but it still made him uncomfortable.

His absence, however, seemed to have the opposite effect on the boy. Prince Lelouch relaxed in his seat, smirking confidently as he explained something to the terrorist with a wave of his hand. Almost unwittingly, Jeremiah's eyes were drawn to the switch next to the glass that would transmit the conversation taking place in the other room to him.

. . . He shouldn't.

He watched the boy smile serenely through the one-sided mirror as the terrorist spit what were likely obscenities at the prince. The boy drew a hand across his eyes, before replying.

The change that came over the captive was instantaneous. Where the terrorist had once been coiled and tensed, his face showing every ounce of his loathing for the Britannian prince, he was now calm and vapid, expression almost painfully open.

Jeremiah's hand crept across the wall and flicked the switch, allowing the sound of the conversation in the other room to filter into his ears. It was wrong. He knew it was wrong, but he couldn't help it. He wanted to know just what the prince had said to the man to break him like that.

"You're so dramatic." C.C. sighed as she leaned back, staring up at the roof, utterly disinterested by the events around her.

"Hardly. At least I'm not flaunting it in the middle of the streets like you." The prince snapped before turning back to terrorist. "Is Tatsuhiro Saito in Tokyo?"

"I don't know." The terrorist answered tonelessly.

"Was he in Tokyo at the time of your attack this morning?" Prince Lelouch asked.

"I don't know."

The prince's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Who ordered you to attack me?"

" . . . Kei."

"And who is 'Kei'?" Lelouch asked.

"The leader of the Kenshiki."

Prince Lelouch's eyes widened slightly as he leaned forward in his seat. "How long has Kei been in control of the Kenshiki?"

Jeremiah frowned, wondering why the prince was simply taking the terrorist at his word. The Eleven could be lying. It was Saito who had laid claim to the carnage in Osaka after every attack. It was more likely that the terrorist was trying to cover for his leader and trying to lead the prince on a wild goose chase.

"After Clovis' death." The terrorist answered monotonously.

Prince Lelouch snorted, leaning back in his seat as he considering the man in front of him. "I thought so." He murmured quietly. "Is Kei in Tokyo?"

"No."

"Where is he?" The prince asked, though Jeremiah could guess the answer.

"Osaka."

"Where in Osaka?"

"I don't know."

"What is Kei's full name?"

" . . . Kei." The terrorist answered after a long pause, causing the prince to frown.

"Was Kei also responsible for the attempt on my life a week ago in Osaka?"

"No."

"Who was responsible for that attack?" The prince asked.

"Tatsuhiro Saito."

"Is the Kenshiki Faction unified?"

". . . yes."

"Why did you hesitate?" The prince asked.

"The situation is changing."

"Explain the current situation within the Kenshiki." The prince ordered.

"Tatsuhiro Saito created the Kenshiki Faction. Many of the original members are loyal to him. Kei is smarter than Saito and staged a coup but kept Saito on as his second in command. Saito is unhappy with the demotion and is beginning to rebel." The terrorist answered.

"How important was Kei to the Kenshiki before he became the leader?"

"He was unimportant. A new recruit, but also Saito's childhood friend. His opinion mattered more than it should have."

"Was Kei acting as Saito's adviser before the coup?" Prince Lelouch asked.

"Unofficially." The terrorist nodded, but his expression was still slack.

The prince sighed and leaned back in his seat. "You are a member of the emerging faction that supports Kei?"

"Yes."

"What else does Kei have planned?"

"I don't know."

"Your comrades took hostages at the hospital today. What were their demands going to be?" The prince pressed.

"There were no demands. The hostages were meant to be a distraction from the assassination attempt on the Viceroy."

The prince's hands clenched into fists in an uncharacteristic display of emotion that made C.C. scoff. "What is Kei after? What's his main goal?"

"The death of Prince Lelouch vi Britannia."

"Why?" Prince Lelouch barked.

"You're a mass murdering Britannian that's been put in charge of Japan. And . . . you're the Emperor's son."

The prince's expression contorted into a furious snarl. "He's not my father!" The prince hissed while C.C. just shook her head at him.

"You're losing him." She pointed out calmly, extending a single index finger in the terrorist's direction.

Jeremiah let his attention fall back on the Eleven rather than his prince and watched as the first signs of life began returning to the man. Beginning with a glare that quickly morphed into a snarl, the terrorist leaned as far forward as his restraints would allow.

"I'll take the hard way, asshole. Torture me if you want, but I'm not telling you anything." The terrorist snarled.

The princes eyes narrowed and a cold and deadly smile crept over his lips as he rose from his feet and leaned over the table to intimidate the terrorist, bringing his face dangerously close to the Eleven's. "You've already told me everything I wanted to know." The prince said, gesturing to the wall clock, before standing up straight and backing away.

Jeremiah flicked off the switch as the prince and his mistress turned to leave the room. He wished he'd never turned it on in the first place. What had happened to his firm resolve that sometimes not knowing about things was worth it?

He'd never asked Clovis about the Code-R project. He'd never wanted to know. He'd merely accepted that the prince had been keeping secrets from him and accepted that he was probably better off not knowing. Why couldn't he have done the same with Prince Lelouch?

How was he going to act normally around his prince now? How could he after seeing that and knowing – categorically _knowing –_ that it was the prince that was responsible for his memory loss in Shinjuku and not the utterly bizarre woman accompanying him.

He'd been able to accept that something strange had happened to him in Shinjuku. He'd even been able to accept (after a lot of alcohol and musing) that he had been the one who had killed Clovis and shot Prince Lelouch. Furthermore, he'd been able to accept that he'd done those things under the prince's orders, even if he couldn't remember it.

But seeing that power used on someone else. . .

That terrorist likely had no memory of the conversation he'd just had with the prince. Just like Jeremiah had no memory of killing Clovis and how Bartley had no memory of where he had been and what he had been doing that day in Shinjuku.

Prince Lelouch had used that power on him, twisted him to his will and had made Jeremiah do something that he would have never otherwise done. He would have never hurt Lelouch. He knew that. He would have never willingly agreed to hurt Prince Lelouch, no matter what argument the boy could have presented in favor of the idea.

But the prince hadn't give him the choice. He'd made the decision for him. Turning him into a puppet on the prince's string. A part of him felt deeply betrayed.

He was the prince's Knight of Honor, but he was nothing more than a tool to the boy. He was something that could be used and even the boy's earlier ambivalence towards him didn't mask the fact that he'd been ordered to leave the interrogation room.

Knights of Honor were supposed to be the most trusted amongst a royal's entourage, but he'd been asked to leave so the prince could protect his secret. A secret he'd shared with that annoying green-haired woman.

He swallowed nervously and forced his expression into something that was more or less composed as the door opened and the prince emerged. The boy swept his gaze over the room for a moment, eyes landing momentarily on the speaker switch before landing on him instead.

For a long moment, Jeremiah thought that the prince had to know that he'd been eavesdropping – that accusation and condemnation were only seconds away from making their way past the boy's lips. But the prince merely nodded in acknowledgment instead before making his way out of the room.

C.C. stared a moment longer before closing the distance between them and pushing herself up onto her toes so she could whisper in his ear, her proximity sending a shiver down his spine as much as he words.

"Play your part, Margrave, and keep out of things that don't concern you. I will make anyone who betrays my prince more miserable than they can possibly imagine." She intoned dangerously before turning on her heel and following Lelouch.

Jeremiah followed a second later. The girl was right. It wasn't his concern. Whatever the prince could do – however he was similar to C.C. - wasn't his problem. He was only here to protect Prince Lelouch. The prince's survival was the sole reason for his existence.

He could force himself to forget about everything else.

* * *

Kallen was almost enjoying herself. Shirley and Rivalz had offered to walk home with her after a (supposedly rare) Saturday morning Student Council meeting. She actually kind of liked the Britannian girl. She was nice to everyone and had even been outraged when they'd seen a couple of kids from their class harassing a Japanese woman. Shirley had used her authority as a Student Council member to give the two a thorough dressing down, which had given the frightened Japanese woman enough time to get away.

Rivalz, on the other hand, was annoying her. The boy was just so . . . perky and . . . well maybe her annoyance stemmed more from the fact that he was so close to that bastard of a prince than the fact that his personality got on her nerves. Tamaki was worse, after all.

His phone rang again and he rejected the call after barely looking at it.

"Another noble looking for the prince?" She asked with thinly veiled venom.

Rivalz chuckled. "Yeah, they're sure persistent. Though I suppose it's probably actually some servant that's calling me and not the noble guys themselves, right?"

Her eyes narrowed, but she passed it off as a squint into the sun. Implying that she was like some stuck up noble who couldn't even dial her own phone . . . "I wouldn't know."

"But you're a noble too." Rivalz pointed out tactlessly. "Admit it, you probably have some servant who cooks and cleans for you, don't you?"

She grimaced as she thought of her mother forced into such a degrading position and didn't answer.

"Well, Lulu has servants too. Remember Edith?" Shirley pointed out, apparently coming to her rescue. "But he knows how to cook and clean and everything."

"Yeah, but I bet he doesn't do any of that anymore. And that Edith woman is his assistant, not his servant." Rivalz corrected.

"No. Remember when she came to pick us up for the wedding? She said she was a maid."

"Why would a maid be waiting for him in the hospital and rearranging all of his appointments?" Rivalz asked.

"Well, maybe she was promoted?" Shirley argued.

Kallen simply listened, absorbing all of the information about the royal as she could. Then she tentatively attempted to guide the conversation.

"Hey guys . . . what do you think about what he did in Area Eighteen?" She asked meekly, laying on her vulnerable sick-girl act as heavily as she could.

"Those are just rumors!" Shirley said immediately. "Anyone can say anything they want on the net and those people just want Lulu to look bad. That's all. He's actually really nice. He'd never do something like that."

But Rivalz didn't look so certain and glanced away.

"You think they're just rumors too, Rivalz?" She asked, pushing a little.

"No. I think he did it." Rivalz answered quietly, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"What?" Shirley exclaimed. "This is Lulu we're talking about, not some psycho! How can you say that about your best friend?"

"Yeah, but don't you think he's seemed a little off since he came back?" Rivalz asked. "Granted, the last time we saw him before the hospital was at his wedding and he wasn't exactly normal that day either, but he just seems . . . I don't know . . . darker now."

"Yeah, well you'd be too if you'd ended up married to that woman." Shirley muttered under her breath and Kallen had to bite hard on her lip to stop herself from laughing.

"Point." Rivalz conceded. "But I still think he did kill all those people. Probably not on purpose but I think there's too much talk about it on the net for it not to be true. And he was at war."

Kallen latched onto the insight, focusing almost exclusively on Rivalz instead of the oblivious girl who refused to see what was staring her right in the face. "And what about what happened the other week in Shinjuku?" She asked.

"Lelouch was shot in Shinjuku." Rivalz said firmly, turning to stare at her hardly. "He almost died."

She refrained from making a comment about how it was a pity that he hadn't. "Still, I read in the newspaper that the soldiers were ordered to shoot any Elevens they saw on sight. Women and children too." She said carefully, hoping she wasn't giving too much away.

In all honesty, she had avoided reading too many of the sob stories that had been published in the newspapers. She knew what had really happened there, and she'd seen the Japanese corpses littering the streets while soldiers passed by them without a glance.

"Don't be ridiculous." Shirley said and the friendliness in her tone was markedly toned down. "You saw for yourself that Lelouch doesn't have a problem with the Numbers. He even hired that Kooroooroo guy."

"Kururugi." She corrected mindlessly, earning a strange glance from Rivalz. "What? He was all over the news. You should be able to say his name right."

"Yeah. Anyway, I agree with Shirley on this one. Killing civilians that were hidden inside of a military base is one thing, but ordering a massacre is something else entirely. It's not Lelouch's style and trust me, I know him pretty damned well." Rivalz answered. "He wasn't behind that."

She backed off, knowing she'd crossed a line somewhere. Rivalz might think he knew Prince Lelouch well, but he didn't know that the prince had probably killed his own brother. She couldn't even imagine doing something like that. It was probably the most atrocious thing she could think of.

And if the prince was capable of killing Clovis, then she wouldn't put anything past him.

"What was Milly up to today?" She asked after letting a few minutes of silence fall between them.

"Her parents were visiting this weekend." Rivalz shrugged. "She doesn't get to see them much, which is why the meeting today was so rushed. She probably would have canceled it if she hadn't already made Shirley back out of her date for the day."

Shirley chuckled awkwardly and held her hands up, "Ah, well, I didn't really want to go anyway. I just couldn't think of a nice way to say no, so the meeting actually ended up being good for me."

"You should have just told him to bug off." Kallen muttered. "You don't have to be nice to them if you're rejecting them."

"Yeah . . . but he's in our class and he's my lab partner in Chemistry. So it would be kind of awkward for the rest of the year if I'd been mean. This way at least I had a good excuse." Shirley explained though Kallen had a hard time even picturing the swimmer being 'mean'. "And if he asks, I can say that the meeting ran really late."

"You really are too nice sometimes." Kallen mumbled.

"Unlike you, Kallen." Rivalz teased. "I heard you broke Nolan West's heart."

He'd been lucky she hadn't broken his face with the way he'd come on to her. She fought the scowl off her face as best she could and forced herself to blush instead, like any other girl who wasn't actually a terrorist would.

"Ah, well . . ." She trailed off, unsure how respond exactly.

"And Vince Haliburton's." Rivalz said.

Ever since she'd begun putting at least a semi-concentrated effort into her school attendance, she'd discovered she was a bit of a novelty to the school's male population. Unfortunately for her, the novelty had yet to wear off.

She was saved from having to make a response when a familiar expensive black car pulled up beside them, the window rolling down to reveal her step mother.

"Kallen! Where have you been? I told you we were going for the final fitting of your dress today."

. . . Dress?

"Honestly, do you even listen when I talk to you, girl?" Lady Stadtfeld griped.

The honest answer was no. She vaguely remembered the woman coming to talk to her while she'd been checking her emails last night and she vaguely remembered hearing something about a formal party, and that had been about the point she'd begun tuning the woman out.

She wasn't interested in high society's social gatherings. In the past, she'd always tended to conveniently disappear into the ghettos on the evenings of the events – all those pretty dresses her step mother had made for her based on her measurements had always remained untouched in her closet.

But now she couldn't escape into the ghetto.

She could always make other plans for that evening, but Lady Stadtfeld usually tended to send people out looking for her and since Shinjuku was out of the question, unless she just wandered aimlessly, she'd likely be found. She sighed.

"I'm sorry. That's my fault." Rivalz said genially. "There was an emergency Student Council meeting that Kallen had to attend. We didn't mean to keep her from her plans."

"You're on the Student Council?" Lady Stadtfeld asked in surprise.

She suppressed a wince. "Yeah." She answered. She hadn't told the woman mostly because it was none of her god damned business.

But thankfully Lady Stadtfeld didn't make a big deal of it. She just glanced at her watched before looking pointedly back at Kallen. "We're late, Kallen. Your dress for Lord Gottwald's knighting celebration requires some detail work that you need to be present for."

"Oh, no way!" Rivalz grumbled. "You get to go to Lelouch's party? He didn't even invite us."

Kallen paused, rewound the conversation and then blanched. Lord Gottwald – as in the prince's Knight of Honor? It wasn't the Knight's party, it was the prince's. And somehow she'd garnered an invitation – one that Lady Stadtfeld would make sure she wouldn't miss.

"Oh." She said, suddenly understanding why Lady Stadtfeld had put so much effort into a dress that it was uncertain she would wear. But she would wear it. She was _definitely_ going and she didn't care what the dress looked like.

This was her chance – the opportunity she'd been looking for. It was possible she'd be able to get close to the prince. And then she'd demand answers from him – she'd make him admit that he was the L.L. from Shinjuku.

"Right. I'm sorry, I forgot." She said apologetically, ignoring the surprised look on her step mother's face as she turned back to Rivalz and Shirley. "Thanks for walking with me. I have to go." She said, climbing into the car next of a woman she decidedly loathed.

Lady Stadtfeld said nothing until the door was closed and they were pulling away from the curb. "I see you understand that gravity of the situation." The woman said finally.

She blinked in surprise. "What?"

"Margrave Gottwald was, until recently, the leader of the now defunct Purist Faction. He has some sway over our new Viceroy since he escaped the dismantling of the Purist Faction unscathed. And now he will be made Prince Lelouch's Knight of Honor. It would be bad for us if he found out what you really are."

Meaning a half-Britannian, not a terrorist. As far as she was aware, he step-mother had no idea about her extracurricular activities in the ghettos.

"I'm not ashamed of being Japanese." She growled in response.

Lady Stadtfeld narrowed her eyes. "You may not care about the Stadtfelds, but you are one, whether you like it or not. It's only our good name that lets you get away with half the stunts you pull. And if the Stadtfelds go down, you will most assuredly be coming with us. Your father has been working very hard to solidify our position – to protect you from the mistakes of his first marriage. Don't compromise -"

"It wasn't a mistake. You're the mistake." She snapped.

"Don't make trouble at the party, Kallen. I'm warning you."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to. I don't want a pissy prince after me any more than you do."

Unless he really was L.L.. Because if he was, he was going to have all kinds of trouble on his hands and even his bigoted Knight wouldn't be able to save him.

* * *

AN: . . . :D Okay. so now I REALLY have to pack and study. I likely won't update again until I'm into the new apartment. Which is why this chapter is longer for you all. Hopefully it will tide you over until I'm all moved and have free time again (hurray for summer!).

There's new fanart from Komo Pineconeseed. It's the chapter 53 sketch and there's a link to it on my profile. So go look at it and tell her how awesome her fanarts are. Pretty please.

Also, I suppose I should mention, since I haven't already, that I've created a kind of . . . deleted scenes/extra random stuff for Dauntless story. It includes, but is not limited to, OC pov's, minor character pov's, closer looks at the thought processes of some of our characters, scenes I wanted to put in the chapters but didn't fit etc. Honestly, if I put every little thing that everyone was feeling and doing and thinking in this story, we'd never get anywhere. Especially with over ten main characters who's pov's I write from. They are not necessarily in chronological order (not at all). It's just a serious of one-shots and supplementary material etc. It's not plot critical so you don't have to read it, but you can if you want.

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Don't forget to leave me a review. Because I really really love them and since most of my other entertainments have already been packed up, your reviews are what is going to get me through the next week of hecticness. Thanks for reading!

Allora


	55. Chapter 55

Chapter 55

The rest of the Royal Guard either thanked or congratulated him.

Lelouch apologized.

Suzaku covered his mouth his his hand and glanced away. He'd deliberately chosen this particular spot under the sakura tree in Lelouch's garden because it was out of the way and no one was likely to bother him. Especially not at this hour.

He tried to ignored the presence of the prince leaning against the opposite side of the tree's trunk- far enough away that he wouldn't have to see Suzaku's devastated expression.

"I was careless. It shouldn't have come to that. I'm sorry." Lelouch said eventually, his voice quiet and somehow heavy.

"You weren't careless." Suzaku protested. "You forget, I've gone with you to work every day this week. You never take the same the same route twice. You change your car every day. And you always travel with your Royal Guard. It wasn't your fault, Lelouch."

"And yet I made you kill your own people." Lelouch said darkly. "I made you slaughter them."

"It's . . ." But what could he say? It wasn't 'okay'. _He_ wasn't okay with what he'd done earlier today. Even now, he felt like he wanted to vomit every time he remembered what he'd done – the way he'd remorselessly mowed down those terrorists.

They'd had no chance.

Silence fell between them. The heavy, oppressive kind that emerged when you didn't quite know what to say – or if what you wanted to say would just make things worse.

". . . How are you feeling?" He asked eventually, if only to break the suffocating silence.

Lelouch snorted. "I'm here because I'm worried about how you're feeling."

"No, I mean . . . you were hurt, weren't you?"

"I've had worse." Lelouch said dismissively as silence fell again.

He didn't know what to say right now. This was a much darker Lelouch than he was used to dealing with. This was the boy who could kill without mercy or hesitance. The one who had slaughtered hundreds of people – soldiers and civilians alike.

"How did you get used to it?" He asked eventually, knowing it was a loaded question. But he couldn't get Lelouch's face out of his mind – the way his eyes had shut down and gone cold a moment before he'd killed that terrorist in the subway in Shinjuku. The way Lelouch hadn't hesitated. He'd had no qualms about it. Just as he'd had no qualms about ordering him to kill all of those terrorists today.

"Get used to what?" Lelouch asked quietly, his tone suggesting that he already knew what Suzaku was asking.

"Killing."

Lelouch laughed mirthlessly. "Practice." He said bitterly. "Practice and determination."

"You don't feel guilty?" Suzaku asked.

Lelouch was quiet for a long time before answering. "What do you think, Suzaku?" He asked before pushing himself to his feet and brushing himself off. "I'm going to bed. Good night."

* * *

"Did Gottwald eavesdrop?" Lelouch asked quietly, staring straight up at the ceiling overhead.

C.C. frowned, watching him for a moment before nodding slightly. "Yes. I think so."

Lelouch cursed under his breath and ran his fingers through his hair. "Just when I was beginning to like him."

She wasn't sure exactly how it had come to this – this almost camaraderie – but she thought it had something to do with the fact that the boy couldn't even fall asleep at night lately without laying in bed for an hour to sort out all of his thoughts and unwind. She was a convenient dumping ground for his excess musings. Not that she was complaining. This was exactly the kind of illusion she'd been trying to cultivate with the rest of the prince's entourage.

Of course, these overflows of information never contained anything vital or incriminating. He never told her anything that she could use against him and determinedly stuck to topics that she was already at least aware of.

This was the extent of the trust they shared.

He may tolerate her in his bed, but he wasn't about to make himself any more vulnerable than that. Which is why it came as a surprise that he occasionally asked for her opinion.

"Don't do anything reckless. He's still useful." She warned.

"If he knows about Geass and he betrays me -"

"But he won't." She interrupted.

"You seem rather certain." Lelouch said skeptically.

"I am." She said.

Gottwald would never betray Lelouch. He was too thoroughly entwined with the vi Britannia family to even consider it. The oaths Marianne had extracted from her Royal Guard were almost ridiculous in the way they bound them to her family. C.C. was actually surprised there weren't more of Marianne's old guards offering themselves up for her son.

And Gottwald was particularly well suited to serving Lelouch. He'd been a junior member of Marianne's guard – fresh from his training and promising, but still lacking the experience some of the others had had – perfect for guarding the Empress' young children.

Jeremiah Gottwald had been Lelouch's man since the time he was seven years old.

"Why?" Lelouch asked.

"You have him trapped and bound to you six different ways from Sunday, but you don't seem to realize that none of those traps really matter. He would serve you even without them and would be just as loyal. He's been serving your family for years, hasn't he? Who would he betray you to? I bet the thought hasn't even cross his mind.

"He loves you. You're his lord and liege and he would suffer any torment for you for that reason alone. It's what he's been trained to believe. That is why I know he will never betray you." She said, then added with a mischievous smirk, "And also because I frighten him."

Reading emotional reactions was something she had become quite adept with over the centuries. It was one of the reasons why she tended to aggravate people so much. If she hadn't been able to accurately read what was going on in their heads, the game would have lost it's appeal.

Gottwald's reaction to her in general was one of distrust and annoyance. Gottwald's reaction when she'd told him to mind his own business had been one of fear. Trapped between his loyalty to his prince and his fear of retribution from her, there was no way he would ever deliberately step out of line – not when he sometimes looked at Lelouch like he was some kind of deity that had come down to earth.

Lelouch sighed in annoyance. "You're telling me my Knight of Honor is frightened by a girl?"

"Are you saying you're not frightened of me?" She asked teasingly, holding her hand out over his chest – almost touching.

She smirked when his gaze shot down to her fingers for a moment before glancing away. Lelouch's responses to her prodding were subtle, but she was getting better at picking up on them now. He may still look stoic and composed, but he'd still registered the threat.

"Are you saying your Geass would work on me when mine doesn't work on you?" He asked archly instead.

"I don't have Geass." She answered truthfully, unsurprised that the conversation had turned to a not-quite interrogation. He'd been trying to find out more about Geass ever since she'd first come to live with him. It was a conversation she'd mostly managed to evade if only because she found it amusing to keep him in the dark. "And I've already used it on you that first day we met in the subway tunnel."

Lelouch stiffened and half-sat up so he could stare at her incredulously. "Are you telling me that you did give that terrorist in Osaka Geass?" He hissed.

She thought it was a little cute how he so jealously guarded the secret of Geass. She wondered how disappointed he would be when (if) he found out he wasn't the only person with Geass. _That_ would be a reaction worth seeing.

"Of course not. I just destroyed his sanity." She said matter of factly as she pressed a single finger to his skin.

He flinched away from the touch and glared at her – just as she'd expected. She'd grown used to it over the years. People who knew what she was recoiled from her touch. To someone like Lelouch, his mind was an even more preciously guarded power than his Geass – his most prized of attributes – and he would be unwilling to let anyone meddle with it.

"C.C." He said warningly.

"Let me tell you again, Lelouch, and in a language you understand." She said, fingers splayed against his chest. "We're accomplices. It's in my best interest to help you in whatever way I can. Turning you into a drooling retard will do nothing to benefit me, neither would giving your enemies Geass. Until my wish is fulfilled, you can be assured of one thing about me – I won't do anything to hinder you."

If this explicit declaration didn't get through to him, she wasn't sure what would. And while she'd had this conversation before with a multitude of contractors (and with varying results), she'd never had a contractor that was Lelouch's type before.

Humanity in general may be limited to a set number of molds, but Lelouch's was a rare one.

Lelouch snorted and rolled over, facing away as he snuggled a bit into his pillow. Apparently she'd said whatever had needed to be said to put his mind at ease or the exertions of the day had finally caught up with him. She heard him yawn tiredly before pulling the comforter up to his chin.

"Thanks, C.C." He mumbled sleepily.

. . .

And something irrevocably wrenched apart inside of her.

A thank you . . .

It was pathetic, but in all the long years of her life, she'd never received a genuine thank you. She had chosen her contractors purposefully – each and every one of them had been someone who had been cold enough or ruthless enough to kill her as the price for their Geass (except Mao – still her greatest mistake). Such people weren't exactly renowned for their manners.

But Lelouch . . . it didn't matter if he hadn't really meant it or if it was just a conditioned response that slipped out due to exhaustion. He'd still said it.

That night, it was C.C. who laid awake in bed for hours as the prince slept beside her.

* * *

There were only two reasons the prince would have called Jeremiah to his villa that evening. Either Prince Lelouch had determined that he was a threat to his secret hypnosis ability's safety and was about to eliminate him (no doubt covering the events up with some heroic save which wouldn't make the prince look bad when he canceled tomorrow's event), or he wanted to finalize the plans for the knighting ceremony that would take place at precisely noon the next day.

Either way, it didn't explain why the Eleven was waiting with the prince in his office, standing at stiff attention next to the door of the office, hands flexing nervously at his sides – the same place he would have stood had he been required to guard his prince. Nor did it explain why the Number was wearing a flashy platinum and diamond wolf's head brooch on the lapel of his uniform.

He glanced suspiciously at the boy, but Suzaku Kururugi kept his eyes faced forward and refused to meet his gaze.

"Ah, Gottwald." The prince greeted and the smile the boy was wearing lacked that certain deadly ruthless quality he'd come to associate with his anger. So then, this probably had something to do with his knighting.

"My prince." He greeted calmly as he bowed, shooting another glance at the Eleven beside him.

Prince Lelouch silently slid a red velvet box across the top of his desk towards him, gesturing for him to take it. He did so without preamble. He may hold the rank of an officer now, but when he'd first begun his career in Empress Marianne's Royal Guard, he'd still been lowest man on the totem pole. He'd learned how to take orders, even silent orders, and the lesson had stuck with him.

He ran his fingers over the lid of the box before taking it and, with one last glance towards the prince, opening it . . . to find a brooch exactly matching the one Kururugi was wearing.

"I've decided to identify my Knights with an insignia. And since Schneizel dubbed me a wolf, I might as well make use of it." The prince explained, but Jeremiah barely heard him.

_Knights. _Plural.

His gaze shot back to Kururugi, glaring accusingly, but the boy didn't have the spine to meet it, instead staring steadfastly at the floor in front of him.

Suzaku Kururugi was going to be knighted beside him.

It wasn't the first time a royal had chosen more than one Knight of Honor. In fact, most royals who were overly socially active had more than one Knight of Honor. Prince Schneizel and Princess Cornelia were exceptions to the norm. Even Princess Guinevere had two Knights (though it was generally acknowledged that they did more keeping her bed warm than they did protecting her).The Emperor had positions for twelve Knights of Honor.

No, it wasn't that sharing the honorable position was the problem. It was that he would be sharing it with Suzaku Kururugi.

He hated that boy.

It wasn't even like the Eleven had particularly wronged him. Sure, it was Kururugi's fault that the Purist Faction had been dismantled and that Villetta was currently serving a dead end post as _security_ in Area Seven. It was also Kururugi's fault that he had almost come to the same type of ruin or death, but that wasn't why he hated him.

What he hated about the Eleven was his attitude. He'd pushed and the prince had folded, conceding a spot to the Eleven on his Royal Guard. That alone would have been enough to raise more than a few eyebrows, but now this too? Knighting a Number? It had never been done before. It was against national policy.

Discrimination against the Numbers might not have been a law, but it was the normally accepted stance of anyone hoping to gain any influence at court. It was the Emperor's standpoint – a founding ideal that made Britannia the superpower it was today. Suzaku Kururugi's every action was like a slap in Britannia's face.

He wondered how long this had been going on. Just how long had the Number been laughing at him behind his back as he'd preened about being made into Prince Lelouch's Knight of Honor? Part of him wanted to kill the impudent brat then and there, right before his prince. The other part (the one with more restraint) understood that doing so wouldn't win him any points with his liege.

"Is this . . . wise, my prince?" He asked tentatively, gesturing back at the Number (who was still trying to burn a hole in the floor with his gaze).

Prince Lelouch quirked an eyebrow. "Are you suggesting you have the right to question my choice of Knight?" He asked sharply and Jeremiah realized that whatever store of good grace he'd built up with his prince was quickly depleting.

"Of course not, your highness. It's not my place to judge any of your decisions."

And it wasn't. He was there to serve, not to advise. The prince would do as he pleased and Jeremiah would follow whatever orders were given to him. Even if he personally disagreed with them. And anyway, any deliberate attempt at insubordination would likely be met with that hypnosis power that had made him shoot the prince in Shinjuku.

"Good then." The prince smiled coolly. "As per tradition, this will be the last time we see each other until the knighting ceremony tomorrow. I had Edith send my contribution to your house. I don't really care if you keep a vigil over it tonight. In your case, it doesn't really matter since you don't have a choice."

"I will keep the vigil, your highness." He pledged, already knowing what the prince's 'contribution' had to be. In medieval times, Knights were required to keep a vigil over their arms in the church the night before their knighting, praying to God to let them serve their liege and God faithfully. These days, where science reigned over any god, the vigil was used for contemplation of the oaths that would be sworn the next day. It was the very last possible chance to back out. But like his prince had said, he didn't have a choice so the lack of sleep was just a moot point. Still, it was done with a sword in hand.

"Suit yourself." The prince shrugged before glancing up at the clock on the wall. "You can go now, both of you. Hector will be here any minute to discuss new security measures and I think I should be well enough protected without you."

"Yes, my prince." Jeremiah said with a bow, dismayed when he heard Kururugi voice the same sentiment at the same time. Copied right down to the bow. And then the Eleven turned on his heel and was out the door before Jeremiah could even send him another glare.

But if the little bastard thought that he was getting away without a confrontation, he was in for a world of disappointment. He followed, strides long and purposeful as he closed the distance between himself and Kururugi in the foyer, snatching the boy by his collar before slamming him into the prince's stylishly painted wall.

"Lord Gottwald." The boy yelped in surprise before reining in his immediate instinct to struggle and going more or less limp in Jeremiah's grip.

"You little bastard." He hissed, fingers pressing painfully against the boy's collar bone. He wasn't satisfied when Kururugi refused to wince. "The Royal Guard wasn't enough for you? You ought to be thankful he's even willing to give you the time of day, not forcing him to knight you. What did you say to him to make him knight you?"

"Nothing." Kururugi protested.

Jeremiah shook him, slammed him back against the wall and watch with satisfaction when his head collided with it hard enough that he had to blink stars out of his eyes. "Did you ask him to knight you?" He demanded.

Kururugi's eyes widened almost comically before he glanced away to hide his guilt. But Jeremiah saw it written all over his face. "Son of a bitch." He hissed ineloquently, drawing his fist back in preparation to drive the impudent brat's head into the wall – but paused at the sound of someone clearing their throat behind him.

He glanced over his shoulder to find Zimmerman watching them, wearing an unimpressed frown. "Lord Gottwald, I would appreciate it if you unhanded my subordinate. Whatever misdeed he's commit, this is not the proper procedure for dealing with it." The Captain said calmly.

"You're subordinate?" Jeremiah growled. "No. He didn't tell you that he manipulated the prince into knighting him tomorrow?"

For a moment Zimmerman's eyes narrowed as he glanced at Kururugi, but the reaction was quickly stifled under a mask of polite neutrality. "Then your actions here are even more out of line, Lord Gottwald. An attack on a Knight of Honor is seen, by law, as an attack on the prince himself."

Which was . . . true. Knights of Honor were considered an extension of their liege. To attack onE was to declare yourself an enemy to the prince. But still, he hadn't been knighted yet and his knuckles were practically aching with the desire to release his frustration into Kururugi's face.

But he reined himself in, releasing the boy with a final shove. "Fine." He said, straightening his uniform before turning to leave.

He wasn't quite out of earshot when they finally spoke.

"I'm sorry, Captain. I tried to recommend you . . . but Lelouch did this instead. I didn't mean for -"

"It's fine, Kururugi." Zimmerman said before sighing. "Whatever Lelouch is looking for in a Knight, I'm not it. I failed that interview."

"You mean -"  
"Let's not talk about it. And let's not talk about what just happened with Lord Gottwald either. Lelouch has enough on his plate right now. He doesn't need to worry about tension between his Knights too. Just grin and bear with anything Gottwald throws at you." Zimmerman advised.

"Yes, Sir."

Jeremiah scowled and felt himself dislike Zimmerman even more than he originally had. Not only had he sided with the Eleven, but he'd also made Jeremiah look like a petulant fool. He felt only mildly mollified that the prince hadn't deemed the man worthy of knighthood.

* * *

It was eleven-thirty at night and Suzaku's light was still on. Lelouch had expected it to be. Unlike Gottwald, the vigil would be a necessary part of Suzaku's knighting. A last chance to change his mind and back out of this. For Suzaku, it would be easy to do so. There would be next to no social repercussions if he decided at the last moment that he really didn't want to be Lelouch's Knight of Honor. After all, no one knew he'd been chosen for knighthood.

Part of Lelouch clenched nervously at these thoughts. It was the same part of him that felt bad for practically steamrolling Suzaku into accepting knighthood. It wouldn't be easy for him and the social repercussions of going through with this far outnumbered the repercussions of backing out.

But . . . but Suzaku's goal was to change the Britannian mindset. He wanted to erase the racism that he and his countrymen suffered from. And to do that, Suzaku would need power. He would need to be in a position that even Britannians would have to respect. Being made a Knight of Honor was a military role, but it also transcended into the realms of nobility and politics. It would give Suzaku the influence he needed to make a difference.

But before any of that could happen, Suzaku would have to accept and then weather an indeterminate amount of time of transition as the Britannian people got used to the idea of having a non-Britannian in the role of a Knight.

He opened the door quietly and peeked in. Suzaku was kneeling on the floor next to his balcony in the traditional Japanese seiza style, mutely contemplating the cape in his lap. He grimaced at the thought of how long Suzaku had to have been sitting like that on the hardwood floor.

"Put it on." Lelouch suggested, leaning against the frame as he let the door slowly drift open.

"Lelouch!" Suzaku jerked in surprise. "What are you doing here? You not supposed to see me until tomorrow."

That was the tradition. But Suzaku's knighting was hardly traditional in any sense of the word. When he told him so, Suzaku only frowned. At least he didn't look like he was about to back out.

"Put the cape on, Suzaku." Lelouch said again, his tone not quite an order.

But Suzaku complied, rising to his feet and shaking out the cape in front of him before swinging it over his shoulder with a practiced ease that belied the fact that this was likely the first time he'd ever done so. He caught sight of purple bruising through the gap in Suzaku's collar as he moved (cravat already discarded on the end of the bed), and frowned.

"Did Gottwald give you that bruise?" He demanded.

"It's fine, Lelouch."

"It's not fine." Lelouch protested.

"Honestly, I expected worse. I'm just glad he didn't give me a bullet or a blade." Suzaku laughed uncomfortably.

His fingers tightened around the gift he had hidden behind the door frame. A blade. He was still a little uncertain about this. But the more he looked at Suzaku like this – dressed in his entire uniform except for the cravat – the more he thought Suzaku looked like a Japanese person playing dress up in Britannian clothes. Like someone who had forsaken his own culture along with his pride.

And he knew that wasn't true. He could tell from the few times he'd managed to insult Suzaku enough for it to break through the docile veneer he'd cultivated – the way his shoulders stiffened and his chin raised. Suzaku was still Suzaku. He still had his pride – even if he'd made a couple stupid decisions that required him to squash it the majority of the time.

And to Lelouch, Suzaku had always been Japan incarnate. Everything he loved about this country was because Suzaku had made him see it. It was Suzaku that had forced him to see that Japan was different to Britannia, not inferior.

His grip tightened again. The sword he'd had made for Gottwald was beautiful and everything a Britannian Knight's sword should be – right down to the silver filigree and sapphires embedded in the hilt.

But Suzaku was not a Britannian Knight.

And the sword in his hand was not a Britannian sword, even though he'd had one made the exact same as Gottwald's except for the use of rubies instead of sapphires. The backup sword, and he hated it for that reason alone. Giving that sword to Suzaku, the ruby one, seemed like an unforgivable cop out considering the blade he had in his hand.

He just wasn't sure if it was too much.

"Did you need me for something, Lelouch?" Suzaku asked, still looking like he was playing dress up.

That was enough for him to make up his mind.

He stepped into the room fully and held out the sword – not how he'd been taught as a child with the hilt first and the blade next to his torso, but rather straight out in front of him with the blade running perpendicular to his arm.

For a moment, Suzaku didn't move. He simply stared at the weapon in surprise, then he shook his head. "No."

"You need a sword if you're going to do the vigil properly." Lelouch pointed out.

"You've already ruined my vigil. And a _sword_ yes, but that is a katana." Suzaku argued. "Why are you doing this? Knighting me is bad enough, but rubbing the fact that I'm not Britannian in everyone's faces is worse. It's like you're trying to get yourself into trouble."

Suzaku really was too perceptive for his own good.

"Suzaku, take the sword." He ordered.

"No." Suzaku said stubbornly. "I'll take a plastic one before I take that one."

"That was an order." Lelouch said, hating to have to pull that card, but it was enough to make Suzaku hesitate and grimace. "I just spent a fortune on this authentic fifteenth century katana. I spent almost as much expediting it's arrival to get it here before the ceremony. Don't tell me you're going to waste my efforts by being difficult."

It wasn't a lie. He had spent a fortune on the blade. Antiquities markets were stifled within the Empire when it came to pieces not of Britannian origin, but the E.U. and China had no such qualms. This particular sword had come all the way from a collector in Brussels. He'd had to significantly grease the man's palms in order to get him to part with it.

"Lelouch, reconsider." Suzaku pleaded and it was almost enough to make him withdraw the weapon. But he squashed that response. Suzaku was just being stubborn.

"My arm's getting tired here." He said, gesturing towards the katana.

"Why are you doing this?" Suzaku asked and Lelouch latched onto the hint of defeat in his tone. He would win if he pushed just a little harder.

"Why?" He asked. "Because you are Japan, Suzaku. And I am Britannia. Because I accept that. Because you deserve better than having to sacrifice everything you know for the sake of my country's traditions. And because you wanted to show everyone that Britannia and Japan could get along.

"Months ago, Schneizel told me that I was an incarnation of the Empire to the people. To the masses, every prince or princess is a physical embodiment of Britannia. The same idea applies to you. You are my equal. You always have been and the changing political structure can't alter that. To the Japanese masses in the ghettos and to the Honorary Britannians, the Kururugi's have always been prominent political figures. You are a prince of Japan and therefore an incarnation of your country. And we are friends."

Suzaku took a few hesitating steps forward and touched the hilt of the sword, staring intently down and the red silk grip on the hilt before looking up to glare at Lelouch. "Now, what's the real reason, Lelouch? You said you were going to use me. How is this going to help you?"

His eyes narrowed. Damn Suzaku and his stubbornness.

"Isn't it obvious?" Lelouch asked. "The better you look, the better I look. From tomorrow onward, your name with be irrevocably linked to mine. Your influence over the Japanese will become my influence over the Japanese."

Suzaku nodded, as though being used were more acceptable than Lelouch doing this for Suzaku's sake. He hated what Britannia had done to him. There had been a time when the very thought of Lelouch using Suzaku for his own gain would have sent the Japanese boy into a rage. But at the same time, there had always been a part of Suzaku that had liked to help – to go the extra distance and make sure a job was well done. It was this part of him that had assisted him in making Nunnally happy before the invasion.

It was likely this part of him that made him into such a perfect soldier. And it was this part of him – a part that had been finely honed over the last seven years – that made Suzaku willing to be used by him.

To a certain degree, Lelouch understood. It had been a part of his training as well (a part that he had tried to reject), so he knew what would drive Suzaku to take the sword. Suzaku needed a challenge, one that he could accomplish – just one last push – to make him finally obey the order that had been given to him over a minute ago.

And since Suzaku wasn't about to back out (certainly not, if that determined look in his eyes was any indication), Lelouch was free to make the push.

"Suzaku Kururugi, you _will_ become my Knight of Honor. Furthermore, you _will _be knighted with this sword. You will be hated for it, but it will prove my point. The moment you take this sword, the moment you become my Knight, you will have to be perfect.

"The entire world will be watching you – judging you. You will never be allowed to make a mistake. You will never be allowed to have a bad day. You must always be, at least to the public, the very image of knightly perfection. Your entire people will be represented through your actions alone. Do you understand? Can you do that, Suzaku?"

For a moment there was no response, just silence and Suzaku's eyes boring into him. Suzaku knew he was being manipulated. He knew that he was doing what Lelouch wanted, despite his own misgivings. Lelouch could see the realization in Suzaku's eyes, but that didn't stop him from taking the cherry-stained scabbard in one hand before stepping back.

The sound of steel escaping it's sheath was almost deafeningly loud as Suzaku knelt before him, tip of the blade resting over his heart, hilt held up in offering.

"Yes, your highness."

* * *

AN: ^.^ Another chapter for you now that I'm in my new apartment. Still not unpacked, but writing was more important ^.^' Hope you enjoyed it even if it was a bit on the short side. This one was mostly just tying up loose ends before the knighting ceremony. That first scene was going to be a sidestory, but I had room for it this chapter and so I stuck it in.

To those of you who think this is going yaoi - it's most emphatically not. Much as I love reading yaoi, I don't write it. This is just how Suzaku and Lelouch are (apologies if you think there are homosexual undertones). As I mentioned before (way back at the beginning), this will eventually turn Lelouch x C.C..

* * *

And now, I'm sorry to do this to you all, but they review anonymously (feel free to ignore this if it doesn't pertain to you):

Dear 'Update',

Your reviews are not encouraging, especially the last one. Obviously my life is more busy now than when I first started this fic (not to mention I had several chapters written in advance at the beginning), however I update as quickly as I can. Even as it is, I don't think I've gone more than two weeks without an update, so for you do demand that I 'go back to updating every 3-4 days' is a little ridiculous. Compared to most other fics on this site, Dauntless updates insanely quickly. There are some stories that I've been waiting months or years for an update for.

Basically, your reviews make me want to not update just to spite you (not that I would). I find them rude. And if you have nothing else to look forward to in your life, you need to find a hobby. Try writing a fic of your own and updating it every 3-4 days with about 10 pages of new text.

* * *

O.o Again, I apologize for that. I don't like bringing my drama up in Author's Notes, but it riled me.

Hope you enjoyed. Don't forget to review.

Allora


	56. Chapter 56

Chapter 56

Lelouch's cape was black with a dark, imperial purple underlining. It didn't bear the wolf's head motif he'd adopted as his own. Today – this ceremony – would have nothing to do with his military persona. Today, he was all prince. Complete with ruffled cravat and a matching amethyst pin. Black on black with hints of purple – the color that would remind the people just who he was and his connection to the Emperor.

It wasn't a connection he tried to flaunt most days, but for today at least he'd take advantage of the prestige of his heritage.

He smirked confidently as he stood alone on the podium in one of the Viceroy's Palace's largest audience halls in front of hundreds of tittering spectators. Nobles, for the majority, though there was a significant media presence as well. His security remained, for the most part, hidden (except for the pair of Sutherlands Amanda and Hector were standing sentinel in outside). That didn't mean it wasn't present – and in force – but he doubted his guests would find it comforting to know that even now they were seated under a sniper's scope.

He wasn't about to risk another assassination attempt today.

He took a deep breath, eyes running over the assembled crowd, dressed in all their finery. For the moment, they were relatively happy and enthusiastic. Knighting ceremonies were joyous occasions. He imagined that was about to change any second now.

The double doors opened at the back with a fabricated groan meant to draw the eye as Suzaku and Gottwald stepped though them – shoulder-to-shoulder and moving in perfect tandem. Each stride was long and fluid as they advanced, capes flaring impressively behind them. They looked, for all the world, as though they didn't loath each other. Faces completely neutral and serious, he decided he'd have to commend them on their ability to keep their composure – even when the first muffled cries of complaint and hushed whispers began tearing through the assembly.

He also kept his composure, even when the first jeers erupted (not the kind of vocabulary you'd expect from nobility in polite society).

Suzaku looked a little pale, but his gaze was still determinedly facing forward and his expression didn't change. Jeremiah's eyes had narrowed slightly in displeasure, but it wasn't readily apparent and it could have been caused just as much by the gauntlet of camera flashes and video cameras as it could have been because of Suzaku's presence.

Like every step they had taken since entering the hall, they knelt simultaneously on the dais before him. The ring of steel escaping from sheaths cut through the murmurs, silencing them for a moment. A young noble in his twenties actually rose from his seat and looked ready to tackle Suzaku for being so close to royalty with a bared weapon.

Lelouch sent the man a narrow glare that had him scrambling back into his seat before returning his gaze to his Knights – to both beautiful swords with their points resting above the hearts of each of their respective wielders.

The pose served only to accentuate the slight curve of Suzaku's katana – the slightly swaying crimson tassel hanging from the hilt acting like a beacon for the spectators attention.

He sent a reassuring smile Suzaku's way before turning to face Gottwald, fingers closing around the silver and sapphire hilt being presented to him. Equals in rank his two Knights may be, but Gottwald still had more experience and, therefore, seniority. Knighting Suzaku first would have been seen as a very blunt insult to the man that everyone in attendance would have picked up on.

"Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald," He began, voice amplified through speakers around the auditorium. "Wilt thou upon this day pledge fealty to Britannia and stand as a Knight of the Crown?"

If he was going to do this – use this archaic institution to advance Suzaku's position – he was going to have to adhere to the traditional scripts.

"Yes, my prince." Gottwald answered firmly.

"Dost thou wish to abandon thyself – to become sword and shield for the greater good?" He followed the script.

"Yes, my prince."

"Dost thou pledge allegiance to thy Lord – to protect the vi Britannia line from any who wish to harm it?" He asked. This was not part of the script. This was a guarantee for Nunnally's sake. The assassination attempt had rattled him more than he liked to admit. If something happened to him, he wasn't about to leave his sister unprotected. His Knights would become her Knights in the event of his death.

Suzaku, he already knew, would never betray her. And C.C. was right about Jeremiah. He belonged to the vi Britannias and would serve them – even if it wasn't Lelouch he was serving.

Gottwald blinked in surprise at the inclusion but recovered quickly. "Yes, my prince."

"Then I, Lelouch vi Britannia, do hereby dub thee Sir Jeremiah Gottwald, Knight of Honor of Britannia." He finished, taking the sword and touching the flat of the blade to each shoulder before returning it to Gottwald. The blade disappeared back into it's sheath but Gottwald remained kneeling as every eye in the room drifted to Suzaku.

"Suzaku Kururugi," Lelouch said, ignoring the few cries of dismay that emerged from the crowd as he closed his fingers around the katana's hilt – so very different to Gottwald's. "Will thou upon this day pledge fealty to Britannia and stand as a Knight of the Crown?" He asked over rising murmurs.

* * *

Suzaku hadn't heard anything over the rushing in his ears since he'd entered the hall. He didn't think he was even breathing as he walked down the lush red carpeted aisle towards Lelouch. He knelt and felt the scornful gaze of Britannia's elite raze over him – scalding him with their disdain.

It made him self-conscious and jumpy. He tried to tell himself that he didn't almost cut down the equally jumpy noble he saw leave his seat and take a step towards Lelouch. It was only the memory of Lelouch's words ringing in his ears that kept him still.

_ "The moment you take this sword, the moment you become my Knight, you will have to be perfect. The entire world will be watching you – judging you. You will never be allowed to make a mistake. You will never be allowed to have a bad day. You must always be, at least to the public, the very image of knightly perfection. Your entire people will be represented through your actions alone."_

It was, by no means, a new idea. In fact, it was because he had always been a representative of the Japanese that he'd first joined the military. But this was a game on a whole new level now. To be Lelouch's Knight, he would always have to think about the bigger picture before he acted.

And cutting down a noble during his knighting ceremony wouldn't benefit the bigger picture (though from the look Lelouch had shot the man, it seemed like the prince was considering it).

Gottwald was going to kill him. He was ruining the man's big day with his very presence , let alone his knighting. Part of him (about half) wished that a chasm would suddenly appear in the floor and swallow him up.

They were all looking at him. Staring at him even when they were supposed to be looking at Gottwald. Hating him.

_ "You will be hated for it, but it will prove my point."_

Ah, but this too was part of Lelouch's plan. Somehow, he'd turn this around and make this work for him. He'd always been that kind of opportunist. He'd always been able take a bad situation and spin it to his favor – it was how Lelouch had spent the last seven years 'dead' and living a normal life out from under his father's shadow.

He took a deep breath and calmed the heartbeat fluttering in his throat. He was going to do this. He'd already decided. He wasn't going to back out now. He couldn't. What would come, would come. There was no point in panicking. Panic would only hinder his response – make him more likely to make a mistake and disappoint Lelouch.

"What does he think he's doing?"

"An Eleven?"

"The prince can't be serious."

"Little wonder his name wasn't on the invitation. The hall would have been empty."

"There's no way the Viceroy will go through with it. Just a little public humiliation, that's all."

The whispers washed over him, clinging to him like parasites – worming their way into his thoughts. But Lelouch wouldn't do that to him. And this was Lelouch's idea in the first place. It's not like he'd actually gone out of his way to ask for this – he'd just responded to Lelouch's manipulations.

Like he always did.

"Suzaku Kururugi," Lelouch said grandly, snapping him back into focus. "Wilt thou upon this day pledge fealty to Britannia and stand as a Knight of the Crown?"

Lelouch's hand had closed over the hilt of his sword, holding it as he traditionally demanded his oaths – ready to plunge the blade into Suzaku's heart should he refuse to pledge himself. But he'd passed the point of no return long ago – even before Lelouch had interrupted his vigil last night and forced this katana on him.

"Yes, your highness." He said firmly, ignoring the increase in angry and dismayed whispers and his own jab of anger when a glimmer of relief appeared in Lelouch's gaze.

He'd never given Lelouch a reason to doubt him. He'd never wavered. He'd adapted after it became apparent that Lelouch wasn't about to rescind the offer. He was good at that – adapting. Better than most of the Japanese.

"Dost thou wish to abandon thyself – to become sword and shield for the greater good?"

By the greater good they, of course, meant Lelouch and his whims and fancies.

Which was pretty much what he'd been doing since they'd met.

"Yes, your highness."

"Dost thou pledge allegiance to thy Lord – to protect the vi Britannia line from any who wish to harm it?"

Suzaku hesitated, trying to figure out the meaning of the words. He hated that this ceremony was done in such an archaic dialect. This prompt wasn't part of the ceremony script he'd studied. What was Lelouch trying to get out of this?

Protect the vi Britannia line? Was he really asking him to protect his wife? The same wife he'd admit in an earlier conversation to caring about only slightly more than the terrorists he'd been sent here to kill. The wife who hated Numbers? No, he didn't think Lelouch would do that to him.

He'd protect the woman, sure. But he didn't think Lelouch would bind him to her like this

And since Nunnally was . . .

His eyes widened in surprise. No, surely not. Lelouch hadn't really . . . But who else would Lelouch go through this much trouble for?

Lelouch had never explicitly told him that Nunnally was dead. Suzaku had never asked – he hadn't wanted to hurt Lelouch with the memories. He'd just ignorantly believed what Lelouch had said on the news. So he couldn't really accuse Lelouch of lying, but he still felt a little betrayed.

Nunnally was alive and Lelouch had never told him.

. . . And then he realized what kind of sacrifice Lelouch must have made for her. The likelihood of him remaining in contact with her while under so much scrutiny from the media and his family was slim. If he'd separated himself from her – from the only person he considered true family – it would have been agonizing for him.

"Yes, my prince." He answered sympathetically.

He would protect Nunnally. He would always protect Nunnally, just as he would always protect Lelouch. Just as he always had.

"Then I, Lelouch vi Britannia, do hereby dub thee Sir Suzaku Kururugi, Knight of Honor of Britannia." Lelouch declared before wielding the katana with a flourish and touching both of Suzaku's shoulders with the flat of the blade.

"Rise, my Knights." Lelouch ordered, flaring his cape with a grand gesture of exhibition towards the crowd.

For a moment he felt like a prize on a game show, but the thought quickly died as he and Lord Gottwald rose and turned to utter silence. Vaguely he realized that people were supposed to be applauding. He also realized that the likelihood of Lord Gottwald strangling him had just increased.

They probably couldn't believe that Lelouch had actually knighted a Number.

He still had a hard time believing it himself.

Then a single pair of hands began clapping jubilantly in the second row. He tracked the sound to it's source to find Lloyd grinning broadly. Leave it to Lloyd to swim against the stream. Beside Lloyd, Cecile joined in in a more dignified manner.

Lelouch must have acknowledged them from his place a step behind them because a moment later the rest of the room joined in polite, unenthusiastic applause. He swallowed back his anxiety as Lelouch stepped between them and he fell into place on Lelouch's right.

It . . . didn't feel as strange being Lelouch's Knight as he'd thought it would. Somehow, he supposed, he'd been expecting something to change. That maybe he'd be able to be proud of this – that maybe Knighthood would somehow dampen his self-loathing.

But it didn't.

He felt the same as he always had. Except for the weight of the cape around his shoulders and the sword at his hip, nothing had changed.

Nothing except the knowledge that Nunnally was alive and, presumably, in hiding.

He followed Lelouch down the aisle of upset nobles and frantically recording media people into the the empty (for the moment) foyer outside. "Lelouch," He asked quietly, "where -"

"Not here, Suzaku." Lelouch hissed in annoyance. But the very fact that he'd known exactly what Suzaku was about to say meant that it was true.

"Sure."

A moment later, they were overrun by the audience from within the hall. Many demanded (in varying degrees of politeness) to know just what Lelouch had been thinking. A few scorned him, passing by without so much as a word as they made their way to the exits. But most of them understood that they couldn't afford to disregard Lelouch or his choice of Knights. He was, after all, the man in charge.

* * *

"You little idiot." Schneizel muttered under his breath, watching in abject horror as Lelouch put _years_ of careful planning at risk.

_"Then I, Lelouch vi Britannia, dub thee Sir Suzaku Kururugi, Knight of Honor of Britannia."_

He massaged away the tension headache that was rapidly forming as he thought this new development through. Part of him figured this was Lelouch's way of spiting him for forcing him to choose a Knight. The other part saw the plan Lelouch had put into motion. Kururugi held the hearts of the Elevens, Gottwald was a prominent Britannian figure. By taking them both under his wing, he was symbolically claiming governance over all parts of Area Eleven, regardless of race or citizenship status.

But symbolism was often lost on a lot of people and both parts of him wanted to wring Lelouch's little neck.

However much Lelouch wanted to quote the rules about interference in the choice of a Knight of Honor being forbidden (and he just knew that was what he was going to say if questioned), the Emperor was unlikely to ignore this. And even if he did, Lelouch had just done irreparable damage to his reputation. The cost most certainly outweighed the gain.

"What is the boy thinking?"

"Perhaps he wasn't." Kanon suggested. "He was sent to live with the Kururugi's after his exile. Perhaps this is his way of paying the Eleven back for his family's hospitality."

"No." Schneizel shook his head. "Lelouch plans his moves before he makes them. He did this deliberately."

When he'd first ordered Lelouch to take a Knight, he'd assumed it would be Hector Zimmerman. The man was perfect Knight material. When he'd heard Lelouch had chosen Lord Gottwald instead, he hadn't been disappointed. Gottwald had influence over the nobility in Area Eleven and was a higher ranking officer.

But this . . . Kururugi was, not only an Eleven, but the son of Japan's last Prime Minister. He likely had ties to the very terrorists Lelouch had been sent there to dispose of. And while using that link could be useful, he didn't have to knight the boy to do so.

Lelouch was being careless.

If the Emperor came down on him now, if he decided to get rid of the unruly brat that had no respect for the institution of Knighthood, years of effort would go to waste. His plans hinged so hugely on Lelouch now that losing him was a massive set back.

He was glad Lelouch had chosen someone to protect him, but his choice could have been better.

Damn Euphemia for delaying Cornelia's departure (for their mother's birthday or all reasons). If Cornelia had been there . . . but no, Lelouch still would have gone ahead and done exactly the same thing – with or without supervision.

At least she'd be there for the fallout of this. There was sure to be a response from the nobility at the very least. They coveted their high position in the social hierarchy too much to accept an outsider like Kururugi without making a fuss.

Cornelia was leaving with her entourage late this evening. She'd be in Area Eleven by mid-morning tomorrow and he was sure he could count on her to express just how very displeased everyone in Pendragon was with him making a mockery of one of Britannia's most ancient institutions.

There likely wouldn't be any legal repercussions for this idiotic move, but the social repercussions were vast and damning.

"Would you like me to contact Prince Lelouch for you?" Kanon offered, the broadcast delay meaning it had actually been several hours since Lelouch had knighted the Eleven.

"No."

He needed to reevaluate first. He also needed to see what the initial reaction of Lelouch's foolishness would be. He could predict it for the most part, but a few things were variable.

That wasn't to say Lelouch wouldn't be hearing from him soon, but he needed a better grasp of the situation before he could inform his brother of his displeasure. Because depending on the response from the nobility, his displeasure could also be widely variable in it's intensity.

"Start with Asplund, then make your way down the list. I want to hear what they have to say about this."

* * *

"Oh, Lulu." Milly whispered, watching the television's coverage of the knighting ceremony with Nunnally and the rest of the Student Council (except for Kallen, who they'd spotted sitting in the fourth row when the camera had panned across the audience). "I guess this explains why he didn't want us to come. They're going to eat him alive."

"What? Why?" Shirley asked, oblivious to the delicate web of alliances the nobility had built up between them. Kururugi would be like a fly stuck in their web. Prey.

"How bad is it going to be, Milly?" Rivalz asked quietly.

"Probably . . ." She hesitated, glancing over at Nunnally who had her hands clasped together in her lap. "Probably bad." She finished with a defeated huff. "Even if he did save Lelouch's life, there's still a lot of people who won't see him as anything more than a Number and a threat."

"Doesn't Lord Gottwald's knighting kind of . . . I don't know, counter that though? I mean, he's important, isn't he? He was the Acting Consul." Rivalz pointed out.

"Not really, I don't think. His own knighting is kind of being sidelined by all of this Kururugi business." She sighed.

"Why would Lelouch do this? He's an Eleven." Nina said quietly, face pale and aghast.

"Suzaku's always been like a Knight to Lelouch." Nunnally answered. "Even . . . before . . . Suzaku always protected him. Protected us. They didn't think I knew but . . . I think it's a good thing. I'm glad" She said, and then she smiled.

It was one of the few genuine smiles Milly had seen from her since Lelouch had left.

"I think we should throw a party for Lelouch's Knights. To show our support. Do you think he'd make time for it? We could make it into an Ashford event." Rivalz suggested.

Milly sent Rivalz a withering glare – it was no good talking about a party here if Nunnally couldn't attend – but before Rivalz could backtrack and beg forgiveness, the princess spoke up.

"That's a great idea." Nunnally said cheerfully.

No one said anything for a moment as Milly wondered if it was possible to salvage the awkward situation. Nunnally's smile didn't look forced, but she'd been making a lot of progress lately on getting herself back under control so it was difficult to tell.

"I guess we could do that . . . if you don't mind, Nunnally." She said tactfully.

"Why would I mind? I bet it would cheer Suzaku up if everyone else is upset by him being knighted." Nunnally said as the black and grey cat she'd recently acquired jumped into her lap. "You'll have to take a recording of it, okay? I want to hear how happy he sounds."

And so just like that it was decided that they were throwing a party for Lelouch's Knights. Now she just had to convince Lelouch and his Knights to attend.

* * *

Kallen wasn't the only one bewildered by this turn of events. But it didn't change anything. Even if he did have a Japanese Knight (traitor), it didn't change the fact that he'd used her and the rest of the resistance in Shinjuku (if it turned out that he was L.L. - but honestly she'd almost given up on trying to deny it). He'd taken them and led them on what would have been a suicide mission if they hadn't been lucky and able to keep the Britannians from closing in on them. He likely wouldn't have cared if they'd all died after he'd ditched them there (he'd have probably been happy about it). She didn't kid herself for a moment into thinking that their survival had been part of his plan (rather it was likely due to the fact that everyone in their group had KMF experience).

Earlier that afternoon, she'd sat in mute observation, tucked between her step-mother and her father, who had returned to Japan just for this event (a feat he hadn't even managed when Naoto had died) as she'd watched Suzaku Kururugi kneel at the bastard's feet.

It wasn't that she necessarily liked Kururugi – no, in fact she thought he was a sellout and a traitor – but she couldn't deny that the jerk was important to the Japanese. And watching him prostrate himself at the feet of a Britannian prince just pissed her off.

He should have at least had the common courtesy to use that katana on the prince (she'd been waiting with bated breath for it). It would have been the perfect assassination.

But no, instead he'd gone ahead an sworn fealty to the same country that had destroyed Japan and led to his own father's death.

Which had led to Kallen being stuck in the middle of an argument between her father and step-mother about whether or not they should attend the celebratory gala the prince was holding in his Knights' honors that evening.

It was a pretty piece of coercion the prince had used. All of the nobles knew that, as the first official formal event that the prince had organized himself, this party would likely consist of those Lelouch intended to make into his allies. However, only by showing their support for his Knights and attending could they hope to gain the prince's favor.

Lady Stadtfeld didn't want to go. She didn't like 'Elevens'. In fact, she practically loathed them (probably stemming from the fact that her husband's first wife had been Japanese). However, her father was more or less apathetic about the inclusion of an Eleven into the nobility and was more seriously concerned about wasting a trip halfway around the globe for nothing.

After all, he hadn't gotten to speak to the prince yet and worm his way into the Viceroy's favor. Therefore, his objective had yet to be completed.

And therefore, Kallen found herself at the Viceroy's Palace dressed in the gold and copper dress Lady Stadtfeld had had made for her - an elegant strapless thing that would have been beautiful if the bodice weren't so tight it made it difficult for her to breathe. Not that she necessarily needed to breath heavily at a ball . . . unless it came to her making her escape.

She still wasn't sure if she was going to do it, but her knife was tucked firmly into her garter (not her idea, but it turned out useful), which was accessible thanks to the thigh high slit in her dress. Apparently Lady Stadtfeld had decided to put her on the market (and what better place than a gathering of irate nobles?).

She'd already been approached by, and turned down, over a dozen men looking for a dance, or to get her a drink, or to chat. She'd very nearly come close to telling the last one to piss of and die. But she'd refrained, clinging onto the soft, docile persona she adopted at school (even if Lady Stadtfeld was looking at her like she'd grown a second head).

Prince Lelouch was flitting around between groups of nobles, a warm smile on his face as he networked. He needed to repair his relationships after the stunt he'd pulled today (she wondered just why exactly he'd knighted Kururugi anyway), and he seemed to be calling on every ounce of charisma he had to call on.

Lord Gottwald was on the other side of the room, surrounded by a group of nobles and chatting away amiably. It didn't disguise the fact that his focus was only on his conversation partners half of the time. His eyes routinely drifted to the prince, the other patrons, the windows. He was looking for threats and she counted her lucky stars that a seventeen your old sickly noble girl didn't seem to register on his radar.

Kururugi was alone, leaning against the wall not far from her as he kept an eye on the crowd and Prince Lelouch. Working, even now, and decidedly not a part of the festivities. Not that she'd really expected him to be laughing it up and chatting away with all of these members of the Britannian elite.

"Ah, your highness!" A jovial man in his mid-forties greeted, drawing her attention. The prince had obviously moved on to another target. A target only a few feet away from her.

"Lord Granstein," Lelouch greeted and though his tone was warm, it didn't reach his eyes. "Do forgive me, but I was on my way to greet a former classmate."

Kallen blinked. As far as she knew, there weren't any students from Ashford here. Except for her.

. . . Surely not. They'd only really met that one time at the Student Council meeting.

But he was turning to her a moment later, that polite smile still in place. "Kallen, how have you been?" He asked with much more familiarity than she deemed appropriate. They didn't know each other, they weren't friends and she'd really expected him to address her as 'Miss Stadtfeld' if he remembered her at all.

"Oh, I'm . . . fine. And you, your highness?" She asked, struggling to recover. She was better with actions than words.

"Fine, fine." The prince shrugged, as though he hadn't almost been killed only a few days ago – the live footage of which had been all over the news (she'd been hoping).

"Ah, I see." Lord Granstein said knowingly behind them. "Go on and dance then, your highness. You young folk still need to live it up while you've got the energy."

Instead of correcting the man or pointing out that he was already married, the prince's hand closed around hers and tugged slightly. "Of course. Us young folk," The prince said, his tone deceptively cheerful, "and our boundless energy. We also have short attention spans. Excuse us."

And that was how she found herself doing the Waltz (of all things) with Lelouch vi Britannia.

It was both a good thing and a bad thing. On the one hand, she had him more or less alone right now. Both of his Knights were out of arms reach and she could probably kill him before help arrived (if she wanted to go for the whole suicide attack thing). On the other hand, her knife was on her right leg. Her right hand was being held by the prince's as he led her through the steps. There was no way she'd be able to reach it without tipping him off.

"I'm sorry about this." The prince said quietly, his gaze sweeping over the crowd around them. He hadn't even looked at her since asking her to dance (well he hadn't really asked her).

"Um." She said awkwardly. "So . . . why are we dancing?"

"Lord Granstein's been trying to corner me all night." The prince answered, leading her into a turn with a practiced grace that he certainly hadn't learned at Ashford. "We used to be chess opponents. I think he wants a rematch."

Well then, she wouldn't even have to lead the conversation. She almost sent a grateful smile back to Lord Granstein for the set up, but focused on his expression instead. "So you are L.L.?" She asked.

He glanced down at her for a second before smiling. "You didn't seem like the type to play chess, Miss Stadfeld. I'm surprised." He said, before his gaze drifted back towards the other guests, probably planning who he would schmooze with next.

"I think I'm more of a piece than a player." She said. Even if he'd admit to being L.L., he hadn't admit to being the L.L. who had led them in Shinjuku. She had to keep him talking. She listened intently to the tone of his voice, but couldn't definitively say if it was really the same or if she just wanted it to be.

"A Queen, no doubt." The prince said absently, focused on an exchange going on on the other side of the room.

"You tell me." She growled, annoyed by his disinterest. Whether it was what she'd said or the tone she'd said it in, she recaptured his attention. And then she pressed forward. "It was you on the radio in Shinjuku, wasn't it, L.L.?" She hissed quietly as she commit to this plan.

There was no going back now.

For a half a second, she thought she saw surprise flicker in his eyes - she wasn't sure. His face remained almost painfully unresponsive, almost as though he hadn't heard her. But his body gave him away. If she hadn't been touching him already, it would have been impossible to tell. But where a moment ago, he'd been languidly relaxed, now his muscles were coiled and tensed.

Half a second.

That was all it took for the immediate reaction to be squashed, the situation to be analyzed and for a response to be made.

"It's common knowledge that I was in Shinjuku." The prince said dismissively as he glanced away again to go back to surveying the guests. "I fail to see how that has anything to do with chess."

Calm as he said it, she didn't miss the way his grip tightened, trapping her against him. His hands were surprisingly strong for being so long and slender. She was sure she wouldn't be able to break his grip and get to the knife without making a scene and she hadn't forgotten that he'd also been trained as a soldier.

It was likely he'd be able to hold her off the few seconds that would be needed to get his Knights involved.

This had been stupid, she realized now. She'd shown him her hand and had no way of following through with it. It was unlikely he'd let her back down now, not if he'd put it together that she was one of the terrorists from Shinjuku – which, judging from the painful way he was holding onto her hip to keep her from putting any distance between them, he had.

Still, she could try.

"You're right. It has nothing to do with chess." She said docilely. But she could feel herself about to panic. What else could she say to him?

She was trapped and they both knew it

Even if she struggled and got away from him, he would still know. And since he'd been charged with hunting terrorists, he'd hunt her. He would kill her and likely think nothing more of it than he would of killing an insect.

No, she had to do it now – even if escape was impossible. Even if her victory lasted only for the moment it took for his Knights to cut her down. She wouldn't let her own death be meaningless.

She tried to jerk her hand out of his grasp, but he squeezed harder, bones grinding against each other as he continued to smile politely.

"Well, if you'd wanted to dance with Kururugi, you could have said so from the beginning." The prince said, just slightly louder than their previous conversation.

He led her through one last turn before stopping abruptly face-to-face with Kururugi. For a moment, she simply stared at him, heart hammering in the vicinity of her throat, as she realized his eyes were very green and very concerned. Half a second later, she realized it wasn't her he was concerned about – which made sense.

Prince Lelouch took both her hands (firmly, and even now she couldn't jerk out of his grip without it being obvious) and calmly transferred her to his Knight of Honor. Kururugi's grip was no less merciless.

For a moment, they were stationary as the prince preened, patting himself down and carefully rearranging his clothes and hair – far too carefully for the amount of exertion the Waltz presented, then Kururugi nodded and they were off.

Kururugi didn't move with the same kind of grace as the prince (but he knew the steps at least) as he began leading her in turns around the floor, holding her almost indecently close (and still no chance to get her knife out)

"Um . . ." She hesitated, but this was her chance. Kururugi didn't know what she was, Lelouch hadn't said a word. She could talk her way out of this. "I didn't really want to dance." She said, falling back into 'weak and sickly' as she tried to slip her hand from his, fighting her flight or fight instinct. "I think his highness is playing a joke on us."

"If you make a scene, I'll only end up hurting you." Kururugi promised. While he managed to say it with a smile on his face for the benefit of the rest of the party's guests, his tone was anything but fooling and his grip was still relentless.

She blinked in surprise and tensed, instincts roaring at her to struggle – to run – and that her window of opportunity for escape (and survival) was rapidly shrinking. But Kururugi was serious and he had both height and weight on her. If she forced them into a physical confrontation now, she would probably lose, unless she could get her hands free long enough to get her knife.

But those were all big if's and she could tell by the way he was watching her that he was getting ready for her to fight him. She realized now that she'd tensed her whole body up in preparation of wrenching away from him.

Think, Kallen!

If she tried to pull free, he'd attack her and he'd probably win. But not before she fought him back. And by doing so in front of so many people she'd be signing her own death warrant. Knights of Honor were protected by law as much as their masters, after all.

But on the other hand, the fact that Kururugi was steadily dancing their way towards the exit hadn't escaped her notice. He was likely going to take her out of here, and then he was likely going to get rid of her in a nice, quiet, out of the way place where no one would stumble across her body.

Think! She couldn't panic.

Her thoughts raced. She'd been so very incredibly stupid with this and wasn't it just like her to not notice her own idiocy until she was right in the middle of it?

If she ended up fighting Kururugi now, everyone would know that she was an enemy. Either that, or it would look like the Eleven Knight was assaulting a Britannian noble girl. That would give her a few moments at least before the prince assured all of the other guests that she was in fact a terrorist and was there to kill him. But it was only a stopgap measure. In order to get out, she would have to not only kill Kururugi, but also make a break for it.

God damn Lady Stadtfeld and her impractical fashion sense. She'd be lucky if she'd be able to properly fight in this dress, let alone make her escape (especially in these heels). Not through this whole crowd of guests.

However, if she went with him willingly, there was a chance that an opportunity for escape would present itself. And if it didn't, then she didn't figure she'd have any better or worse chance of escape when Kururugi decided to kill her, than she would if she fought him here and now.

She liked that plan – right up until Kururugi escorted her out into the corridor, took a cursory glance either way to see that the coast was clear before promptly feeling her up and finding her knife a moment later.

"Shit." She hissed under her breath as he released the blade, both of her wrists trapped firmly in one of his callused hands. She was now weaponless, and the loss was a major blow to her confidence. She knew how to fight with a knife. Fist-fighting was a different story. She was sure she could wail on him, but it would come down to the simple fact that Kururugi had been trained to fight unarmed and she hadn't. Not to mention that Kururugi _wasn't_ unarmed. He still had his katana. And now he had her knife.

Her gaze drifted to the sword at his hip, wondering if she'd be able to take if off his hands.

"You came to assassinate him?" Kururugi demanded, slipping her knife into his breast pocket before roughly forcing her arms behind her back and forcing her to walk.

He marched her up the stairs and down several corridors before finally stopping and opening a door on his right.

At least it wasn't an exit. He wasn't going to take her to kill somewhere else.

Part of her hoped she left a bloodstain that was impossible to remove (but mostly she just didn't want to die).

She was distracted from her panic by a woman's sarcastic laughter. "Well aren't you a Casanova, Suzaku. I see you have seduction down to an art form."

Kallen looked around the room she was being forced into – a den of some sort. This was . . . the prince's living quarters. The walls were covered with deep mahogany bookshelves and paintings, complimenting the rest of the luxurious furniture.

In the center of the room, a woman lay reclined across a chaise lounge in a black evening gown with a neckline that plunged down to her navel. She surveyed Kallen and Kururugi lazily, long green hair draped over the arm of the lounge – the very picture of languid elegance.

"What are you doing in here?" Kururugi growled.

"I'm keeping out of the way, like my darling prince asked me to." The woman answered with a teasing smirk. "But what are you doing here, Suzaku? You mean that out of all the many rooms in this place, you couldn't find a more suitable one to take your date?"

"She's an assassin." Kururugi said darkly.

Kallen didn't bother correcting him. She wasn't an assassin, but she had been trying to assassinate the prince.

The green-haired woman's eyes narrowed, the teasing expression dropping off her face as she sat up and scrutinized Kallen more carefully. "Oh? And she's still alive, Kururugi? Honestly, first Gottwald and now you. How many times are you going to risk his life?"

"Lelouch asked to have her taken up here." Kururugi answered darkly.

Kallen's eyes widened. _When_ had the prince asked to have her taken here? He hadn't said a word to Kururugi. He'd just passed her off then fixed his clothes . . . _Signals_, she realized with disgust – like some kind of baseball coach. They'd been communicating right in front of her and she hadn't even realized. She had no idea what orders Prince Lelouch had given his Knight.

"So how close did you get to killing Lelouch?" The woman asked dangerously as she got to her feet, stalking forward barefoot like some kind of predator.

Kallen glared. If she'd learned one thing about nobility getting into trouble it was deny, deny deny. "I don't know what you're talking about. This is a misunderstanding."

"She was dancing with him." Kururugi answered instead. Kallen wondered just who the hell this woman was and why a Knight of Honor was answering to her. It was apparent that they didn't like each other (or rather that Kururugi didn't like the woman) but it was also very apparent that they would work together against an outside threat.

Which she just so happened to be.

"Is he a very good dancer?" The green-haired woman asked, her tone losing none of it's predatory edge.

"She goes to his old school. She got close to all of his old friends." Kururugi continued to provide, his tone cold, but somehow the Knight of Honor had become the least of her worries at the moment.

This woman was watching her like she was something she wanted to dissect – not in a scientific inquiry kind of way, but rather in a 'I just want to rip it apart to see the gore' way.

"Is that so?" The woman purred, "Then this isn't about Kururugi's knighting. This was premeditated."

The woman's hand rose, hovering almost an inch away from Kallen's cheek – almost as though she were about to caress her.

Kururugi stiffened and that reaction alone was enough for her to know that this woman was dangerous and that she most emphatically didn't want to be touched by her. Whatever it was about this woman that frightened a Knight of Honor, she didn't want to find out.

She squirmed, turning her head away as she stepped back, only to collide into Kururugi's immovable chest. "What are you -"

"C.C." The prince barked as the door opened.

Kallen wasn't sure if she was thankful for the interruption or if she'd just been dumped out of the frying pan into the fire. Behind the prince, two men in Royal Guard uniforms took up their posts outside the door.

"I would have left her intact for you." The green-haired woman said nonchalantly as the prince shut the door and seated himself at the reading desk next to the window.

"I'm sure." Prince Lelouch said coldly before turning his attention to Kallen.

She swallowed nervously, pinned down by his gaze. This wasn't the prince she'd met before. This wasn't even the cool, collected boy she'd accused downstairs. His eyes were cold, ruthless, and predatory.

This was the Wolf of Britannia.

"Suzaku, let her go. I'm sure I don't have to point this out to you, Miss Stadtfeld, but between Suzaku and the members of my Royal Guard standing outside the door, I am well protected here. Even should you manage to harm me, the likelihood of escape is slim to none."

Yes, she was aware of that.

"That being said, let's be civil."

Kururugi reluctantly released her arms, but didn't stray too far away from her – hovering menacingly behind her as she stood before the desk. C.C. drifted over to the prince's desk and perched herself on the corner – planting herself between Kallen and Prince Lelouch.

Between Kururugi and C.C., it would be impossible to get at him now.

"Okay . . ." She said uncertainly. She didn't understand the request. He certainly had more than enough evidence to have her executed (not that he necessarily needed evidence).

"Lelouch." Kururugi said before tossing her little purse knife to the prince. "She had this on her."

The prince examined it wordlessly, finding the release catch in a matter of seconds to bare the little blade. "Cute." He said as the set the knife down on the surface of his desk. "So then, is this an attempt to assassinate me or to blackmail me?" Lelouch asked, chin resting casually in his palm as he regarded her.

Assassinate.

She almost said it too, before thinking better of it. That was a surefire way of getting herself killed.

"Because I have to say," The prince continued after a moment, "you missed your chance if you were going for the kill. Wasted it with all that talking. You really did slip under my radar. Who would expect the daughter of Britannian nobles to threaten a prince?"

She stared at him incredulously. Was he really critiquing her attempt to kill him? Granted, she'd never even got as far as drawing her weapon and yes, she knew already that she'd blown it. But still.

"Blackmail." She said, recovering.

Prince Lelouch smirked dangerously. "Oh? And what is it you want from me, Miss Stadtfeld?"

. . . Was he seriously entertaining the idea of appeasing her? Just how much damage would news of his activities do to him?

But he had killed his own brother – a prince. Execution then. No wonder he was considering this. Though she wouldn't forget that he held all the cards right now. It would be so much easier for him to just kill her. And he likely already would have, but he probably didn't know how many other people she'd told.

She felt like an idiot for coming here like this without even informing Ohgi of her suspicions.

But Prince Lelouch didn't know that, and what he didn't know would only serve to help her.

"Give Japan back to the Japanese."

"Let's be realistic." The prince sighed. "Though while we're on the topic, I can't help but wonder why you, a daughter of Britannian nobility and privilege, cares enough to consort with terrorists. Is it just the thrill of breaking the rules?"

"I don't have to answer that question." She said primly.

"No, of course not. You don't _have _to answer any of my questions. Just as I don't _have_ to ask them. Understand your position, Stadtfeld. While your being nobility certainly makes executing you more of a bother, it's not beyond my power to do." Lelouch said coldly.

For a moment they just stared each other down, neither willing to budge. "Then I want Code-R." She said, evading his interrogation.

C.C. cocked her head to the side, but the prince only quirked an eyebrow. "And what, pray tell, is Code-R?"

Kallen glared. "Don't play dumb. The poison gas from Shinjuku. I want it in return for keeping quiet about you helping us out."

"_What?_" Kururugi asked disbelievingly.

"Ah right, proper introductions are in order. Suzaku, this is the pilot that gave you so much trouble in Shinjuku." The prince said lazily.

"_You _were the one leading the terrorists?" Kururugi demanded incredulously. "Are you stupid? You could have been killed! _I_ could have killed you without even knowing."

She blinked in surprise. Had the _Japanese_ boy really just called the _Britannian prince_ stupid? She supposed the fact that they were childhood friends discounted some formality, but she'd never thought it would span this far.

The prince just stared at his Knight for a long moment until the boy behind her shifted and offered and awkward apology.

"Well, at the time I was too busy avenging you to worry about you killing me. And how else was I supposed to get to the G-1 after Clovis publicly stripped me of my position and send his Royal Guard after me?" The Viceroy drawled lazily. "And by the way, Stadtfeld, I don't have any poison gas. Even if I did, I wouldn't be about to put it into the custody of terrorists."

"We know you have it." She persisted. "We sent a guy back into the subways afterward and all we found was the empty capsule. You must have taken the components out, but you still have it."

"Yes, I currently possess the contents of the capsule."

"I want it." She argued, ignoring the haughty scoff from C.C..

"You don't even know what it is." Prince Lelouch countered with a superior smile.

"All of our intelligence said that it was poison gas."

"All of your intelligence was wrong."

"I don't care. I still want it. It was enough to make Clovis squirm. It has to be important."

"I'm not giving it to you." The prince said firmly.

"Then I'll tell everyone what you did in Shinjuku. To your own brother." Pressing hard now was the only chance she had. If she couldn't get him to fold, she was dead. However reluctant he might be to kill a noble, she didn't doubt for a moment that he would do it.

"You won't leave this room alive."

"I'm not the only one who knows." She bluffed instead of balking at the threat.

The prince straightened a little, his expression turning even more predatory (as if she'd thought it was possible) before leaning towards her slightly. "Kallen Stadtfeld, just who do you hope to oust me to? The media? Think about who you're talking to. I am the Viceroy and every reputable news corporation in the country is state owned. At a word from me, the only news you'll be seeing is the weather and lottery results."

"You can't censor the net." She protested.

"Have you _seen_ some of the things they say about me on the net?" Prince Lelouch asked incredulously. "The truth is no more or less bizarre than anything else they've come up with."

She pursed her lips. She couldn't win. She couldn't win and they both knew it. She didn't even know why he was humoring her. Toying with her. She knew his secret but anything she tried to do with it would be countered.

It was all just another one of his sick games.

"I'll tell you what I'll do." The prince said before she could come up with a new approach. "I'll let you and your merry band of misfits go. Consider it amnesty for all of the misdeeds you've commit up to this point. In return, you'll keep your mouth shut. And you'll make sure they keep their mouths shut."

"So . . . basically you want us to disband." She said slowly. The clarification that it was only their past crimes he would ignore was not lost on her. It wasn't immunity, just a temporary reprieve until their next move.

It wasn't a deal, it was an ultimatum. Somehow it had gone from her blackmailing him into him holding her hostage until she agreed. She entertained no thoughts of escaping here alive unless she came to an agreement with the prince.

She could become a martyr. She could die here in defiance to Britannia . . . but her death would be meaningless and their resistance would be down one pilot.

Or she could accept and Ohgi could breath a little easier and Tamaki could stop hiding at his cousin's place in Kyoto and the others would be able to get back to their lives.

Providing the prince kept his word.

"I don't trust you."

"And I don't trust you. However, I feel like I'm being very generous with this offer." Prince Lelouch said calmly.

"How do I know you're not trying to lull us into a false sense of security?"

"You don't. Just as I don't know that you're not going to go out and blab my dirty little secret to everyone you know."

He had a point, but the consequences were far from the same. Talking would only cause him a minor inconvenience whereas she and the others would likely wind up dead.

No, the more and more she thought about it, the more it became apparent that it wasn't even a reprieve he was offering them. They couldn't afford to let their guard down.

All she'd managed to accomplish tonight was to alert the prince to her involvement with the terrorists. She nodded sharply, feeling sickened and used as she did so. But she was alive – which was more than she'd been expecting when Kururugi had dragged her out of the party.

* * *

AN: ^.^; The much anticipated knighting ceremony AND Kallen's confrontation all in the same chapter. Aren't you lucky!

Thanks for all of your reviews last chapter. Chapter 55 was the most reviewed chapter to date (kind of funny since it was the shortest instalment in like 15 or so chapters). I'd also like to point out that Dauntless is now on over 1000 people's favorite lists. And almost as many alerts. It's kind of scary to think that almost a thousand people get an email every time I update. o.O Mind boggling.

This chapter was edited, revised, edited, scene deleted, edited, written from a different point of view etc. I think this is the third draft. The first featured the entire knighting scene from Lelouch's POV, finished off with an interview with Diethard. But then I decided I didn't like it and it detracted from the whole Knighting! theme I had going so it unfortunately suffered from the Ctrl + A + Del ^.^; And I really wanted to write the knighting from Suzaku's pov and considered writing it as a sidestory to compliment Lelouch's pov but then decided against it and incorporated it in here instead.

For those of you wondering what's going through Lelouch's head concerning Kallen, be patient with me. He does have a plan. He's not about to just let a terrorist who had toyed with the idea of assassinating him go just because she's a girl or a noble.

Also, I find it hilarious that some of you were disappointed (even to the point of losing readers) that I gave away the pairing. I gave away the pairing in Chapter 3 (I think). I also mentioned in Chapter 3 that this isn't a romance driven story. Lelouch's love life has very little to do with the events I'm planning on writing about. That still holds true.

So, for those of you still reading, I hope you enjoyed this and don't forget to review. ^.^

Allora


	57. Chapter 57

Chapter 57

"Why didn't you use it on her? You could have saved yourself all this trouble. Was it because of Suzaku?" C.C. asked as she lay back across the desk and stared up at her prince. He really was a fascinating creature. She'd chosen powerful men and women to be her contractors before, of course (her early contractors had all been rich enough to provide her with all the luxuries she'd been denied before she'd heard of Geass and Codes), but Lelouch really was beginning to distinguish himself from the others.

"You know," She continued, watching for the subtle play of emotions on his face – the slight darkening of his eyes or pursing of his lips. "Jerry already knows about your Geass. In the spirit of equality, you ought to use it in front of Suzaku too."

He glared at her – one of the few expressions that wasn't subtle or stunted.

"Well, you were the one who went on and on about treating your Knights equally – about elevating Kururugi to Gottwald's level. That was what you said, wasn't it?" She prodded.

"Suzaku doesn't need to know about Geass."

"Why not?"

A flicker of annoyance crossed his expression in the barest narrowing of his eyes and gritting of his teeth. "I don't even know how I'd go about explaining it to him. Even if I did, it wouldn't serve any purpose except to make him doubt me."

"You're worried about him not trusting you?" She asked.

"Shouldn't I?" Lelouch asked sharply. "I have the power to control anyone. I can make them do anything I want them to. You don't think that's a cause for some concern? If our positions were switched, I know I'd have a hard time trusting that he wouldn't use it on me."

"But that's because you're paranoid." C.C. said with a teasing smirk. "When has Suzaku ever given you the impression that he didn't trust you completely? When has he ever given you a reason for doubt?"

"Plenty of times." Lelouch said petulantly. "Suzaku likes to argue with me. I suppose it's part of our friendship. We like to oppose each other."

"You're an idiot, Lelouch." She interrupted, before he could get any further into his self-analysis of his friendship with his Knight. "Your childish arguments have no real bearing on your relationship. If Kururugi didn't trust you completely, he never would have let you knight him. Especially not with a Japanese sword. He's put his faith in you."

"So, what? You're suggesting I should just go out and tell him?" Lelouch asked waspishly. "'Hey, Suzaku. So, the real reason I keep C.C. around is because she gave me a mysterious power that can turn anyone I meet into spineless putty in my hands.' Is that what you want?"

"No. All I'm saying is that you shouldn't have been afraid to use it in front of him. Now you have a frightened terrorist noble girl to deal with."

"Listen, Witch, I am a prince of the most powerful Empire in the world. I am the Viceroy of a country. I have an army at my disposal and enough social and political clout to make almost anyone bend to my will _without _Geass. I don't need your power for every little problem that might crop up." Lelouch growled.

Ah, yes. He was certainly unique. Usually, her contractors went power crazy with their Geass'. If he refused to use it, it would take longer for it to fully manifest itself. Which meant it would take longer for him to become receptive to her Code.

For some reason, this didn't bother her.

Lelouch was intriguing. She didn't think she'd been this interested in anything (or anyone) in centuries. He was just so very self-possessed. He did things his way – when he wanted, how he wanted – and wouldn't let anyone alter that.

"Geass is my safety net – my last resort. I refuse to use it as a crutch."

"Oh?" She asked, arching her eyebrow as she smirked. "And what about that terrorist you interrogated with it?"

He glared at her again. She was sure that anyone else would have felt scorched by the power of it, but she simply stared back – waiting for his response.

"It was convenient and I was pressed for time. If Saito, or Kei as it turned out, had been in Tokyo, engaging in a long, painful interrogation would have only given them more time to escape. Are you telling me I shouldn't have used it then?"

"Use it. Don't use it." She shrugged. "It's none of my concern. I was just curious why."

Lelouch snorted and leaned back in his seat. "Haven't you ever heard that curiosity killed the cat?"

She laughed at the assumption that she could die. Apparently, despite dying in his arms once already, he'd convinced himself that her resurrection wasn't possible. No doubt he'd moved on to considering experimental medical technology, or something of the sort.

"Speaking of killing curious cats," She said, changing the topic back to more important matters. "I think you should have that Stadtfeld girl killed before she does something drastic. You said yourself that it's not outside of your power to do.

"No."

"She's gotten close to your school friends. It's possible she'll hurt them to hurt you." She prodded. She wanted this threat to her contractor gone and out of the way.

Lelouch's eyes narrowed. "Unlikely. I've been researching the group she belongs to since Clovis' death, courtesy of information gathered by Gottwald. She's part of one of the few true resistance groups – despite being labeled terrorists. They don't have a history of targeting civilians."

"Even the most scrupulous of villains will make an exception for a VIP." She countered. "All of your friends – everyone you care about – has become a VIP."

He frowned, weighing the possibilities. "The Stadtfelds have close ties to the Chapmans." He mused out loud. "That girl's father is friends with Abigail's father."

She blinked in surprise. This was the first time he'd ever spoken of his wife in her presence. "And?" She prodded.

"And executing his friend's daughter would likely aggravate my father-in-law and damage their relationship. Duke Chapman has been surprisingly distant for a man who sold his daughter to the Imperial family. I'd like for things to stay that way."

"So you'll let her go because you're afraid of your father-in-law?" She asked in surprise.

"I'm hardly afraid of him. You're missing the big picture, C.C.." Lelouch smirked slightly.

"Oh? And what, pray tell, is the big picture?" She asked sarcastically.

He stared down at her for a long moment, scrutinizing. "You say you're my ally, C.C.?" He asked. "You're on my side regardless?"

She refrained from rolling her eyes (it seemed the idea was finally sinking in) only because of the seriousness of his tone. "Yes. We're accomplices. Your enemies are my enemies and I will do whatever I have to to make sure you survive."

"I have more enemies than just the terrorists of Area Eleven." Lelouch said, leaning back in his seat. "Britannian enemies, to be more precise."

So that was it then.

Revenge.

She'd thought so. When she'd made her contract with him, she'd received a rather vivid glimpse of his mind. All of his hopeless thoughts about his imminent demise had been touched with a dark, deep-seated, seething fury. It was an emotion she'd felt before.

She'd been careful to keep such revelations from Marianne.

"Why her?"

"She's an Ace. She was able to keep up with Suzaku while piloting a Sutherland in Shinjuku. She also tangled with Gottwald and came out alive in a Glasgow. She's a noble with sympathies for the Numbers. She hates the way they're treated."

"What she hates is you. If you think that girl will blindly follow your orders again without the help of your Geass, you're a fool." C.C. frowned.

"That sounds like a challenge, C.C.." Lelouch said with a smirk.

"What do you hope to do? Convert her? Get her to join the Britannian military? Maybe you could toss her in with Adrian's bunch." She suggested sarcastically. "Oh, Lelouch. It's a challenge. I dare you to try."

"I didn't say I'd force her to join the Britannian military." Lelouch protested. "In any case, I don't intent to do anything with her yet. I'll alert the security around the school to make sure Milly and the others are well protected in the mean time. Until I'm ready to use her, I'll let her stew and consider how much in my debt she is just for letting her live."

* * *

Lelouch stared incredulously at the three women in his living room the next morning. Cornelia in all her fury. Euphemia in all her pink. And . . . Abigail, looking almost sheepish at the intrusion.

His first reaction to the sight of them had been 'what the fuck?', but since it wasn't quite as eloquent of a response as he was hoping to make, he left it unvoiced and chose to stare mutely at them instead until he could come up with a suitable response.

"Cornelia, Euphy . . . Abigail." He greeted as he continued making his way down the stairs into his living room. "To what do I owe this dubious honor?"

What the hell were they doing here?

Abigail, maybe, had an excuse for being there (not really, since he'd told her to stay away), but Cornelia and Euphemia's presences baffled him.

"_Lelouch_." Cornelia all but snarled. "I have a bone or three to pick with you."

"Surely your discontent with me didn't necessitate you traveling halfway around the globe. I'm sure a phone call would have sufficed." Lelouch countered coolly as his Royal Guard laughingly entered the room from the direction of the kitchen. Suzaku was with them, listening with a grin to some joke Nick was telling while he fastened his cape around his neck.

Hector noticed Cornelia first and froze, tensing for a moment as his eyes darted between Lelouch and Cornelia before he settled for snapping to attention and saluting. "Chief General." The others followed suit – even though none of them fell under her command structure in any way, shape or form anymore.

"We'll start there." Cornelia growled, pointing at Hector. "You took deserters and rewarded them with a promotion."

"I assure you, their desertion for my sake did nothing but make me like them more." Lelouch said with a small smirk. "Now, if we're going to discuss this, let's discuss the real issue. You're upset that I took subordinates from you."

She glared at him but remained mute, raising her chin slightly in silent affront.

"Don't tell me you didn't expect this to happen when you put me in command of them. Or did you hope they'd keep me in line and act as babysitters for you?" He asked dangerously.

"You're being over dramatic, Lelouch. This is about them abandoning their posts."

"Well then, in that case, I would like to remind you that I filed for their transfer at least a week prior to their desertion. That the approval was held up is the fault of delays on your part. So really, you don't have a point to stand on in this argument. Let's move on to the next bone of contention you have with me."

"Suzaku Kururugi." Cornelia all but spat the name.

Lelouch's eyes narrowed, noting how Suzaku straightened slightly at the sound of his name. But he didn't speak – which was a good thing. Cornelia would tear him apart given half the chance and Suzaku didn't have nearly sharp enough of a tongue to duel with her. "What about Suzaku Kururugi?" Lelouch asked.

"As if you need to ask. Knighting a Number, Lelouch? What were you thinking? You don't go to the pound when looking for a thoroughbred."

"_Cornelia!_" Euphemia cried out, aghast and thoroughly scandalized. "For God's sake, he's standing right there. I'm sorry about her. She's spent too much time out in the field and has forgotten her manners." She apologized to Suzaku.

"Euphemia, lovely as it is to see you, and grateful as I am for you coming to my Knight's defense, Cornelia never had manners to begin with. Don't make excuses for her." Lelouch said sharply.

Jeremiah chose to break the awkward silence that followed the reprimand by arriving at that moment. He paused on the threshold to the foyer, eyes dancing over the occupants of the room. Lelouch imagined the situation was rather easy to read, what with all of their hackles raised.

"My prince." He greeted with a bow before turning to Lelouch's guests. "Princess Cornelia. Princess Euphemia. Princess Abigail." The man greeted with equal reverence before taking up his post next to Lelouch.

"Alright, so you don't like my choice of Knights." Lelouch continued, backing away from the full scale argument that had been imminent a moment ago. "Unfortunately, your opinion doesn't carry any weight. They're my Knights, I chose them and I will live with that choice. You do not have the right to interfere in that matter."

He wasn't going to draw her into a pissing contest about Suzaku's qualifications. Whether she liked it or not, there was nothing she could do about it now. Not that he'd have let her opinion have any sway over his decision if she'd managed to voice her thoughts before the knighting ceremony anyway.

"Did you have a third issue?" Lelouch asked.

"Clovis."

Lelouch tensed as he regarded her. There was no way she could know that he and Jeremiah were the ones who had killed Clovis. She couldn't possibly know that he'd been involved. Unless she'd been talking to Schneizel. Even despite the evidence vindicating him of Clovis' murder, Schneizel still suspected him.

Had she been sent to punish him? To have him charged with treason and murdered? To have him executed?

Out of all of his siblings, there were probably few more eager to see him disposed of at the moment.

"What about Clovis?" He asked, nervous tension wound like a spring in his gut.

"What do you mean, what about him? He was killed. You were almost killed. What are you doing to avenge him? Who killed him? You were there. You have to know."

He relaxed slightly. "I was shot in the back, Cornelia. I never saw my assailant. However, I assure you I am doing everything in my power to get my revenge." He said firmly.

Her lips pressed into a thin, displeased line. "Was it the Kenshiki?" She asked, her voice dropping to a tone he was well aware indicated her fury. "Was it those bastards who almost got you the other day?"

He refused to show his surprise or his anger. After what she'd done – trying to rat him out to the Emperor – she didn't have the right to play the protective sister card. "It's probable." He answered coolly.

He'd let the Kenshiki take the fall for Clovis' death. They had, after all, been gunning for him for weeks prior to his murder. It wasn't a stretch to make the public believe that they'd succeeded. Especially when he forced a confession out of their leader as soon as he found him.

"I'll annihilate them."

"You'll go back to Britannia and let me do my job." Lelouch said sharply.

Cornelia brought her chin up, a triumphant smirk crawling across her lips. "I was sent here by our father, little brother. You're stuck with me."

He stiffened at the revelation.

He was surprised a second later when they stiffened as well.

"Oh, your wife's here." C.C. said blandly behind him.

Oh dear God, not now. He didn't need another complication added to this scenario.

Abigail's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets and that was definitely not a good sign. He was almost afraid to look, but figured that just because he ignored her didn't mean she'd disappear. He glanced over his shoulder, clenching his jaw when he saw C.C. standing on the stairs behind him looking sleep-mussed in nothing more than one of his shirts, buttons skewed and sleeves drooping over her hands.

To an untrained eye, she might have looked awkwardly out of place. To Lelouch, he saw the calculating gleam in her amber eyes as she clutched the hem of his shirt and held it down, as though out of modesty.

It was contrived.

She'd done this on purpose.

"Lelouch." Abigail growled, taking a few stiff steps towards him.

"Jeremiah, take C.C. to her room." He said sharply.

He could just strangle her – in fact he was fighting the urge to do so. So now he had an irate wife to deal with in addition to an irate sister. Euphemia, for her part, had blushed several different shades of pink in embarrassment and was decidedly not looking at C.C..

Jeremiah grabbed C.C. roughly by the arm and escorted her out. The place at his side remained vacant for all of five seconds before Suzaku took up his rightful post.

"Like father, like son, I suppose." Cornelia sighed.

"Who the hell was she, Lelouch?" Abigail hissed. "In your shirt? Running around your house practically naked! And she _lives _here?"

He could see the storm about to break – could watch it in the way Abigail drew herself up to her entire five foot two inches of height, shoulders straightening, chin held high – but was unable to do anything to prevent it.

It wasn't like she was waiting for an explanation anyway. She'd come to her own conclusions and wasn't about to listen to excuses.

Of the many varied ways she could have responded to his supposed infidelity, she chose a route she was already familiar with. Her hand flew, open palm racing towards his face only to have her wrist caught in Suzaku's ironclad grip.

"I'm sorry." Suzaku said sympathetically. "But I'll protect him even from you."

Her hand jerked out of his Knight's grip before raising again to collide with Suzaku's face instead. "Don't touch me, Number." She hissed venomously.

"Abigail." He said warningly. She glared at him in response. "I'm sure we can discuss this later. In the meantime, refrain from assaulting my Knight."

She pursed her lips like she wanted to argue, but Hector deliberately shifted to draw attention to the many inhabitants of the room. If she was going to tear him a new one, she would at least have the decency to do so in private.

"Was there anything else you needed?" Lelouch asked Cornelia sharply.

His sister merely shook her head, smirking bemusedly at his predicament. "No, I'm done here." Cornelia said smoothly. She'd already dropped her payloads after all. "We'll be staying in the Viceroy's Palace until we can find more suitable lodgings."

"You do that." He said coldly, irked by her presumption.

The Viceroy's Palace was supposed to be inhabited by the Viceroy. Unless she had been sent to replace him she didn't have the right to stay there (even if he wasn't using it). The Viceroy's Palace was a symbol of authority. If people found out she was staying there – an older, more experienced princess – his reputation would take another hit. He'd have to get her out of there as soon as possible.

"Come along, Euphy. I think our darling brother and Abigail need some time to get reacquainted." Cornelia said smugly before turning for the door.

"Um. . . Abby?" Euphy said hesitantly.

"It's fine. I'm fine. Go get settled. I'll come see you later." Abigail said convincingly.

"Right. . . Lelouch." Euphemia nodded her head slightly in farewell, lips pursed in disapproval, before following Cornelia out.

He waited until he was sure they were gone, his entourage equally still and silent.

"Edith." He snapped at his assistant from where she'd slipped into the room behind his Royal Guard. The cast on her wrist from the car wreck the other day hampered her efficiency with a palm pilot, but she'd refused to take time off. "Find out who sent them and why. I don't care if you have to demand answers from the Emperor himself, I want to know what Cornelia is here for." He ordered.

"Of course." She said, already wrestling open her cellphone.

He turned sharply on his heel, abandoning his wife and the argument that was bound to occur sooner or later, and stormed off to his den – thoughts racing in a furious loop. Had she been sent to replace him? Or just to keep an eye on him?

* * *

Jeremiah found that C.C. was utterly unrepentant for stirring up so much trouble. In fact, he suspected that that was the point – like some primitive form of staking her claim on the prince. It really was annoying.

"You can let go of me, Jerry." She said huffily.

Instead, he squeezed harder on her elbow (it would teach her for calling him that ridiculous name) until she forcibly jerked out of his grasp. She glared at him as she rubbed her arm. "Your indignation must have made you fearless." She grumbled.

And that was when he remembered what she'd done to that terrorist in Osaka and wondered how close he'd just come to being turned into a blubbering idiot on the floor.

But whether or not she used her power on him, he'd been given orders to take her to her room and he would be damned if he wouldn't obey. "Keep walking." He growled, pushing her in the direction of her room, though this time he didn't restrain her.

"Alright, alright." She sighed as she continued down the corridor. "This really isn't necessary. I'm done already. I'll go to my room and wait there for Lelouch."

"You think he'll come to you? He won't need you now that his wife's here." Jeremiah said, aiming to wound and stomp out some of that arrogance.

"Just watch, Jerry." She said confidently. "Lelouch won't get rid of me just because she's here."

He ignored her bravado and took her to her room, inspected it, made sure it was impossible to escape from the second floor windows and posted two guards on the door with instructions to keep her in before taking his leave.

When he returned to the living room, he found Princess Abigail standing alone in the center of the room with her arms curled in around herself and a hand over her eyes. He _almost_ turned around and let her be. Crying women had never been his strong suit.

But he'd taken an oath just yesterday to protect the vi Britannias from any threat, and he supposed even heartache fit in there somewhere. Besides, he pitied her. She was in a foreign country, in a house full of strangers and her husband hadn't even been willing to spare a glance at her before his mistress had paraded herself half naked around the house.

"My Lady," He said hesitantly, unsure where to go from there. Obviously the standard 'are you alright?' was out of the question. There was no way she was 'alright'.

Her shoulders stiffened as she straightened, but when she glanced over her shoulder at him, her eyes were (thankfully) dry. Instead, she wore a mask of wary impassivity that rivaled the prince's. "Margrave Gottwald." She said with a slight nod of greeting. "I'm sorry, or do you prefer Sir Gottwald?"

"Whichever you prefer, your highness." He said graciously.

"Margrave, then." She said. "Was there something you needed from me?"

Again, he didn't know what to say to her. They didn't know each other. And however much he pitied her, he was still Prince Lelouch's Knight of Honor. In whatever conflicts the prince entered, Jeremiah would always be on Lelouch's side.

Even in a domestic dispute with his wife.

She snorted and glanced away. "You don't have to worry about me. This is par for the course when it comes to Lelouch and I. I'm getting used to it. Besides, the Number already showed me the score. You are Lelouch's Knight, and I understand that."

For some reason, that didn't reassure him. "Would you like a drink, your highness?"

She chuckled mirthlessly. "It's a little early in the day to begin drinking."

"Sometimes, the occasion calls for a drink no matter what the time." He said charmingly.

She sighed heavily. "Yes, I suppose it does." She said before smirking at him. "So what's the occasion this time, Lord Gottwald?"

"Ah, well my prince's lovely wife has finally come to join him. That's cause for a celebratory glass of wine, isn't it?"

"You're getting ahead of yourself, Lord Gottwald. He'll probably try to send me back before the day's out. Not that I'll go." She said before shrugging slightly. "Ah, well. Wine it is then."

Which is how he found himself drinking wine, a full-bodied Bordeaux, with Princess Abigail at shortly past nine in the morning in the gazebo of Prince Lelouch's garden. Well, to clarify, neither of them were particularly drinking. The princess-consort swirled her glass, watching the red liquid stain the glass as she leaned against the banister.

"Shouldn't you be in there breathing over Lelouch's shoulder instead of drinking it up with me?" She asked eventually.

He leaned back in his seat and glanced over the foreign garden the prince had yet to replace. "Much as I hate to admit it, Kururugi is capable of protecting his highness. And, to my knowledge, Prince Lelouch hadn't intended to leave the house today. He wanted to finish studying for his exams. We were only called in today to keep the well wishers away. Though that may change now that Princess Cornelia is here."

"Yes. He went into full panic mode as soon as she left, hm." The princess mused before chuckling deprecatingly. "He didn't even ask me - didn't even consider that I would know why she was here. It's like I'm furniture – just a particularly ugly sofa that he hates and rather wouldn't look at, yet can't get rid of."

"I think it takes the prince a while to warm up to people."

"Oh, spare me. I don't need a motivational speech about how to better get along with Lelouch. Especially not from his Knight. We've fought like cats and dogs from the day we met." She rolled her eyes.

Apparently the sympathetic approach wasn't going to cut it. She was too proud and self-reliant to need a shoulder to cry on (not that he was really cut out for the job, but he would have grinned and born it anyway). Well then, now what?

"So I take it the story of a long distance relationship between childhood sweethearts was a ruse then?" He asked needlessly. He already knew the prince had been forced into his marriage by the Emperor.

"Tch. Of course. When would we have met? I'd never been to Pendragon before I was fourteen. And as far as I'm aware, he's never been to Oregon. Besides, he's two years younger than me. If we'd ever met as children, I'd have still been in that boy's are icky stage and he'd have been too young to even figure out what 'sweetheart' meant."

"Prince Lelouch has always been rather mature for his age. Even when he was a child." Jeremiah supplied. At least this line of questioning was venting some of her frustration.

"Mature?" She asked in disbelief. "Half an hour after I met him, he threw a tantrum and refused to eat dinner with me. Lelouch does what he wants, when he wants with little to no regard for the wishes of others."

Which was true, of course. The prince had an almost overpowering personality. He liked to have things go his way and, because he was a prince and had the authority to back his demands up, they often did. However, he was beginning to suspect that Princess Abigail was much the same way.

They were too similar, he realized. Two forces of nature striving against each other. If they were able to unify, they'd be unstoppable, but the prince wanted one thing and the princess wanted quite another.

"Yes. But that is his right as prince." Jeremiah answered carefully.

She laughed. "Well aren't you well trained. Whatever did my husband do to win your loyalty?"

"My loyalty lies with the vi Britannias. I've served Prince Lelouch since he was seven years old, whether he knew it or not." He answered.

"For that long? Then you were stationed at the Aeries Villa?"

"Yes. I was on Empress Marianne's Royal Guard."

The princess regarded him with a teasing smile. "The Empress' Royal Guard to her son's Knight of Honor. You don't care who you serve so long as they're related. I suppose that made it easy to wait on Prince Clovis. I heard they were close."

He wasn't surprised that she knew about his record. Since his knighting had been announced, there had been numerous inquiries into his past by the media – the results of which had been splashed on the front pages of newspapers and magazines across the Empire.

"To an extent. I've sworn to serve and protect Prince Lelouch, but I've also taken oaths to protect the vi Britannia line. That includes you, your highness, along with any future children you and the prince might have."

She flinched and sobered, the slightly teasing atmosphere disappearing like smoke in the wind as she turned her back to him and looked out over the garden. "So, who is she, anyway? That girl he keeps in his bed?" She asked a moment later. She managed to say it without sounding hurt.

He grimaced. He'd _really _been hoping she wouldn't ask. "C.C." He answered reluctantly.

"Is that some kind of code name?" She asked derisively.

"Probably. I'm unfamiliar with her history." He said, because it was true. He hadn't been able to find any record of her in any known database. Though, granted, his results were stunted by the lack of a real name.

"Let me get this straight, you let some hussy you know nothing about into his bed, but _I_ had to be searched for weapons to get into the house?" She demanded.

"The prince cleared her. It seems he trusts her not to strangle him while he's sleeping."

"He trusts her? So is she from before he returned to Pendragon then?" She mused quietly.

"I'm not sure."

The princess was quiet for a long moment. "Why a code name? Does she work for him as well as whore herself out to him? Some kind of agent?"

He hesitated. He knew what C.C. was – what they both were. Just a little bit extraordinary. However he also knew that was a secret they wished to keep. Even if Abigail was the prince's wife, she was very obviously not his confidant.

"I'm not sure. He keeps her close at almost all times. I doubt their relationship is purely romantic." He said, wondering if that would ease her hurt or make it worse.

She was quiet for another long moment, staring intently at the koi swimming in the pond in slow lazy circles. For a moment, her shoulders slumped and she looked every bit the defeated, hurt woman he knew she had to be. She she snapped back into control, her spine stiffened and her chin raised.

"Well, I can't say this what I hoped to find when I got here. But I can't say it was wholly unexpected either."

Jeremiah suppressed a sigh. He wasn't sure whether he should applaud her strength or feel even more sorry for her that she wouldn't express her hurt in a way that the prince would be sure to note.

* * *

Suzaku hadn't seen Lelouch this upset in a long time. Lelouch tended to internalize his anger and frustration. Usually when it overflowed, it was explosive. Suzaku could deal with an explosive Lelouch. But this silent _seething _Lelouch was different. This was past the point of his usual mute annoyance – those troubles he refused to comment on or acknowledge. And it was past the point of explosive as well.

Lelouch was actually pacing. Stalking back and forth down the length of his home office – leonine and graceful but emitting tangible waves of anxiety and frustration – as his thoughts raced.

"I don't get it." Roy said eventually from his perch on the arm of the couch. The Royal Guard was watching Lelouch wear a hole in the carpet with almost visible wariness. "What's the big deal? You didn't necessarily get along back in Area Eighteen, but you could tolerate her. Now you're acting like you don't even want the Chief General in the same country as you. What gives?"

"What gives?" Lelouch demanded waspishly before taking a deep breath and reining himself in. "When I returned to Pendragon to speak with the Emperor, it was only to find that Cornelia had set me up for execution. She tried to have me charged with treason and killed. _That_ is what the big deal is, Roy."

"Shit." Roy breathed, holding up his hands in appeasement.

This was what Lelouch had feared from the start. The reason he hadn't wanted to return to Britannia. The reason he'd decided to separate himself from Nunnally rather than put her at risk. To wound himself that way. Being hunted by his own family – these people who would smile at you right up to the point that they plunged a knife into your ribs.

"I don't trust her. All of you keep that in mind. I don't care that she's my sister and I don't care that she's a princess and the Chief General of Britannia. If she makes a move against me, I expect you, as my Royal Guard, to move back, understood?"

The command was met with a chorus of hesitant agreement. What Lelouch was asking was treason – though, Suzaku supposed, it was probably less treasonous if they only defended against Cornelia's attacks (if she chose to attack Lelouch).

Lelouch went back to pacing for a moment before Edith bustled into the room, phone tucked under her arm as she tried to input something into her palm pilot despite the cast. "The Emperor sent Princess Cornelia to replace General Bartley. That's all I was able to find out. I don't know if she was given any other . . . less formal instructions. Princess Euphemia, on the other hand, has registered for classes at Ashford Academy. I called Empress li Britannia to be certain, and she verified the transfer."

Suzaku could tell that Lelouch had stopped listening shortly after the first words had left Edith's mouth. By the time she was finished talking, Lelouch was grinning broadly. And then he was laughing hysterically, bracing himself against his knees to keep himself from collapsing with mirth.

"I take it back, Roy." Lelouch chuckled as he sat down and was still for the first time since Princess Cornelia had left. "She can stay as long as she likes. As my subordinate."

* * *

Charles watched the rerun news broadcast again for the third time since the events had transpired. He found it amusing. It made him chuckle every time.

_"Then I, Lelouch vi Britannia, do hereby dub thee Sir Suzaku Kururugi, Knight of Honor of Britannia."_

If that wasn't a direct provocation, he didn't know what was.

A familiar annoyed sigh drew his thoughts away from his errant son for a moment. "V.V., you're back." He noted.

"That boy's a nuisance." V.V. huffed, foregoing a greeting.

"He's entertaining."

"Hardly." V.V. sniffed, "He's just like his mother. Impetuous."

"I happened to like his mother." Charles said, stifling his annoyance.

"I'm aware of that, Charles. I imagine that's why you married her." His brother sighed before gesturing towards the television with one small, child-like hand. "So what are you going to do about this?"

"Do?" Charles asked, quirking one eyebrow.

"Obviously you have to do something. He's flaunting his disregard for you and your national policies to the entire Empire." V.V. huffed.

"But he's trying so very hard to get under my skin." He chuckled bemusedly. "Reacting is just what he wants me to do."

He didn't tell V.V. about Lelouch's Geass. V.V. rarely took the time to consort with the dead when he made the trip to the World of C, so the chance of him interrogating Clovis was slim. V.V. wasn't concerned with the royal family so much as he was concerned with Geass. So long as the boy continued to use it prudently, and so long as C.C. remained discreet, it was unlikely V.V. would discover Lelouch's secret.

It's not like he was protecting the boy, but Marianne would have probably gone on a rampage if V.V. had gotten his hands on her son so soon after resuming his rightful place as an heir of the Empire. Marianne on a rampage tended to make situations messy.

"You're being lenient because he's her son." V.V. accused.

"I'm not." He said firmly. And it was true. He wasn't being lenient, but he had no intention of walking right into the boy's trap and falling victim to his Geass. He could only imagine the sadistic pleasure Lelouch would get out of turning him into a puppet.

"Then what is the reasoning behind letting this slide?"

"I just told you. I'm toying with him. Condemning him will only prove that it's bothered me. And Kururugi is only one man."

"Kururugi is setting a precedent." V.V. argued.

"So let him set one." Charles shrugged. "It matters very little to me when compared -"

"To Ragnarok." V.V. breathed.

"Precisely."

V.V. was quiet for a moment, considering the frozen image of Lelouch on the television screen. "You still need to send him a message. If not of disapproval, then an insult. If you let him get away with this without comment, he'll take it that he's got free rein."

Charles considered the suggestion for a moment before smirking. "Alright. I'll send Altreim to supervise the Number." He said. Marianne would probably get a kick out of it.

"I think you should send someone a little more intimidating than Anya."

"She can take Weinberg with her."

For reasons that defied his logic, Marianne really liked the boy. He supposed they had similar senses of humor, though she rarely took the opportunity to indulge in humor in Altreim's body. Still, they worked well as a team together.

V.V. sighed before giving up, knowing that he wouldn't win.

"How were things with the Directorate?" He asked.

"Tolerable. But there's still no sign of C.C.."

". . . A pity." Charles said.

Charles was not like Marianne. His anger didn't burn brightly like a raging inferno. Instead, he simmered. He was level headed enough to continue the status quo while plotting revenge, even in the face of his favorite wife's murderer – his own brother.

* * *

AN: . This chapter was a bitch to write. Being distracted probably didn't help. I'm afraid I have some news that most of you will consider bad. I've finally got another hobby. I'll give you a history lesson first. I used to be big into the game Final Fantasy XI, until they ruined it with one of their add ons and I quit playing it. The abandonment resulted in me watching a lot of anime (Code Geass being one of them) which eventually spawned Dauntless.

Recently, I've discovered Rift, which I particularly enjoy. So now I'll be dividing my time between Rift, Dauntless, work and starting classes again soon. -,- I'm a busy girl (or something like that). I'd just like to say now that I am NOT abandoning Dauntless and will continue to update in as timely a fashion as I'm able to. Also, if any of you want to play Rift with me, I'm on the Arcanis server under the name Shiduri. If any of you want to try out Rift, totally send me a PM before you sign up and I'll send you a recuit a friend link think so I can get some sweet rewards. lol.

Anyway, as for the chapter, obviously there was tension between C.C. and Abby. I hope I did it justice. Also, I'm not sure if I did V.V.'s character justice. I'm not sure if I've got a good handle on his personality. I'll have to go back and watch some episodes that he's in.

So yeah, that's that and I hope you enjoyed it. Leave me a review. I'll be away the next 2 days for a funeral, so leave me lots of goodies in my inbox for when I get back.

Allora


	58. Chapter 58

Chapter 58

Euphemia had taken the grand tour of the Viceroy's Palace with her sister when they'd arrived that morning before Cornelia had taken off to the Tokyo Base and left her alone. She'd amused herself for a few hours by going through the library before she'd stumbled upon Clovis' old painting studio and a cache of paintings he'd obviously decided were unworthy of hanging on the walls.

She'd thought she'd cried herself out before his funeral (so she'd been able to present a neutral face in front of the cameras). But that room, with all those gentle colors and beautiful landscapes had wrenched out her grief anew. He'd painted her something for her birthday every year for as long as she could remember. But this year, there would be no new addition.

There would never be a new addition.

"Your highness," One of the overly polite house staff interrupted her silent perusal of a particularly vibrant painting of wildflowers, "Princess-Consort vi Britannia is here to see you."

"Oh, where is she?" She asked, setting the canvas aside.

"She's waiting up in the garden."

"Right. Can you send tea up for us please." She requested before leaving the studio and riding the elevator up to the rooftop gardens.

Abby was there, changed out of the killer outfit she'd put on to impress Lelouch – the one Lelouch hadn't even glanced at – and into casual capris and a tanktop (new purchases from their last shopping spree in Pendragon). She was staring pensively at one of the rose bushes as she waited.

Standing together a few feet away was a man and a woman dressed in the black and silver uniform of Lelouch's Royal Guard. Well, at least he was making sure she was protected if not cherished.

"Abby." She greeted, pulling her sister-in-law into a hug. "I see you have an entire entourage."

"Lelouch's tag-alongs." Abigail said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "He wouldn't let me leave without supervision. I think he thinks I'm going to try something drastic. This is Amanda Lyons and Hector Zimmerman, the Captain of his Guard."

"Your highness." They both murmured, bowing politely before saluting.

She glanced over at the blond man for a moment, cocking her head to the side. "Are you related to Lukas?" She asked. They sort of had the same eye color and they were both blond and had the same last name. . .

Hector blinked in surprise. "You know my brother, Princess?"

"Mm, I went to both of Lelouch's graduations at the base back in Pendragon. Lukas was there both times. He's very nice." She said fondly. It really wasn't fair that Lelouch could have so many great, down-to-earth friends. Hopefully that would change on Monday when she started at Ashford. She was looking forward to being in a normal school, instead of one that catered to the nobility and royalty, for the first time in her life.

"I'm glad he behaved himself, your highness." Hector said tentatively.

"Of course he did. And you can relax here. I'm Euphy." She said and offered her hand to shake (a gesture her mother would have been appalled to see).

"Hector." The man nodded and very briefly took her hand.

"Don't tell me you're on Lelouch's side too, Euphy." Abigail sighed.

"Of course not!" She protested. What Lelouch was doing with that green-haired woman was downright scandalous. She was actually very disappointed in him, but he was still her brother and nothing would change that or make her love him less.

"Good." Abby sighed before collapsing into one of the chairs at the nearby patio set and leaning back. "Everyone I've met in this damned country so far can't do anything but sing his praises. Nevermind that he's a letch."

"So what are you going to do?" She asked as she joined her friend at the table. Personally, she wouldn't blame Abigail if she decided to go back to Pendragon. At least at Aeries Villa she didn't have to see that woman.

"I'm thinking of a few different approaches."

"Approaches?"

"I'm a vi Britannia now. My rightful place is next to Lelouch. It would be a disgrace to the Royal Family if I ran back home. This C.C. woman doesn't know what she's in for if she thinks she can run me off so easily."

"You're not going to . . . attack her, are you?" She asked tentatively. She'd never seen Abigail this agitated before. All of those months of grinning through the slander from two-faced nobles had never even rustled her feathers, but now she was pushed to the point of plotting.

Her gaze was cold and merciless, reminiscent of Cornelia's when she was really angry.

"Euphemia, I'm a hundred pounds soaking wet and a socialite. Do you really think I could assault her and win?" She demanded. "I'm not Cornelia."

She chuckled a little at that. If Cornelia's lover ever had the audacity to cheat on her, assault would be the least of his worries. Not that Cornelia really ever got close to anyone in a romantic way, Euphemia didn't think.

"I guess."

"Is your sister not here? I thought she'd be snooping around to congratulate herself on the aftermath of the chaos she caused."

"No. She went to the base with Guilford to get familiar with the place." She answered. "And to be fair, there was no way she could have known about that woman. She was just as surprised as we were."

"Yes, I know. He was more concerned about Cornelia's appearance that he was about me finding out about his mistress anyway." Abigail shrugged. "I haven't actually spoken to him yet."

"I thought you said he wouldn't let you leave?"

"Mm, I had to parlay my request through his Knight."

"Oh. Which one?" She asked.

"The only respectable one. Do you really think I'd engage in conversation with that barbarian?" Abigail snarled.

"He's not a barbarian. Honestly, you're as bad as Cornelia sometimes. He may not be Britannian, but he's still a person and deserves to be treated with dignity and respect." She lectured. It honestly bothered her when people were automatically discounted for something they had no control over. It had happened far too many times to her – people comparing her to Cornelia and always finding her substandard and lacking.

"And what of me?"

"Yes, you deserve to be treated with dignity and respect too. By Lelouch and by Sir Kururugi. And I don't think he should have stopped you from slapping Lelouch. He deserved it, after all."'

Abigail sighed and leaned back in her seat, staring up at the clouds above as she reined herself in under her respectable control. "I hate this. Sometimes I wish I hadn't gone through with the wedding. It was obvious from the start that it wasn't what he wanted."

"But then we probably wouldn't have become friends." Euphy reminded. Not that she really thought her friendship was worth the hardship of a failed marriage, but she was very glad that she'd met Abigail.

"Yes. My in-laws are wonderful, to say nothing for my husband." Abby said with a teasing smile. "It's the silver lining, I suppose."

"Did you want to stay here tonight? You don't have to go back there. This is, technically, his house, and therefore your house."

"What do you want me to do, Euphy? Just back off and let her stay in his bed? Give up? Pretend I didn't see her and ignore his little indiscretion? I can't do that. I won't. I have my pride too. I will make him look at me as a woman, instead of a nuisance he's been saddled with by his father. And I will force that woman out of his bed."

Abigail really was an amazing woman. Here, her marriage was falling apart all around her, she was in a foreign country and would be sharing a house with her husband's mistress, but she had yet to shed a tear. Euphy, on the other hand, had just spent the better part of two hours weeping over acrylic paints and canvas.

* * *

C.C. was sprawled across her bed, still dressed in his shirt – still indecent – and apparently unconcerned by his anger. She glanced up at him from examining her fingernails, now painted bright red (God only knew where she'd found nail polish).

"Lelouch." She said nonchalantly before smirking. "Jerry."

His Knight had accompanied him and had even gone so far as to subtly offer to dispose of C.C. for him. Not that he thought Jeremiah could manage the task. C.C. had survived being shot in the head and the heart. Between that mysterious miracle and her 'not Geass', Gottwald would have next to no chance.

"What the hell was with that stunt you pulled earlier?" He snarled instead of greeting her. He'd deliberately left her to stew in her room all day while he finished his studies and received regular progress reports from Edith who was keeping tabs on Cornelia's activities at the base.

"What stunt?" She asked idly.

"What stunt?" He hissed. "What are you wearing?"

"I believe it's one of your shirts." She shrugged, the movement revealing a flash of skin that he deliberately ignored. "You've never said anything about me wearing them before."

True. She had a point. She had gone around the house attired in almost the same manner (but at least the buttons had all been firmly tone up on those occasions) and he'd stopped making a fuss about it. Mostly because arguing with her was like arguing with a brick wall and his Geass was useless on her.

"You deliberately went down there like that."

"Maybe." Another shrug, another glimpse of skin.

"Why? Do you have any idea what they think of me now? What Abigail thinks?"

"Why do you care what she thinks?" C.C. asked, quirking an eyebrow inquisitively.

"She's my wife." He answered, because it was the easiest explanation. He didn't necessarily care that her feelings had been hurt (though it did slightly bother him, even if he didn't particularly like her). What he did care about what that his reputation was going to take a hit if anyone found out about this incident (which they likely would), and that Cornelia had now seen C.C..

Cornelia was likely looking for weaknesses in the web of support he'd built up around him, and a supposed mistress flaunting herself in front of his wife was a major conflict she'd be unlikely not to try to capitalize on. It didn't help that Abigail was already, apparently, close to the li Britannias.

"The wife that you haven't even touched, despite being married over six months." C.C. replied nonchalantly.

No. There was no way she could know that. He _never_ talked about Abigail to her. Ever. "What?" He choked out in surprise.

"Oh please, it's so obvious you're a virgin you might as well have it stamped on your forehead. Not that it's necessarily a bad thing, you're still young after all, but you've probably come closer to having sex with me than you have with your wife. And let me tell you, Lelouch, you haven't come very close at all."

He was staring at her, open-mouthed and gaping like a fish and there was no way in hell she could _know _all of that, but somehow she did. He wasn't obvious, he wasn't some blushing schoolboy who got flustered at the very sight of a beautiful woman. He had cultivated his image down to the smallest gesture and expression. And she had the audacity to label him with that dreaded 'v' word (never mind the fact that it was true) as though he didn't practically ooze confidence and charisma.

"So why do you care what she thinks? Or rather, what do you want her to think? Which story is more embarrassing, do you think?" C.C. asked.

That . . . that . . . _bitch_.

He was seriously reconsidering Jeremiah's offer to dispose of her. And, of course, it was only now that he remembered that his Knight was in the room and listening to this ridiculous _blackmail –_ because that's what it was. For reasons that defied his logic, C.C. wanted to pretend she was his mistress. And she'd threatened to slander him if he didn't play along.

It was stupid – beyond stupid. It was just sex and he should just get it over and done with and slip this collar she was trying to tighten around his neck. And in the long run, it didn't matter if he'd done it before or not – except that some of his older and frankly just as suited to Viceroy subordinates would likely see it as another point against him and his age. But he didn't want to do it with just anyone. It wasn't that he was waiting for someone in particular to pass that particular milestone with. It wasn't about something as ephemeral as love. No, it was about trust. And there was no one he trusted enough to put himself in that vulnerable of a position with.

It was pride, he realized. She would hang him with his own pride because he wasn't willing to take just anyone to bed and she'd smile that cat-with-a-canary grin the entire time she did so.

"What happened to all that talk about being my ally and being on my side?" He hissed.

"I am your ally. Your enemies are my enemies and I will do anything I have to to protect you." She nodded, mimicking her declaration of the previous night. "Show me an enemy. You already know what length I'll go to to protect you."

He grit his teeth, took a deep breath and hated her with a passion for a moment, before turning on his heel to leave. She chuckled softly under her breath at her victory and it was almost enough to make him turn around and . . . he didn't know what.

Assaulting a woman, even if it was C.C., wasn't really his style. Instead, he kept walking and (yes, it was childish) slammed the door behind him.

". . . your highness?" Jeremiah asked tentatively as Lelouch stormed down the corridor towards his own room. He stopped mid-step and turned sharply to glare at his Knight. So help him, if Gottwald said anything about . . . "I apologize. I misinterpreted your relationship with C.C. and may have exacerbated the situation with Princess Abigail."

He forced himself to be calm. "It's fine. Don't say anything." He ordered. "You can go home now. It's late."

"Of course, my prince. Good night."

He watched his Knight's receding back for a moment before turning back around and heading for his room, looking forward to having his bed to himself for the first time since Osaka. He had just finished stripping out of his clothes and was pulling back the blankets when the door to his room opened without knocking and Abigail walked in, bold as brass.

He braced himself, readying himself to hear out her litany of curses and condemnations. But instead, she mutely moved over to the wardrobe and (much to his chagrin) pulled out a satin and lace nighty-thing. Edith must not have instructed his maids to put her things in a separate room – one far away from his.

Such mundane thoughts soon left his head when Abigail turned around to face him and promptly pulled her shirt off over her head. He squashed the immediate reaction to look away and give her privacy only because of the challenge clearly burning in her gaze and C.C.'s revelation echoing in his ears.

Instead, he regarded her as he would a marble statue – art – and refused to blush or gape as she exposed herself before him.

In a purely objective way of thinking, he could admit that he thought she was beautiful – all flawless ivory skin and long blond hair. He'd always thought she was beautiful, even now as she shamelessly bared herself. But in a purely objective way of thinking, he could also admit that she seemed to epitomize everything he hated most about Britannia.

She was arrogant, racist, advocated the superiority of nobility and a general nuisance in his life. And, perhaps, part of it was that she'd been chosen for him by the Emperor. The part of him that despised everything about the Emperor despised her as well. He knew it wasn't particularly fair, but he wasn't in a hurry to rectify the problem either.

She pulled on her nighty – hardly more decent than her nudity – and pulled her hair into a loose braid over one shoulder, all the while not taking her eyes off of him. Watching him watching her. It was weird, to say the least, but he wondered just what she was gleaning from her observations. Was she seeing the same things in him as C.C.?

Then she primly turned away, as though nothing had happened, and crawled into what, he realized with dawning horror, he'd begun to refer to as C.C.'s side of the bed. She rolled on her side, back facing him and snuggled into her pillow, apparently ignoring him.

A rather large part of him wanted to leave – to abandon his bed and find one of the other twelve bedrooms to sleep in – but there was no way he could do it. Aside from it being very obvious that he'd intended to sleep here (he was still holding the bed covers for Christ's sake), it would look cowardly if he fled now. Especially with C.C.'s dead-on accusations still ringing in his ears.

Instead, he crawled into bed next to her and flicked off the lamp, hyper-aware of Abigail's every breath and movement. C.C. at least had the decency to build a barrier of pillows between them. Though the barrier didn't really seem necessary as Abigail remained resolutely on her side of the bed (unlike C.C.) and he remained on his.

"Good night, Lelouch." She said quietly, right before he was about to drop off to sleep. He realized it was the first thing she'd said to him since the chaos Cornelia and C.C. had stirred up that morning. He also noticed that she didn't sound particularly angry.

"G'night." He replied sleepily, more out of habit than because he hoped she slept well.

He'd have to see about convincing her to go back to Pendragon tomorrow. Simply ordering to go back home would no longer work. By coming here with Cornelia, she'd very effectively slipped the small measure of control he had over her. Cornelia would likely protect her from him, just to spite him. Should he remove her from the house, Cornelia and Euphemia would shelter her.

But for now he had sleep and exams to worry about – and Euphemia's protection at Ashford. Which would all be dealt with tomorrow, along with arranging his second foray to Osaka.

* * *

Suzaku was hovering on the brink of sleep when he heard his door quietly slip open and closed again. For a moment he struggled with his instinct to sit up and get in a preemptive attack. People had snuck up on him while he was sleeping before and the results had never been good.

However, he reasoned with himself that it was probably Lelouch sneaking out of his wife's clutches. Judging from everything Lelouch had ever told him about his wife (which was admittedly not much), and from their reunion earlier, he doubted sleeping next to her was at the top of the list of things Lelouch wanted to do tonight.

Why Lelouch was sneaking into his room in the middle of the night was beyond him, but it was Lelouch's house and he could go where he pleased.

His intruder shuffled through the dark, drawing closer, before stubbing their toe on the wardrobe and letting out a whispered curse. _That_ brought Suzaku to full alertness. That hadn't been Lelouch's voice. In fact, he thought it was C.C.'s.

He kept his breathing slow and steady so as not to tip her off and opened his eyes a sliver. Yes, that was definitely C.C. by the foot of his bed, holding something bulky against her chest as she lurked closer.

Preemptive strike it was, then. He wasn't about to let her get any closer to fulfill whatever purpose she had in his room in the middle of the night. His hand slowly reached for the katana Lelouch had given him from it's place leaning against his bedside table, then as swiftly and as fluidly as he could manage, he threw his blanket over her, unsheathed his sword and swung a leg at her, toppling her onto the bed.

Three seconds.

He'd timed it. Three seconds to arm himself and immobilize his opponent. He felt a little proud of the accomplishment as he sat straddled over her stomach with the naked tip of his blade hovering somewhere in the vicinity of her throat.

". . . what the hell are you doing, Kururugi?" She said, voice muffled through the blanket. She didn't say it indignantly or angrily, but rather in a complete deadpan that suggested he was being an idiot.

"Why the hell are you in here?" He countered.

". . . I was lonely."

He blanched at the thought and physically recoiled from her, giving her the opportunity she needed to shuffle and shimmy until her head was poking out of the covers. She laughed at him softly. "Ah, you should see your face, Suzaku."

He glared at her, furious that he'd managed to lose the advantage he'd had over her. Though her arms were still trapped at her sides between his knees, so at least he should be safe from her . . . whatever it was.

"Why are you in here?" He asked again, bringing the tip of the katana down to rest against her sternum.

She glanced at the blade for a moment, following the length of it up to his hand and then to his face as he hovered over her. "I don't suppose it occurred to you that his darling wife might take to getting her revenge while he's sleeping."

It hadn't occurred to him.

"If she did, it would be your fault." He grumbled.

She shrugged. "Probably. But regardless of who's fault it would be, Lelouch would still be dead or maimed."

"So, what? You came here to warn me? Consider me warned. Now get out." He sighed as he clambered off of her and searched for the sheath to his katana in the mess of bedding.

But instead of leaving, she fixed the covers then laid out two pillows down the center of the bed before curling up on half of his bed.

Oh, hell no.

He may not like her and he may think she was a conniving, manipulative bitch that couldn't be trusted and deserved to be shoved back into her capsule, but she was still Lelouch's . . . girlfriend, or something. And if there was one thing he knew about Lelouch, it was that his friend was possessive to the extreme.

"No. There is no way in hell you're staying here." He protested.

"Why not?"

"Because!"

"That's not a very good reason at all." She sighed as she snuggled further into his blankets.

"C.C. -!"

"You're being loud. You don't want to wake them, do you?"

"Fine." He grit his teeth then snatched the blanket off the bed along with a pillow and began making a bed on the floor. He set the katana next to his pillow just in case.

"You took my blanket." She protested.

"No. I took _my_ blanket. Excuse me if I don't make you feel comfortable while you intrude." He corrected as he settled into his makeshift bed.

"You made your bed as far away from me as you could without leaving the room." She observed, leaning up on one elbow.

"Because I don't trust you." He grumbled.

"Why not?"

He paused for a moment and wondered if he should let her know he was on to her. But he didn't see the harm. Perhaps it would make her rethink her objective. "I overheard you on the phone when we got back from Osaka. You're using Lelouch."

"We're mutually using each other." She said nonchalantly.

"And what is Lelouch getting from you?"

"I wonder." She mused quietly before getting up and making her way towards his wardrobe (which she promptly opened and began rooting around in).

"What are you doing?" He demanded.

"Looking for a blanket."

He stifled a groan. He'd hoped she'd leave once he'd made it readily apparent that she wasn't welcome here. But she obviously hadn't taken the hint or she just didn't care. "Under the bed." He sighed, imagining that she'd have no qualms over taking his wardrobe apart and using his clothes as bedding. Like some kind of vermin.

And that was when he realized she'd just expertly distracted him from his line of questioning. He scowled at the realization. "What is Lelouch getting from you? I mean . . ." He gestured vaguely at her, "besides the obvious."

"Are you suggesting the 'obvious' isn't enough?" She inquired haughtily as she traipsed back to the bed and pulled out his spare blanket, wrapping it around her shoulders

"Not for Lelouch."

He knew Lelouch. And he knew his friend didn't trust easily. He doubted Lelouch was the type to take just anyone to bed, so the fact that C.C. had found herself a way into it was either a huge display of his trust in her (which he doubted because Lelouch didn't trust her any other time and even had the Royal Guard keeping tabs on her) or it meant something wasn't quite right.

He could guess what C.C. was getting out of their arrangement. She'd been kept prisoner and experimented on (or something). Sticking close to Lelouch made sure she didn't have to go back to that. For some reason, Lelouch had offered her protection and it wasn't just so he could get her into bed.

She chuckled. "You really do know him well, don't you? Even despite all of the years you were apart."

"He hasn't changed that much."

"That's true, I suppose."

Another diversion and this time he caught it before following down it's conversational tangent. He was supposed to ask how she would know what he'd been like seven years ago, but he wouldn't. "What is Lelouch getting from you?" He asked again, hardening his tone.

She sighed heavily and flopped back on the bed. "Aren't you just full of questions this evening."

"Tell me what I want to know and I'll stop asking them."

"You want to know the nature of my contract with Lelouch . . ." She mused. "Then you'll have to ask Lelouch about it. I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to discuss it."

He frowned. If that wasn't a cop out, he didn't know what was. But it was also a viable excuse. If Lelouch had told her to keep it quiet, then even he, as Lelouch's Knight, didn't have the right to interfere. "Who were you on the phone with that day?" He tried instead.

"An old . . . accomplice."

"And what's their interest in Lelouch?" He interrogated.

"She's not too pleased that he replaced her."

"Replaced her? Then you consider Lelouch your accomplice?" He asked. Accomplice in what, he had no idea and he doubted she'd be willing to explain it. He'd ask Lelouch about it later.

"Of course. That's what he is."

"And do you sleep with all of your accomplices?" He asked snippily.

"Only the ones that take my fancy." She replied equally moodily. "Are you done interrogating me yet, Kururugi?"

"Almost. How likely is your mysterious accomplice to attack Lelouch?"

"She won't. You don't need to worry about that. I'm the one she's displeased with." C.C. answered confidently. "Done now?"

" . . . yeah." He said, not because he didn't have more questions but because he thought the likelihood of her answering any more of them was slim. "I still don't trust you."

"I never asked you to trust me. All you need to trust is that I will protect Lelouch at any cost."

He snorted. "Right."

"Listen here, Kururugi. While you were busy bleeding out on the pavement in Shinjuku, I was the one saving his life. Don't you forget that."

. . . He didn't know if that was true or not. Lelouch had never told him how he'd managed to get out of the subway alive. He supposed it was possible that C.C. had used her 'taser' power on them, after which Lelouch had shot them.

"Duly noted." He sighed and stared up at the ceiling, preparing to feign sleep to not only keep an ear open for any signs of trouble with Lelouch but to also keep an eye on C.C.. It was going to be a long night. And he'd been looking forward to getting some rest too.

* * *

An: . . . Yes, that's right. I just wrote an entire chapter that revolved around Lelouch's nonexistant sex life. -.- For those of you who may be concerned, this story will likely never get more detailed than that scene with Abigail and Lelouch. For those of you who were concerned this gen fic was taking a sudden romantic curve, rest assured we'll get back to politics and warfare in the upcoming chapters. Personally, I hated writing this chapter because it seemed way to 'highschool drama-y' for me but I thought it was kind of important to define their relationship a bit better.

Right then, the reason this chapter is so short is because I have some bad news. The other day my (brand new .) computer began making funny noises before giving me the dreaded blue screen of death. It soon after began refusing to load windows at all. It's currently in the shop being looked at by a geek who will fix it for me. Luckily, I emailed myself a copy of Dauntless when it was still in the making funny noises stage and therefore didn't have to rewrite the entirety of the chapter (only the last couple pages). This chapter is brought to you by my boyfriend's generosity in letting me steal his computer for a few hours so I could finish writing and upload.

I have no idea when I'll get my computer back and I hate typing on this computer (the chair to keyboard height is just all wrong for me), so I will begin writing chapter 59 when I get my computer back from the shop. Until then . . . I shall be being very bored and thinking up complex plot twists for Dauntless. Honestly, I hadn't realized how much time I spend on my computer until it was gone. If I didn't have a computer, I bet my apartment would be spottlessly clean.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Read and review and, again, sorry it's so short but I can't type at this stupid desk.

Allora


	59. Chapter 59

Chapter 59

Lelouch had never tried sneaking a large group of people onto the Ashford Academy campus before. Neither had he ever tried sneaking into the Administration Building. His stealthy ins and outs were almost exclusively from the Classroom Building or the Student Council Building. All in all, it was a day for firsts with the entirety of his Royal Guard, his Knights, Edith and Euphemia tagging along. The incursion had been timed down to the minute so that the majority of the school's students would be in class as they arrived in staggered intervals.

He most emphatically didn't want to be seen on campus. And even more emphatically didn't want to be seen in Euphy's presence. Her anonymity was still intact and he intended to keep it that way – especially with that viper hidden in their midst.

Edith had dug up all kinds of interesting details on the history of Kallen Stadtfeld, including her non-Britannian heritage and the lack of any authentic medical records confirming her illness. He'd assumed her sickly girl persona was a front to disguise her true activities but the fact that she was half Japanese had surprised him.

In a way, it would make her more useful. But it would also make it more difficult to recruit her. She had a genuine link to the resistance movement. She wasn't just some bored noble girl looking for a thrill. She actually had a reason to fight.

But all of that would come into play later. For now, he had his exams to worry about.

Reuben's office was not really large enough to accommodate the nine people he'd brought with him. It turned from unpleasantly crowded to jam packed when Milly and the rest of the Student Council (minus Stadtfeld) arrived as he'd requested.

"Geez, Lelouch, this is a school not a battlefield. Did you really need to bring this many guards?" Rivalz grumbled as he shuffled his way between Amanada and Charles. "Great to see you though. And Sir Kururugi and Sir Gottwald as well." He greeted, nodding to the Knights.

"Mm, I should have chosen another venue for this meeting to take place in." Lelouch agreed. "How have you been?"

"Same old." Rivalz shrugged.

"What? You're not going to regale him with tales of your new gambling exploits?" Milly asked, leaning over Rivalz's shoulder with a mischievous smirk.

"Milly!" Rivalz hissed, sending a cautious glance towards Reuben who sat unperturbed behind his desk. In any case, Reuben was hardly in a position to scold Rivalz about gambling and he was fairly certain that the man already knew what kind of trouble he and Rivalz used to get up to.

"We'll talk about that later." He laughed before gesturing towards Euphy who'd sat silently watching the exchange. "This is my sister, Euphemia li Britannia. She's registered to begin classes here on Monday under the name Euphemia Valeri."

Milly straightened for a moment before dropping into a proper curtsey that would no doubt make her mother proud. "Your highness. It's an honor to have you join us. I'm Milly Ashford, the Student Council President. If you need anything at all, just ask."

"Thank you. Please, just call me Euphy. I was allowed to go to school here on the condition that my identity remain a secret, so just treat me like everyone else, okay?" Euphy greeted.

"Of course." Milly deferred.

"I'm counting on you guys to keep her safe and happy here. And to keep her secret. Even from that new girl in the Student Council. Her last school was a bit more . . . formal so it might take her a while to get used to how things are run here." Lelouch explained. "She'll also have a bodyguard disguised as a student with her at all times. Reuben, did you have that uniform?"

The older man nodded and gestured to a bundle of clothes neatly folded on his desk. Lelouch picked them up then held them out. "Nick."

He hated to do it, but Nick was the youngest and therefore the most likely to fit in. Suzaku was the right age, but as his Knight, his face was too well known. Having Suzaku tailing Euphy was like proclaiming for all to see that she was important to him and it would only take a matter of minutes for anyone with half a brain to do a little research and connect the dots that she was royalty.

Nick stared at the offending uniform for a moment, mouth hanging open before it snapped shut and he took the uniform. "Go change. You'll escort Euphy during her tour."

"Right."

"I'm writing my exams in here for the next couple hours. I was hoping you'd show Euphy around, familiarize her with the place. It will get you out of your last class." Lelouch smirked.

"Well, I'm always up for skipping class." Rivalz said. "I'm Rivalz Cardemonte. It's a pleasure to meet you, Euphy."

"The pleasure's mine."

"And I'm Shirley Fenette. I'd love to show you around for a while, but I've got a swim meet at four so I can only stay for a while."

"Oh yeah, I work tonight." Rivalz groaned. "I had to pick up a job after you left, Lelouch. You seriously curbed my income when you went to Pendragon."

"Apologies." Lelouch said sarcastically.

"Well I'm free for the whole evening. And so is Nina. This is Nina Einstein." Milly said boisterously as she dragged Nina forward.

"Ah, it's a pleasure to meet you, your highness. Oops, I mean . . . Euphy." Nina said awkwardly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too."

Nick returned a moment later, looking confident and composed in Ashford's black and gold, but he just so happened to take his place next to Rivalz (and next to a snickering Roy). It was impossible not to draw comparisons between the two and it was impossible to suggest that Nick looked like a high school student.

". . . This isn't going to work." He said eventually after a long moment of observation.

"Obviously." Nick agreed. "I'm twenty-one, Lelouch. I can't just pretend I'm sixteen."

"Yes, I see that." Lelouch frowned.

But there was no one younger than Nick that he trusted except Suzaku. And Suzaku was obviously ineligible – not only because he wasn't Britannian but also because of his fame. He might have to look outside the ranks of his Royal Guard. Use Geass on some young soldier, maybe? He was sure Cornelia had dozens of suitable candidates in her retinue, but none of those he trusted and none of those answered to him.

Oh.

No, it wasn't quite true that he didn't trust anyone younger than Nick but Suzaku.

"Hector."

"I'm twenty-five, Lelouch. Going on twenty-six. I'm even less likely of being a high school student than Nick is."

"No, not that. How's your brother?" He asked.

Lukas. He could trust Euphy with Lukas. He was nineteen, but kind of had a baby face and would be able to pull this off.

"I haven't spoken to him since arriving in Area Eleven." Hector admit.

"He still thinks you're in Area Eighteen?" He quirked his eyebrow.

"No. I called him before we deserted. He was doing well then. Still bored with his assignment and hopelessly trying to pick up foreign women." Hector informed him. "He offered to jump ship and come to you then too, but I told him to stay put until I knew what would happen."

"Edith, I want you to find a way to contact Lukas Zimmerman by the time I'm finished writing my exams. I want to talk to him. I also want a plane on the ground waiting for him at Gibraltar."

"Easy enough." She said confidently, reaching into her purse with her unmaimed hand for her phone as she shuffled towards the door so as not to disrupt them with her calls.

"You're going to get Lukas to come to school with me?" Euphy asked excitedly.

"Yeah. You get along, don't you?" He asked warily.

"Of course!" She beamed. "I'm so glad there will be someone I know going to school with me. I was a little worried about making new friends."

"No need to worry about that." Rivalz said confidently. "We've got you covered."

Reuben glanced at his watch. "You're late to start, Lelouch. Don't think I'll go easy on your grading just because you're my Viceroy. The educational system has rules and standards, you know."

"I doubt I'll need the entire allotted time anyway." Lelouch shrugged. "But I might as well get started. While Nick's with Euphy, the rest of you will be bolstering the security I already have in place around the school. The safety of Ashford's students is of the highest priority. In order to ensure that, you must keep my presence here secret. Understood?" It was for this reason that they were all out of their uniforms and dressed in casual clothes.

"Sir." His Royal Guard chorused, beginning to file out.

"Suzaku and Jeremiah, you'll stay with me. Both of your faces are too well known to be seen walking around on campus." Even despite the fact that they were all dressed in civilian clothing, his Knights were too distinguishable.

"Of course, my prince."

"Sure."

"Well, we'll head out now too." Milly said. "If that's alright with you, Euphy?"

"Of course. I'm excited to see the campus. See you later, Lelouch. Good luck on your exams." Euphy bubbled, giving him a quick squeeze of the hand before trailing off behind Milly and being easily dragged into a conversation with Shirley. Nick followed a few steps behind, hands casually in his pockets.

"Then," He said at length, turning towards Reuben. "I suppose it's time to begin. Thanks for agreeing to this, Reuben."

"Anything for my boy." His former guardian said jovially before gesturing towards an old school desk that had been dragged into the office. "Take a seat."

Lelouch glanced at the desk and wondered just how much his new position would let him get away with. He decided to push his luck. "How about I use your desk instead?" He suggested, eying the high-backed leather chair Reuben was seated in.

"Not a chance." The principal grinned in amusement.

He sighed and swiped the exam booklet off Reuben's desk before making his way to less comfortable seat. He'd expected that. After all, Reuben had known he was a prince from the start, and it had never stopped the man from reining him in when he needed to or from laying down the law when he got out of line.

Right then. Calculus.

* * *

Pizza, C.C. decided, had to be the most delicious food known to mankind. And it was healthy, or at least she liked to tell herself it was (not that it really mattered. Her Code also kept her from gaining weight, which was convenient). It had all of the major food groups. Grains in the dough, vegetables in the sauce and toppings, meat in the toppings, dairy in the cheese.

It was heavenly. She wished she'd discovered this culinary delight when she'd still been wholly human (not that she'd have been able to afford it and she wasn't sure if it had been invented yet then). She could have done a study on the evolution of pizza over the centuries. Already, it was interesting to see how it had changed over the last sixty years. Different types of doughs and toppings had become popular, then faded out of use.

She paused in her silent musings over the history of pizza, a string of cheese hanging between her lips and the piece in her hand, when the door opened. She hoped it wasn't Lelouch back from his exam early. He'd probably throw a fit if he found her eating pizza in his library (greasy fingerprints all over his precious books!), and after the card she'd played last night he was unlikely to be as charitable towards her as he had been in the past.

But it had been necessary. She'd committed herself to the role as his mistress. Not because she had any real interest in her contractor, but rather because it allowed her to remain close to him. She'd invested too much in the act now to bow out quietly, even to his wife.

Not that the girl understood him at all.

She stared blandly back at the woman in the door. Abigail vi Britannia was not a pushover. That much was already readily apparent. She was not just a simpering socialite who could be manipulated or cowed into submission. It was also readily apparent that she was willing to fight for Lelouch.

It would make things interesting.

She remained seated and lazily went back to her pizza, ignoring the lady of the house as though she were nothing more than a silent servant. There were a few things she'd picked up over the last twenty-four hours about Lelouch's wife. One of them was that the girl hated informality (evident from the way Edith had gone around to all of the house's staff to remind them of their manners), another was that she expected the respect due to her station.

C.C. denied her both, chewing her pizza thoughtfully as she returned to her reading. _Don Quixote_ was a wonderful novel. She still remembered reading it the first time – one of the very first printings – and remembered the hilarity it had caused at court. She found it had lost none of it's humor over the centuries that followed. Or maybe she was just old enough to get the jokes.

She smirked slightly when the princess' fists clenched hard enough to crack the knuckles.

Words wouldn't solve this problem. C.C. didn't care what Abigail had to say. It wouldn't change anything and she wouldn't relinquish the claim she'd made on Lelouch, even if it was a false one. And neither, it seemed, was the princess willing to back down.

There was a long moment of silence as the princess composed herself on the threshold, the tension tangible in the air. C.C. watched from the corner of her eye as the shutters closed over the princess' fury, leaving only a cold, impassive mask behind. She wasn't as quick as Lelouch with her face changes, but C.C. was willing to bet it wouldn't slip.

Not that she was in the mood for testing the theory. She was still tired from her silent surveillance the previous night. Kururugi wasn't the only one who lost sleep listening for any sign that the girl in front of her was committing murder. She examined the girl again, taking in the petite stature and hard expression.

C.C. had met a lot of murderers in her life time. In fact, she'd sought them out, recruited them specifically to take Geass from her in the hopes that they would bear her Code. She'd also killed a lot people and knew the resolve it took to deliberately take another person's life. Especially someone close like a husband.

Abigail didn't seem to be at that point yet.

She swept into the room, walking past C.C. on her way to the bookshelf - the very picture of aristocratic grace and confidence. She didn't speak, but words were hardly necessary as C.C. could read the girl's sentiments clearly through her eyes.

_"Leave before I make you miserable."_

_ "I won't give up Lelouch to you."_

_ "You are making yourself into my enemy."_

With anyone else, these promises (not threats) would have been enough to send the interloper packing. But C.C. had trod on the toes of far more powerful and dangerous women than Abigail vi Britannia without care or remorse and she would do the same again.

Besides, what was the worst the princess could do to her? Kill her?

* * *

Milly was still debating over whether or not she liked Euphemia. On the one hand, Britannia's Third Princess had been nothing but sweet and kind as she'd chatted happily with Shirley and Rivalz about the many student clubs Ashford had to offer. On the other hand, she was a royal and she couldn't forget about the way Lelouch hand Nunnally had been cut loose and almost killed by the royal family.

Not that she thought Euphy had had anything to do with Lelouch's exile. For one, she'd have been too young and for two it didn't seem like it was in her character. But it was difficult to remain objective when Lelouch had asked them to make sure Euphy was happy here – the exact same thing he was denying Nunnally.

Still, her feelings towards Lelouch and what he was doing to Nunnally was a different matter entirely. She couldn't confuse the issue here. She didn't want to. But it was difficult.

That didn't, of course, mean that she wasn't anything less than her usual courteous and cheerful self towards the princess. She knew better than most how to put a mask into place. And she knew how to make it stick regardless of her personal sentiments.

"Um . . . Milly?" Euphy asked hesitantly.

Shirley and Rivalz had just left for their respective after school activities, leaving the talkative princess with only Nina and herself to converse with.

"Yes?" She asked, keeping a politely curious smile on her lips. "Was there anything in particular you wanted to see? If you have any questions, all you need to do is ask."

"I want to see Lelouch's old suite." Euphemia said firmly, her tone hinting that it wasn't a request but rather an order.

"Oh . . . that." She said reluctantly and silently cursed Shirley for telling the girl that Lelouch hadn't stayed in the dorms with the rest of the students. "Well, I'm not sure what kind of state it's in since Lelouch left." She hedged.

"That's okay. I just want to see where my brother has been spending the last seven years. I don't care if it's a mess." Euphy insisted.

"Ah . . . well . . . sure." She had no choice. Denying her was admitting there was something to hide. She wracked her mind for the last time she'd been in there, trying to pick out any hint of Nunnally that had been left behind. But it had been months since she'd intruded on the vi Britannia suite and her memories of it's condition were muddled with the replica Nina had made for Nunnally. "Just let me just run over there and make sure he didn't leave out anything too embarrassing. You know how Lelouch gets when he's embarrassed. And he was a single, seventeen year old guy living alone. There's probably . . . porn or something."

Lelouch would kill her if he ever found out she'd said that, but she needed this chance to get away and do one final sweep.

"It's -"

"Nina! How about you take Euphy to the cafeteria to get a drink? I'll be right back." She suggested before turning away and hurrying across campus.

That was by far not the smoothest exit she'd ever made. And of course Shirley and Rivalz were too busy to help her. She ran full tilt as soon as she was out of the princess's line of sight and used the key she had always had to gain access to Lelouch and Nunnally's old home.

No. She couldn't think of it like that or she would make a slip. This was Lelouch's suite. This was where Lelouch had stayed – alone – for the last seven years. Now, what didn't belong?

Was there anything they'd missed in the cleanup they'd done months ago? Anything that suggested a girl had lived there with Lelouch? Worse. Anything that suggested Nunnally had stayed there? She could pass off almost anything that seemed to feminine by claiming that she'd used to stay there occasionally in the guest room.

But if there was anything that suggested blindness or a wheelchair, the game would be up.

She rushed, frantic, from one end of the suite to the other, taking in the rooms that had once hosted Lelouch and Nunnally with as objective of an eye as she could. Maybe the sheets in Nunnally's old room were too girly. She changed them to neutral beige and hid the old ones underneath the bathroom sink before returning to the kitchen and messing up the neatly ordered magnets on the fridge, disposing of one they'd missed with braille on it) and sifting through the stack of old mail next to the phone for anything incriminating.

She froze at the ominous click of the safety on a gun behind her.

"What are you doing?"

She turned slowly to find two of the men Lelouch had brought with him standing in the kitchen with her. The one with the dreadlocks had planted himself in front of the exit. The blond one that was their Captain had his gun trained squarely on her.

"What?" She asked in surprise, heart beating in her throat as she felt her composure begin to slip. This was the first time she'd ever been held at gunpoint and it wasn't an experience she was all to thrilled with. She needed to stall. No, she needed to think.

_ "If anyone ever found out about her, do you know how quickly Nunnally would become a target? Even my own subordinates would betray me."_

Oh, God. What if these guys noticed something? What if they figured it out? What if she slipped?

Suddenly that fear was far more important than the threat of a gun. If it came down to it, what would she do? To keep Nunnally safe and secret, would she risk herself?

Sweet, kindhearted Nunnally who was aching for her brother to return to her. Nunnally, who she'd helplessly watched suffer for the last half year. Nunnally, who was like a sister to her.

. . .

Yes.

The decision made, she drew herself up to her full height and stared down the gun-wielding soldier before. "Can I help you, gentlemen? I understand that your position lets you disregard certain rules, but this is still a school and your use of firearms on our property is disturbing. At Ashford, the safety of our students is of the utmost importance."

The man's eyes narrowed. "What were you doing in here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." She countered coolly, refusing to show weakness, despite the fact that her knees felt like they were about to give out on her. Negotiations at gunpoint were not her forte.

"We received a tip that you were behaving suspiciously." The soldier answered. Ah, she almost cursed. She'd forgotten about that guard that had been tailing the princess. He'd been so silent the entire time that he'd kind of faded into the background. "When we arrived here it was to find your rushing around this place in a frenzy and going through Lelouch's things. Now tell me what you were doing? What were you looking for?"

He hefted his gun with his last demand, aiming it more carefully at her head while his expression remained completely calm and neutral. He would have no qualms about shooting her. That much was clear, even though she was still a teenager and a girl and an unarmed civilian. He would kill her if she didn't give him a suitable answer.

"You serve Lelouch, right?" She stalled. "You're loyal to him?"

"Yes." The Captain confirmed.

"Then . . . what do you think he would say about you holding his foster sister up at gunpoint?"

"I'm sure he'd ask why before agreeing I have a justifiable reason." He replied without missing a beat.

"Let's phone him and make sure." She suggested.

"Answer my questions!" The man barked.

She jumped and stepped back as he moved forward to intimidate her, but collided with the counter behind her. Worse, the man with the dreadlocks also moved forward, hemming her into a corner of the kitchen as he drew his gun.

"I'll do it, Hector." Dreadlocks said before turning his attention back towards her. "We're Prince Lelouch's Royal Guard. It's our job to eliminate threats to him. From where I'm standing, you look like a threat. So you'd better start talking."

"What are you talking about?" She demanded incredulously. This situation was so far beyond ludicrous it wasn't even funny. To suggest that she was a threat to Lelouch? The Ashfords were the ones who had sheltered Lelouch from the royal family's contemptible assassination attempt. They were the ones who had protected Lelouch for seven years.

"Do you do sports, Ashford?" Dreadlocks asked, lowering his aim to her right knee.

"Stop!" She shrieked, amazed that she had the presence of mind not to give in to the instincts screaming at her to struggle and try to run. "I want to talk to Lelouch. Now. Call Lelouch. He'll clear this up. It's fine if he's in his exam, he won't care. Please. You're making a mistake."

She clamped down on her tongue after that, hating the pitiful way she'd just pleaded for her life. What had happened to that indomitable Ashford force of will? But the thought of being shot in the kneecap made her skin crawl.

Hector reached into his breast pocket and pulled out his phone, dialing the number and putting it up on speaker phone without taking either his eyes or gun off her. It rang three and a half times before Lelouch answered.

"What? What's happening?" Lelouch demanded.

"We found a suspicious character searching your old residence." Hector informed him.

". . . who?" The prince asked, this tone lowering almost to a growl.

"Milly Ashford."

Lelouch made a disbelieving sound. "What did you do to her?" He demanded quickly.

"Nothing. Yet." Dreadlocks answered.

"Do _not_ hurt her, Roy. That is an order. Milly Ashford is above your suspicion. She's working for me, in my interest." Lelouch snapped. "Understood?"

She almost sagged in relief. Almost, but she refused to weaken the impression she'd made even more than she already had.

"Yes, sir." The two soldiers echoed in unison.

"Milly?"

"Lelouch . . ." She trailed off, unsure how to adequately explain the situation over speakerphone in front of two Royal Guards.

"Are you alright?"

"I . . . yeah. I'm okay." She said, then tested her luck by snatching the phone out of Hector's grasp. His hand curled into an annoyed fist, but he didn't disobey orders and shoot her.

"Are you off speakerphone now?" He asked.

"Yes."

"Good. Put some distance between yourself and my guards and tell me what happened? Why are you even in there? You're alone, right?" Lelouch interrogated.

She silently gestured for the soldiers to stay where they were as she nervously slipped past them and disappeared into the next room.

"Yes, I'm alone. It was Euphy. She wanted to see the place."

"Tell her no." Lelouch snapped impatiently.

"You know that I can't. She's royalty. I can't deny her. Especially not in something simple like this. It would look too suspicious." She explained.

"Milly, that place is full of -"

"It's not." She hurriedly interrupted. "We moved it all out the day you were caught. I was just double checking to make sure we didn't miss anything."

". . . You're sure?"

"You trust me, don't you, Lelouch? You know I would never to anything to . . ."

"I know." Lelouch assured her. "I'd just rather Euphy wasn't anywhere near the place. But I can't leave in the middle of this without raising suspicion. And Cornelia already suspects me of treason. If Euphy mentions something to her, it would only make her more suspicious. Are you sure you can't distract her?"

"I'm sure. She'd determined." Milly said. "And it was more like an order than a request."

". . . I trust Hector." Lelouch said after a moment. "And Roy will follow Hector, even if he doesn't personally agree with what he's doing."

"So you want me to tell them?" She asked hesitantly, even though every part of her was telling her that that was a bad idea.

"No." Lelouch said. "Have them go through the place with you. Get them to point out anything they think doesn't belong."

"You're sure?" She asked, unable to forget the threat these men represented to Nunnally's safety.

"Yes."

"Maybe you should tell them." She suggested. "They were just about to shoot my kneecaps out."

"Roy, I bet." Lelouch sighed. "Sure. Pass them back the phone."

* * *

"Milly sure is taking a while." Euphy sighed, sipping on a juice box as she waited with Nina and Nick in the cafeteria.

"Ah . . . um . . . well she's the Student Council President. Lot's of people come to her for advice and help. She might have been stopped." Nina said nervously.

Nick shot the shy girl a suspicious glance, but remained silent. Silent and serious, as he had been all day. Though his mood seemed to have taken a sudden downward turn when he'd had to call and check in with his captain.

She hoped that didn't mean something had happened to Lelouch. But she comforted herself with the knowledge that if something had happened to Lelouch, they would have been evacuating her as well.

Maybe he was just bored. He hadn't seemed all that thrilled with the idea of protecting her to begin with. Not that she necessarily blamed him. It probably wasn't very exciting – especially considering this was a school. And especially because they didn't know anything about each other.

"Was your school a lot like this one, Nick?" She asked, hoping to break the ice.

He straightened slightly at being addressed by royalty before remembering her cover and resuming his former posture. "No. I went to a private school." He answered.

"Oh." She said. He was like her then. "Are you nobility then?" She asked curiously. The could count the number of private academys in the homeland on her fingers and knew that the tuition costs were exorbitant.

"Um . . . no." He said awkwardly. "I'm the fifth son of the Denvers family."

Oh. The Denvers were huge in the business world. Even she knew about them. They had their finger in more markets and business ventures than any other corporation in Britannia. It was also fairly well known that they were not nobility and were somewhat bitter about it. "Sorry. That was a touchy subject."

"It's alright. No need to apologize." He said with a comforting smile.

"Your parents must be really proud of you for being a Knight and on Lelouch's Royal Guard though, right?"

"Not particularly." Nick shrugged. "My parents didn't want me to go into the military. They think I should go to university and learn business, like my brothers did. As for being on Lelouch's Guard, I haven't told them so they won't try to exploit my position. Serving Lelouch is more important to me than advancing my family's position. I've cut ties with them."

"I see." She said, though she didn't really.

She didn't understand how he could give up his family like that for Lelouch's sake. She didn't understand how he could cut off contact with his parents and not seem upset by it. Even though she didn't always agree with Cornelia and her viewpoints, she could never foresee herself abandoning her sister entirely. And her mother was having a hard enough time with letting her go to school in Area Eleven. She couldn't imagine cutting off contact with her completely. In fact, she'd had to promise to phone her mother every other day as a condition for her approval.

"I'm glad Lelouch is important to you." She said and was saved from having to make any more awkward conversational forays by Milly returning. "Over here, Milly!" She waved to the blond.

"Hey. Sorry about the wait. It seems someone broke in to Lelouch's place, so I called in some of Lelouch's guards. My guess is reporters. They've been so curious about Lelouch since he returned to Pendragon and it was never much of a secret on campus where Lelouch lived." Milly explained.

"Oh no. Did they take anything?"

"I'm not sure. It wasn't a mess or anything, but they might have taken something small." Milly shrugged.

"If it wasn't a mess, how did you know about the break in?" Nick asked pointedly.

"The door was unlocked." Milly answered calmly. "It should be safe now, if you still want to see it, Euphy. Roy and Hector went through the place looking for intruders."

She supposed after the media frenzy that had surrounded Lelouch's reappearance, a few missing trinkets from an abandoned suite weren't that big of a deal. And now that she mentioned it, Milly was looking a little pale. A little nervous. A little frenzied and panicked.

She doubted break and enters were a regular occurrence on campus if it had Milly this rattled.

"Yes, I still want to see it." She nodded resolutely.

It was nicer than she'd expected. And larger. It felt more like an apartment than a dorm, but she supposed that was what it was. Still, it felt very warm and comfortable. Very . . . homey, in a way all of the magnificent villas and mansions back home would never be.

She ran her fingers lovingly over the dining room table, trying to picture Lelouch at it. Would he have eaten alone? Or would he have regularly entertained his friends and foster family? She could picture it – family dinners around this table. Reuben Ashford would have sat at the head of the table like any respectable father figure while Milly and Lelouch sat next to each other and maybe teasingly elbowed each other under the table. Maybe even Milly's parents would join them here or Rivalz perhaps.

This was envy, she realized, then dispelled the thought a moment later. Lelouch wasn't enviable. He'd lost so much. Lady Marianne. Nunnally. And he'd been treated so badly by their father that it was a wonder he didn't completely hate the royal family.

She drifted into the kitchen and smiled at the neatly labeled, alphabetically ordered herb rack. She wondered if that was Lelouch's doing. Did Lelouch cook? Or had he had some overly organized housekeeper to take care of him? Someone like Edith.

She didn't really know much about Lelouch at all, she realized. The years had robbed her of the chance of getting to know him very well and had left him as a familiar stranger. He was always nice to her, always tolerant and forgiving, with the same sense of humor as when they'd been children, but she didn't know what made him tick. She didn't know what drove him. She didn't know if lasagna was still his favorite food, or if silver was still his favorite color (though judging from his Royal Guard's uniforms, it was).

"Is something wrong, Euphy?" Milly asked softly.

"No, I just . . ." _Miss Lelouch. Miss being the one he would turn to when he was upset. Miss knowing him as well as you do._ "wondered if Lelouch knows how to cook?"

Milly laughed. "Well, he's no chef but he can sustain himself when he has to. He's OCD about following the recipe though and measures his ingredients down to the second decimal place. Not very adventurous, but it still tastes okay."

She saw it again – that mental image of an Ashford family dinner as Lelouch played the gracious host. She tried to imagine a way in which she could intrude on it, a way in which she could belong in that scene, but she couldn't. That wasn't her world.

* * *

It was beginning to get dark when Lelouch finally finished all of his exams. He'd opted for writing all of his subjects back-to-back on the same day in order to get it over and done with as soon as possible. He leaned back in his seat and stretched his neck as he set down his pencil.

"Done, Lelouch?" Reuben asked, glancing up from his paperback Western novel to raise an inquiring eyebrow.

"Yeah." He answered, glancing pityingly at Suzaku and Jeremiah who had decided to stand at attention next to the door the entire time.

"Well, that was quicker than I expected. I thought we'd be here all night." Reuben smiled.

"I wouldn't take up that much of your time." Lelouch replied as he got to his feet and handed his completed exams to the principal. "Thanks for arranging this for me."

"Of course, my boy." Reuben smiled.

They bid each other farewell and Lelouch left the office, making it a half a dozen steps before Edith fell into place next to him, informing him that Euphy had returned home with Nick as an escort. He moved on to more pressing business. "You found Lukas?"

"Yes." She answered efficiently, holding out her phone. "He should be waiting for you. The number's already dialed. You just need to connect it."

"Excellent. Thank you, Edith." He murmured as he took the phone and slipped into an empty classroom.

The device gave half a ring before it was answered. "Private Lukas Zimmerman of the Twenty Seventh Northern Cavalry speaking." The voice on the other end of the line said anxiously.

"Hello, Private Lukas Zimmerman of the Twenty Seventh Northern Cavalry. This is Colonel vi Britannia." He greeted sarcastically.

Lukas let out a breath in a whoosh of air. "Lelouch?" He asked disbelievingly. "Jesus Christ. No one would tell me who wanted to talk to me. They just stuck me in a room with a phone and told me to answer it when it rang. I thought something had happened to my mom or brother."

"Well, I can't be certain about your mother, but Hector is completely fine." He assured him.

"Yeah, I gathered that much." Lukas grumbled. "Though you can tell him he's an asshole for not letting me know everything turned out okay."

"I'll be sure to pass along the message. And for the record, I never gave an order to keep my call to you a secret. They should have told you."

"Yeah." Lukas sighed.

"How have you been?"

"Meh. Well enough. . ." Lukas said awkwardly, then bit the bullet. "Listen, great as it is to hear from you, I doubt this is a social call. You don't need to butter me up. Just say what you need to say."

Of course. Leave it to Lukas to be almost painfully blunt. "Alright then. Did you mean it when you said I could call on you at any time?"

"Yes." He answered firmly, but a little breathlessly.

"And I can interpret that as you swearing yourself to me?" He sought clarification.

"Yes." Lukas answered.

"So you'd drop everything and come to Area Eleven if I asked you to?"

"Yes."

"I'm not offering you anything glamorous. The assignment I have in mind for you will likely be boring and tedious." He warned, then persuaded. "But you're the only one that can do it that I trust."

"Lelouch, I already said yes. Just tell me what to do." Lukas said.

"There's a plane waiting for you at Gibraltar."

"Seriously?" Lukas asked. "I'm six hours away from Gibraltar."

"It'll wait for you."

"Okay." Lukas breathed. "What's the official procedure for this? Am I deserting or should I alert my commanding officer?"

"Which General is in charge of your area?" Lelouch inquired.

"General Keats, but he wouldn't know me from Adam."

"I'll talk to the General." Lelouch promised before turning to Edith and whispering the General's name. She went to work searching for a contact number a moment later. "And I'll have him secure transport to Gibraltar for you. Just begin packing. Be ready to leave within the hour."

"Sure. That'll take me all of ten minutes." Lukas said sarcastically. He was a soldier and what few belongings he had with him were likely neatly organized and ready to be packed with the absolute minimum of effort. "Don't suppose you'd want to let me in on what my assignment will be?"

"There will be plenty of time to brief you when you get here." Lelouch said, unwilling to get into it over the phone.

"Right." Lukas agreed.

"I have to go. Edith just found the number for Keats. I'll have someone pick you up when you get here. It will all be arranged."

"Sure. See you tomorrow, at the latest."

Lelouch hung up and immediately began dialing the number Edith rattled off to him. He was technically pushing his luck by pulling soldiers from another country entirely, but the General wasn't really able to deny him and a single Knight would hardly be missed.

"General Keats?" He questioned. There were certain benefits to being a prince. One of those was a direct line to the majority of Britannia's most prominent people. "This is Lelouch vi Britannia."

"Your highness!" The man said in surprise, then continued more warily. "This is an honor. How may I assist you, my Lord?"

"One of my men is under your command. I'm recalling him." He said clearly.

"I wasn't aware. Of course you may have your subordinate back." Keats said carefully.

"Private Lukas Zimmerman is a member of my Royal Guard." That wasn't necessarily true, but by this time tomorrow it would be so the lie didn't really matter. What did matter is that it would slip Lukas out of the traditional military hierarchy and remove the General's right of command over him. "I would appreciate it if you would help me by expediting his departure. I have a plane waiting for him in Gibraltar. Can you get him to it?"

"Of course, my Lord." The General said quickly. "If you don't mind my asking, your highness, how did a member of your Royal Guard end up under my command in the first place."

"I had no need of him at the time and allowed him to be deployed as he otherwise would have been. However, I now have need of him so I'll be taking him back."

"Yes, your highness."

The General was surprisingly cooperative. Lelouch had expected some protest and to have to brow beat the man into submission, but Keats was reasonable and seemed more than willing to let Lukas go. It took less than fifteen minutes to arrange transport and garner a guarantee that Lukas would reach his plane before nightfall (in that time zone, at least).

He was satisfied with the agreement and gathered up his Royal Guard before heading back towards the service tunnel they had used to enter the campus. His plans for a quiet departure, however, were thwarted by Milly standing guard over the exit.

"You didn't think you'd get away that easily, did you, Lelouch?" Milly asked with a smirk that hinted she was about to say something he wasn't going to like.

"One can hope." He replied.

She chuckled softly before wordlessly thrusting an envelope at him. He sighed and reluctantly took it, sliding out an expensive piece of paper with elegant cursive writing on it.

_You are invited to a celebration in the honor of Sir Jeremiah Gottwald and Sir Suzaku Kururugi, Knights of Honor hosted by the Ashford Academy Student Council._

"Ashford Academy has decided to show their support of your choice of Knights." Milly said, nodding to each of his Knights in turn.

"Milly, don't. This is a bad idea." He said firmly.

"It's next Saturday." She continued, ignoring his protests.

"I'm leaving for Osaka on Saturday." He countered.

"Good then. We'll have it on Friday." Ah, he should have seen that coming.

"I'm not attending."

She stepped forward at that, closing the distance between them in a move that had all of his Royal Guards and Knights tensing as she pulled him into a hug. "This is important to someone we both know. She wants us to record it to hear Suzaku enjoying himself. So he, at least, had better be there. Don't let her down again." She whispered in his ear low enough that the rest of his entourage couldn't hear.

He grit his teeth, but already knew this was a hopeless battle. There was that steely glint in her eyes that he was well aware meant she wasn't going to take no for an answer. They were throwing this party whether or not he approved. The only thing he had any say over was whether or not he and his Knights attended. And if he refused to attend, he'd be disappointing Nunnally.

Despite the months and despite the way he'd already hurt her (for her own good), the threat still carried weight.

"Fine." He sighed. "But you're hosting it at the Viceroy's Palace."

The Viceroy's Palace was at least easier to protect than the Ashford campus.

"Deal." She said, grinning broadly. "I knew you'd see things my way."

"Oh my God! That's Lelouch!" A loud voice exclaimed behind him, followed by a handful of girlish squeals, cutting off the retort he'd been about to make.

He winced, but refused to look over his shoulder and acknowledge his former classmates. To acknowledge them would only encourage them.

Before his Royal Guard could come up with an appropriate means to counter this new threat, Milly squeezed his armed, whispered a smug "You owe me." in his ear and moved past him to run interference. There was no one else on campus who could both rile the student body up and calm them down – often one right after the other.

"Let's go." He said softly, resuming his trek to the service tunnel's entrance without looking back.

"Is it okay to leave her with them?" Suzaku asked, glancing over his shoulder. "She's outnumbered like ten to one."

"Milly is not the leader of the student body simply because her family owns the school. Trust me, this is her forte."

* * *

AN: o.o I got my computer back! Hurrah. Actually, I got it back on Tuesday and was totally impressed. Hurray for BCOM and locally made computers. It only took them like two days to fix it.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter. So many pov changes -.- I hate writing a chapter with too many switches because it makes it feel fragmented to me. But I wanted to write from Euphy's pov. I honestly considered deleting the scene with C.C. and Abigail, but then figured it was already written, so why not just leave it.

And yes, that's right, I'm bringing Lukas back for the first time since. . . I don't remember when. Chapter twenty-ish, maybe? It should make Komo happy (along with some of the rest of you too, I hope).

So, yes, this was the chapter. Leave me a review and let me know what you think. ^.~ I'll love you forever if you do.

Allora

PS: Also, I just discovered this last night, but if any of you read manga (I'm not usually one of those and can count on one hand how many I've read - on two fingers in fact) and like romances, 'The Bride of the Water God' is pretty good so far.


	60. Chapter 60

Chapter 60

Edith picked Lukas up from the airport at around ten the next morning and brought him back to the house where Lelouch was waiting in the garden with the full array of his Royal Guards and Knights. He walked confidently next to Edith, head held high without gaping at lavish surroundings or even glancing at his brother. Instead, he watched Lelouch as Lelouch observed him.

Lukas had grown out his hair again, he noted, letting the blond locks fall shaggily against his cheek. It made him look younger and less dangerous than he really was, but it would lend itself well to infiltrating the student body at Ashford. His hairstyle was, however, not the first thing he noticed as Lukas approached.

"Welcome, Lukas. What happened to your arm?" He asked, frowning at the cast partially hidden beneath the cape of his Knight uniform.

Lukas sighed. "Some of my comrades and I were ambushed by a group of disgruntled locals six weeks ago."

Obviously not while they were patrolling in their Knightmares. Which meant it likely happened while Lukas was off duty. He caught the glare Hector sent his brother. It seemed Lukas hadn't divulged this information to Hector the last time they'd spoken. Which likely meant he hadn't wanted the brother he idolized to find out about it.

"You were injured in a fight with civilians?" He asked carefully. He would skirt the issue for the sake of Lukas' embarrassment, but the message was still clear. No simple civilian should have been able to take down a Knight, especially not one as excellent as Lukas.

But Lukas forsook his pride to give the full story anyway. "We were off duty and on the way back from the pub." He elaborated. Likely intoxicated then.

"You were injured in a drunken brawl?" Hector growled in disbelief.

"If you were listening, you would have heard I said we were ambushed. I got this - " He said, gesturing to his injured arm while he turned to glare at Hector. "by blocking the guy who was trying to brain me with a tire iron."

"Enough." He said without raising his voice, but they both fell silent. "How long until your cast comes off?"

"I'll take it off right now, if you want. I was scheduled to have it off on Wednesday, anyway."

Lelouch frowned for a long moment before pulling the gun out of Jeremiah's holster and tossing it to Lukas. He caught it deftly with his off hand and waited for further instruction. "Shoot that sapling." He ordered, gesturing to a spindly tree fifty feet away.

He did so without hesitation, splintering the tree in a single shot – exhibiting the kind of soldierly perfection Lelouch had come to expect from him. He turned back to Lelouch and raised an inquiring eyebrow. Too cocky.

"Suzaku."

His Knight turned slightly. "What?" He gestured mutely towards Lukas, still holding the gun and waiting for further instruction. "Seriously?" Suzaku asked.

"Seriously." Lelouch nodded. "Consider this an aptitude test, Lukas." He said calmly. In reality it would serve another purpose than judging it Lukas would be capable of protecting Euphy. None of the people present had seen Suzaku fight yet except for that one-sided massacre in the Lancelot. He would prove that he'd chosen Suzaku as his Knight of Honor for more than their friendship.

Suzaku didn't hesitate again, launching himself forward to knock the gun out of Lukas' hand with a spinning kick Tohdoh would no doubt have been proud of. Lukas countered a moment later with a punch Suzaku just barely managed to evade – knuckles skimming across his cheek to leave a red mark.

Lelouch watched calmly as his best friend and Knight circled the first person he'd befriended as a prince. Suzaku couldn't lose. Not just because Lukas was injured, but also because his reputation was on the line.

Suzaku's fist shot towards Lukas' face, but collided with the hard plaster of his cast instead. Suzaku glared at the less than fair move as he shook out his sore fingers with a jerk of the wrist. Lukas only grinned, appropriately confident in his own ability. Lelouch remembered that no one at Basic had been able to take Lukas down, but no one in Basic had been studying martial arts for as long as they could walk either.

"Come again, Sir Kururugi." Lukas goaded.

Suzaku's eyes narrowed before glancing back at Lelouch, as though asking for permission. Lelouch didn't give him further encouragement. Suzaku already knew what he wanted him to do.

Lukas took advantage of his distraction to try to land another punch, which Suzaku promptly caught, drawing Lukas closer in a hold that everyone present could see it would be only too easy to break his other arm. Instead of making the move that would automatically win him the fight, Suzaku let him go before kicking Lukas in the chest and sweeping his feet out from underneath him a moment later.

"Stop." Lelouch said calmly as Lukas hit the ground, knocking the wind out of him.

Suzaku straightened immediately before offering a hand to help Lukas up. The fight had gone about the way that Lelouch had expected. Suzaku would never cause undue harm to his opponent in this kind of situation. Lukas would probably barely bruise.

"Shit." Lukas cursed between uneven breaths as he allowed Suzaku to pull him up.

"I want you to join my Royal Guard." Lelouch said, watching the complete lack of animosity between the two.

Lukas gaped in surprise. "But I lost."

"Even with both of your arms, you'd have been hard pressed to beat my Knight." Lelouch smiled. "That wasn't the point of this exercise. Join my Royal Guard."

Lukas composed himself before sinking to one knee. "Of course, your highness."

Lelouch snickered before rolling his eyes. "Wonderful." He said sarcastically. "Now, if you're done grovelling, you can get up."

Lukas waited just a few more seconds before getting up, mischief glittering in his eyes. "Alright, I'm done now." He said teasingly.

"From now on, you will only take orders from myself or the Captain of my Royal Guard." Lelouch said, gesturing towards Hector.

"Hector?" Lukas demanded disbelievingly, but his brother only smirked.

"You are exempt from all other orders." Lelouch continued, getting to the important part. "Even should those orders come from another member of the royal family or the Emperor himself."

"I understand." Lukas said firmly.

He frowned. "The reason I sent for you is because I want you to protect Euphy." He said finally. "She's attending school at Ashford Academy starting on Monday. I have, of course, placed security around the school, but Euphy will need extra protection. The student body has been . . . compromised and I feel more comfortable having someone I know and trust with her until the threat can be nullified. You will be accompanying her, disguised as another student."

Lukas raised an eyebrow, glancing around at the black and silver attired soldiers around them before sighing. "I'm the only one young enough to infiltrate the school, right?"

"Yes. You're the only person young enough to infiltrate the school that I would trust with my sister's life." Lelouch agreed, since there was no point in denying it.

Lukas saluted then. "Of course I will protect Euphy for you, Lelouch."

"Thank you." Lelouch nodded. "Hector will brief you on all of the details."

* * *

Kallen hadn't been sure if she should continue going to school. After locking herself away in her room all weekend as she considered making a break for it and just disappearing, the thing that had decided it for her was the man she'd caught a glimpse of hiding in the neighbor's garden watching the house.

If the prince was keeping tabs on her, she'd never even get to the point of escaping before she was caught. And she did _not_ want to be caught by the prince again. She still wasn't sure how she'd come out of that altercation alive. She figured he was just toying with her, like some malicious cat with a captive mouse, and he'd get rid of her as soon as he got bored of whatever this game was or if she stepped too far out of bounds.

Still, knowing all this didn't completely stamp out the part of her that just wanted to run. She could follow in Tamaki's footsteps and leave Tokyo for a while. She could even go crash with family. She had an aunt in Sapporo. Granted, she had no idea if she'd be welcome there – her mother's family had never approved of Lord Stadtfeld in the first place and even less so after he'd abandoned his wife – but they might take pity on her if she played her cards right.

If she could find a way to slip this net the prince had cast around her – if she could escape from her watcher . . . . But she didn't know if there was only one person watching her or not. The man certainly wasn't trying very hard to hide himself (she'd seen him walking openly across campus this morning), which meant that the prince probably wanted her to know she was being watched. And if that was the case, there were probably others watching her too. After all, it would be too easy if she killed him and was able to disappear.

She doubted Prince Lelouch would let her go so easily. Not with the secret she was holding hostage.

She hated this. She was becoming paranoid. Her spine kept tingling as though she could _feel_ her observer's eyes on her and she couldn't stop herself from continually glancing over her shoulder or out the window. She over analyzed everything she did, wondering if it would make her seem more guilty or not. She had the feeling that if she made a single misstep, her watchdogs wouldn't be content with merely observing any longer.

"Kallen."

She blinked and glanced up at the teacher watching her expectantly. "Ah, sorry. I'm not feeling very well. May I go to the nurses office?" She asked softly.

"Of course. Go on." The woman said with a kindly, understanding smile.

She made sure to sway slightly as she stood up, playing her part as the weak, sickly noble girl for all it was worth before making her way out. "Thank you." She murmured quietly as she passed the teacher.

Now would be a good time to slip off campus, she knew. There was a time when she wouldn't have even hesitated. She would have simply disappeared into the ghetto where Naoto would have been waiting for her with either a tolerant smirk or a litany of sharp words. But that time was long gone.

She glanced down at her cellphone and thought about calling Ohgi before resolutely stuffing the device back in her pocket. She couldn't guarantee that the prince wasn't having her phone monitored and she would be damned if she put him and the others in danger simply because she felt like she was being left out.  
Right now, she needed to keep herself away from the rest of the resistance until she figured out what to do with the prince. As if she could really do anything to him. He was untouchable to her now. It was only the Stadtfeld name that had let her get close to him in the first place, but now with her secret out and the element of surprise lost, she was caught like a fly in some spider's web.

Again, she cursed herself for her foolish need to act. She'd charged right in and hadn't even noticed the way he'd blocked off any chance of escape until it was far too late.

She lingered outside of the classroom building, weighing her options. She could actually go to the nurse's office like she'd said she would, but class was almost over and she didn't want to be stuck in there over her lunch break. Besides, she wasn't feeling ill and if she went there, the nurse would poke and prod her and she'd have to make up some kind of malady to maintain her cover.

She glanced over her shoulder again and wondered if she was still being watched. She could feel eyes on her again, but she didn't know if it was just her imagination getting the better of her or not. It was difficult to tell when she knew that there were people watching her.

"Oh, Kallen! There you are!"

She froze and kept herself from flinching only by momentarily biting the inside of her lip. She still had yet to figure out what to do with her school situation. She was sure she could exploit it somehow, but right now she just wanted distance – a chance to retreat and regroup before she decided how to handle this situation. So she definitely hadn't wanted to run into Milly yet.

"Hey, President." She said, turning to face the prince's darling foster sister and giving a small, informal wave.

"This is Kallen Stadtfeld." Milly introduced to a pair of students trailing along behind her. "She's also a member of the Student Council, so don't be afraid to ask her any questions. Kallen, this is Euphy and Lukas, they both just transferred here from the homeland. They're a year behind you, but you can never know too many people on campus."

"That's great." She said, unimpressed that she'd just been volunteered as a mentor to the pair. The girl looked soft and fragile, one of those ultimate girly girls that did nothing but annoy her. The boy looked like he worked out a lot, but he didn't look exactly thrilled with Milly's tour or by the fact that his sports activities would likely be limited by the cast on his broken arm.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kallen." Euphy said brightly, offering her hand.

"And you." She said as she barely repressed the urge to roll her eyes. She reached for the girl's hand, but it never made it. Instead it slipped into the firm grip of the boy's.

"It's _great_ to meet you." Lukas said with a sleazy smile, not even trying to disguise the fact that he was checking out her bust.

She took her hand back, hands curling into fists behind her back as she restrained herself from taking out his eyes. "Likewise."

"I was just taking them to the cafeteria for lunch. It's better for them to be with someone until they know their way around campus, don't you think?" Milly asked.

Ah, but she could see where this was going from a mile away and she was _not_ going to be volunteered to be their babysitter. "Yeah. But I was just about to leave. I have a doctor's appointment this afternoon."

That wiped the scheming look off the President's face and replaced it with one of concern. "Are you not feeling well? I know you had that fit a while back, but you seemed fine after that. Still, we've all been really worried about you, Kallen."

"No, no, it's nothing serious. I just have to go in for a check up and to get my last test results. Nothing major." She lied as she began backing away. "I have to go."

"It was nice meeting you, Kallen." Euphy called after her as she turned and fled, all the while feeling the spine tingling sensation of someone else's eyes on her.

That was it, she decided. She was going back to the Stadtfeld's for the rest of the day. At least there, she didn't have to worry about her every move being followed. Her watchdogs were likely only able to track her movements outside of the Stadtfeld house. Inside, she could breath a bit more freely, even if it was at the price of sharing a house with Lady Stadtfeld.

* * *

It was half past three in the morning and Lelouch had yet to return to his room for the evening. Suzaku had waited in his own room, listening for Lelouch's arrival, but it had never come. Which is why he was currently stalking the halls of the villa searching for his misplaced friend.

He found him in his home office, chin resting on his palm as he boredly scrolled through something on his computer. "It's late, Lelouch. What are you doing?" He happened to know that Lelouch had been up since before seven that morning and had to be exhausted.

"Going through a report Adrian sent me. It seems he flushed out a couple of low ranking members of the Kenshiki, but they didn't know anything of importance." Lelouch answered without glancing away from the monitor.

"What are you really doing?" He persisted. Lelouch didn't keep the kind of schedule that would allow for him to make such late nights a habit.

"I figured that if I stayed up late enough, Abigail would give up on me and I could safely sleep in another room." Lelouch admit candidly, but still without glancing away from the monitor. Suzaku could tell that he was actually reading from the movement of his eyes, though it was beyond him how Lelouch could have a conversation and read something at the same time.

"She went to bed over an hour ago." He revealed.

At that, Lelouch blinked and glanced away from the screen. "Really? Good then. I'll be turning in as soon as I finish this. I'll be in the guest room overlooking the garden in the west wing."

Suzaku hesitated. There had been a hint of dismissal in Lelouch's tone, but he'd been hoping to get a moment alone with Lelouch since the knighting ceremony a few days ago. Instead of following Lelouch's silent command, he closed the door behind him.

"Nunnally's alive." He accused.

Lelouch didn't deny it. He didn't even respond to his greatest secret being revealed. Instead, he turned back to his computer and pretended to ignore Suzaku. That didn't, however, hide the way that Lelouch's lips pressed into a thin line or how his eyes had narrowed slightly.

"Where is she?" He prodded, but again received no response. He waited a few moments to make sure Lelouch really wasn't going to say anything before pushing again. "Tomorrow's her birthday. You remembered, right?"

And that was enough to break through Lelouch's veneer. "Of course I remembered." He snapped, sending Suzaku one of his most deadly glares. "She's my sister."

"So what time are we going to see her?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the armchair across from Lelouch's desk. Unless Lelouch had trusted someone else with the secret of her survival, there really was no one else Lelouch could take with him.

Lelouch grimaced and closed his eyes for a moment. It was rare to see Lelouch at war with himself, but when he opened his eyes again, he was completely back under control and it was the cool, calculating gaze of his Prince persona staring back at him. "We're not."

"Why?"

"Going to see her now for a special occasion would completely invalidate the pain we've gone through over the last months. If I begin to make exceptions, it will make it all meaningless. I separated myself from her to protect her and I won't put her at risk, no matter the occasion and no matter how much I want to see her." Lelouch said firmly.

Suzaku frowned. "When was the last time you saw her?"

Lelouch turned back to his work as a means of avoiding his gaze. "February."

"February? You mean you haven't seen her since you went back to your family?" He said in surprise. He really hadn't expected that. For as long as Suzaku had known him, Lelouch had doted on his sister. And Lelouch had been Nunnally's foundational support. Unless a lot had changed between them – which was, admittedly, possible but not likely – Lelouch and Nunnally both had to be in a lot of emotional torment. "You've been calling her at least, right?"

Lelouch shook his head mutely.

". . . Lelouch . . ." He murmured, at a loss for words for a moment before he made up his mind. "We're going to see her."

Lelouch snorted before glaring at him. "Did you not hear what I just said a moment ago?"

"Are you telling me you can't figure out how to get to her in secret? With all the times you've bragged about you're seemingly vast intelligence, you can't even manage that much?" He pushed, deliberately hard and merciless. It was the only way he could make Lelouch do what he wanted – by overpowering him.

Besides, he had a feeling that if Lelouch missed Nunnally's birthday, whatever had been sustaining them for this long would crumble in on itself. Lelouch needed Nunnally as much as Nunnally needed Lelouch. She was his inspiration – the one thing Lelouch would fight _for_ rather than against.

"_Suzaku_ . . ." Lelouch growled lowly.

Lelouch wasn't going to cave. It was becoming more and more obvious by the second that his friend intended to stick to his guns and stay away from Nunnally. "Send me then. I'll go and I'll take whatever message you want to her. You trust me, don't you?"

Lelouch's fists popped with the force that he was clenching them, knuckles turning white as the prince seethed. He was tempted, Suzaku could tell. Just another push, something about how Nunnally would never forgive him if he didn't at least send a message to her on her birthday, would probably do it.

He missed Nunnally too and could freely admit that this conversation wasn't solely for Lelouch's sake. But it was mostly for Lelouch's sake. His friend had done well to mask how miserable he was, but right now, in this moment, it was all too apparent how much he wanted to see his sister.

He opened his mouth to make the final blow to Lelouch's resistance.

"Get out." Lelouch growled.

"Lelouch, don't -"

"Suzaku Kururugi! Get out of my sight right now!" The prince snarled.

Suzaku easily dodged the paperweight Lelouch hurled his way, but if Lelouch was resorting to violence, he knew the battle was lost. Lelouch would fight Suzaku's attempt at manipulation by whatever means necessary. He held up his hands in surrender. "Alright, Lelouch. I'll -"

"Go." Lelouch snapped, cutting him off.

Suzaku sighed and nodded. Lelouch was protecting himself by not letting him speak again. In hindsight, he realized he'd pushed too hard and at all the wrong buttons. He turned to leave, but glancing over his shoulder saw Lelouch slump back into his seat and tiredly bury his face in his hands.

"Lel -" He began again, but Lelouch silenced him by pointing sharply towards the door and glaring. "Alright. Sorry." He grumbled. "Good night, Lelouch."

Though he doubted Lelouch would sleep well now. He should have approached the topic more carefully, but he'd never been very tactful to begin with. He just hoped Lelouch wouldn't stay angry with him for too long.

* * *

Gino Weinberg wasn't exactly thrilled with his latest assignment. It wasn't that it was going to be hard, or boring, or aggravating or anything like that. It was just that he felt like he was going to be kind of . . . picking on the guy.

Suzaku Kururugi. The first non-Britannian to ever be Knighted.

Gino didn't hate him for what he had achieved. To be perfectly honest, he didn't have a problem with the Numbers. He thought the discrimination against them was a little extreme. He'd always thought that - ever since his favorite maid had been fired and thrown out on the streets by his mother due to her Japanese heritage and the impropriety of him finding the woman attractive. It had never made a lot of sense to him and he had, at first, thought it had just been the twisted thinking of his parents.

Time and experience had taught him otherwise.

However, he was now a Knight of the Round – one of the Emperor's elite personal guards – and that man believed wholeheartedly in the superiority of Britannia. He hadn't been given much of a choice, really. The Emperor was not a man to be denied, so when Bismark had shown up in his barracks to recruit him as a Round, he'd dutifully bowed his head and knelt – pledging allegiance to Britannia and swearing to protect the Emperor at any cost.

His first assignment had been the disposal of a handful of political prisoners. His second assignment had been the execution of a foreign diplomat, which had done nothing to ease the tension between Britannia and the E.U..

Still, however he may have disagreed with some of the orders he was given, he still carried them out with the ruthless efficiency that was expected from a Knight of the Round. Which was why he wasn't going to complain about this assignment either. Compared to some of the things he'd done in the past, giving Suzaku Kururugi a hard time would be easy, especially if it did turn out that he'd coerced Prince Lelouch into knighting him.

That was the running theory, at least. However, judging from the video footage of the knighting ceremony he was reexamining, Gino doubted that was the case. The poor guy looked like he'd been about to hurl all over the Viceroy's fine red carpet. It was unlikely that someone who had coerced Prince Lelouch into something as unorthodox as knighting a Number, would be so nervous about his hard work paying off.

He had met Lelouch after all, and he held nothing but a favorable impression of the prince. However, even at his obviously arranged wedding, Prince Lelouch had carried himself as someone who was completely in control of his situation. He imagined it would take quite a lot to make the prince do anything he didn't want to.

So unless Kururugi had taken someone the prince cared about hostage or had some really good blackmail, Gino imagined that the prince had probably actually chosen to knight the Number of his own volition. For whatever reason.

But the Emperor had been quite clear to him. That reason, so long as it wasn't coercion, was none of his business. He was simply to evaluate Kururugi's aptitude at being a Knight. While it was anticipated that the prince would be none too pleased with the situation, they were, for the most part, just supposed to leave him alone (or as alone as they could whilst hovering in Kururugi's shadow).

He assumed Anya had been given the same orders, though it was always possible that she'd been asked to do something else. It had happened before, they had arrived somewhere to complete their mission only for him to find out that he'd be doing it alone. It was probably because he was the rookie. He'd been knighted not quite a year ago. Still, it was a little annoying to have to acknowledge Anya as his senior when she was two years younger than him.

He wished she would open up a bit more to him. Despite the frequency that they were assigned together, he really didn't know that much about her. It was still a mystery how she'd been knighted at such a young age. After all, no military recruiter in Britannia could possible believe that she was old enough to legally enlist, even now. She wasn't like him, who had lied about his age, which meant that she had likely been deliberately recruited.

He often wondered if she'd been trained specifically for Knightmare combat all throughout her childhood. It wouldn't necessarily surprise him. She was an excellent pilot, after all, and she did seem to have had her childhood stolen from her – judging from the way she didn't find joy in anything (not even piloting), except maybe her blog. And there was history between her and Marianne the Flash, apparently.

Maybe Anya had been sent to the Empress for training in more than simply etiquette. Especially considering Empress Marianne had never been particularly known for her manners. That was his theory. That Anya had been groomed from a young age to become a Knight.

It made him feel a little sorry for her. It also made him even more determined to see that she enjoyed herself at least some of the time. Life lost it's meaning if it wasn't enjoyed. Which is why he was perpetually dragging her out to cinemas and amusement parks, trying to make her have fun. The other Knights thought he had a crush on her, but that wasn't the case. He just wanted her to feel like more than a living weapon.

He snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of a camera clicking and glanced towards the door at Anya. She didn't say anything, but held up her phone to reveal the photo she'd just taken of him frowning pensively at the monitor in front of him. He snickered and attempted to delete it before the device was snatched out of his hand and safely tucked back into her pocket.

"Suzaku Kururugi." She said evenly once her phone and the photo of him looking entirely too serious for his liking was safely out of reach, gesturing towards the monitor he'd been looking at.

"Yeah. Just doing some preliminary research." Gino shrugged. He generally hated this part of his assignments. Even when he was being ordered to do something he wasn't all that enamored with, he'd rather just do it than spend time thinking about it. Once it was done, he could move on. Preliminary research just dragged out the experience.

"And?"

He shrugged. "Nothing overly suspicious. At least not for the son of a conquered foreign Prime Minister. It seems he doesn't get along with his family, but otherwise his military record is spotless. Not even a single misdemeanor, which must be hard considering he's enlisted under the Honorary Britannian system. I don't imagine the officers go easy on the Numbers that enlist over there."

"Probably not." Anya agreed, tone still flat and expressionless.

"What about you?" Gino asked, genuinely curious. It was hard to know where Anya stood on issues due to her general lack of conversational skills.

"Me?"

"Are you upset that Prince Lelouch knighted a Number?" He asked. So far he'd come across people who couldn't care less, people who were willing to string up both Kururugi and Prince Lelouch for their transgression, and everything in between.

"If he is capable of protecting the prince, it's okay. That's why we're going there. To see. But no one can interfere with a royal's choice of Knight."

"And if he isn't capable . . ." Gino grimaced. That wasn't going to be a fun assignment. Personally, he hoped Suzaku Kururugi was very good at his job.

"He dies."

* * *

AN: Gino! *girlish squeal!* . . . um yeah. Actually I didn't really like or dislike Gino when I watched the anime. But then I found some Gino art on the internet and was like :D But then I tried to think of how he would look in real life (or just his hair) and all I came up with was this - which I think has scarred me for life: - ht tp:/ /wa tch?v= ZqVQ T9Det6 Q&feat ure=play er_embedded ( not sure if this link will work since it's staying blue no matter how many spaces I put in it, but you can always youtube "fat kid + sword + ponytail + sweats = magic") -.- *shudder*

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. There were a couple other scenes I wanted to include in this, but I decided it would be altogether too many pov changes in one chapter and that since they weren't plot critical, they needn't be included. But since I want to write them anyway, they'll be included in the Dauntless: Sidestories collection and this chapter will be a little shorter than usual. One of them is already mostly written and will likely be up before you finish reading this chapter (I hope. I just need to slap an ending on it and edit so I hope you read slow).

Also! Komo is amazing and made me another fanart. Seriously, nothing psyches me up like fanart. It's at - htt p:/ko mo-pin econese / #/d3j 0ao3 (apologies if that link didn't work, but there's also a link to it up on my profile, or you can just search Komo Pineconeseed on deviant art and take a look at all of the great pieces she's done.

Also also, I just wanted to put a disclaimer up here that yes, I know that Lelouch seemed a little short-tempered in that scene with Suzaku. However, it was late, he was exhausted, and Suzaku was trying to get one up on him. He really could have presented his argument better. And also, Lelouch was already thinking about the fact that it was Nunnally's birthday and stressing over it without Suzaku pointing it out and prodding at it a little. In short, Lelouch was disgruntled due to stress and exhaustion.

Anyway, I've got to go get that sidestory finished. It's a present for Komo. So thanks for reading and don't forget to review. I love to hear from you.

Allora

PS: Oh, and to the reviewer from last chapter that wondered if I was some kind of robot who's sole purpose in life was to churn out chapters, I was going to reply to you but I forgot. According to the authenticator, I am, in fact human because I could type those funny distorted words they gave me correctly. :D


	61. Chapter 61

Chapter 61

(AN: Does anyone else hate that new 'share' button bar thing they added that always throws the first line off center?)

Euphy found that, despite the different kind of atmosphere, school was pretty much the same everywhere you went. She learned mostly the same kinds of things in the same kind of way but her desk wasn't made of mahogany and her chair wasn't leather (or soft). It was actually really fascinating to her and she enjoyed the opportunity to broaden her perspective of the world.

When she was being completely honest with herself, she did feel like she was entirely too sheltered for her own good. Before now, she had only learned what others had decided was appropriate and necessary for a princess of the realm. At Ashford, she had been given choices.

Much to her delight, she'd discovered that Ashford Academy offered Home Economics and had enrolled in it right away. Lukas was somewhat less thrilled with the class, but her repeatedly offering to take the class alone so he could take something else hadn't made him budge. Of course, he always brightened up at the end of the class when he got to eat the food they'd made (either that or it was just because it was the end of the day).

Living in the dorms had also been a new experience for her. Mr. Ashford had given both her and Lukas dorms that backed onto each other (since boys and girls were housed in separate wings) and had then proceeded to have a secret door cut through the back of her closet. Lukas could get to her in a matter of seconds if there was trouble and there was, conveniently, another path of escape should she ever need it.

So far, they had yet to use it. Lukas always made a point of coming to see her via the regular door and always made a point of leaving half an hour or an hour before co-ed visiting hours ended to prevent any kind of malicious rumors from starting. Not that rumors hadn't started about them anyway. She'd already been asked over a dozen times if they were dating and after answering with 'no''s every time, there were still rumors floating around that they were desperately in love.

It was annoying, but if that was all she had to put up with then it wasn't so bad. After all, there wasn't a servant or bodyguard in sight except for Lukas and ever since they'd met he'd treated her just like he did everyone else. Like a normal person. It was refreshing.

"Luke . . . would it be alright if I had some alone time today?" She asked as they walked back to the dorms after class, Lukas still munching on one of the cupcakes they'd made in Home Ec..

He paused in his eating and watched her out of the corner of his eyes as she tried not to fidget under his scrutinizing gaze. It's not like she was wanting to do anything wrong or dangerous, but she'd really rather be alone today.

"In your dorm?" He asked, quirking one eyebrow.

She shook her head slightly, knowing better than to lie. She was a fairly accomplished liar when she wanted to be (believe it or not), but she hated the way it made her feel. She hated deceiving people, hated the way her guilt would gnaw her.

"I'll go with you. But I can give you some privacy."

She smiled bitterly. "Does that mean you'll walk a few feet behind me instead of next to me?" She asked, but already knew the answer. It had been a long shot, anyway. "It's fine. I need to make a call first and then we'll go."

He didn't follow her into her dorm, even though she invited him to assuage him of any worry that she'd try to make her escape. She briefly considered going out the window, but decided Lukas would probably catch on and catch up to her before she could make good on her escape.

"I'd like to speak with Abigail, please. This is Euphemia." She said into the phone almost as soon she'd entered her dorm.

It was only a matter of moments before the servant at Lelouch's villa tracked down his wife and passed her the phone. "What's wrong, Euphy? You said you weren't going to call again until Saturday. Did something happen?"

"No no, it's fine. Everything's fine." She assured her sister-in-law quickly. "It's just . . . I was wondering how Lelouch was today?"

"What do you mean? He was his usual irritable self, I imagine. I only saw him just as he was heading out the door." Abigail answered.

"He went to work?" She inquired.

"As far as I know. Why wouldn't he? What's going on, Euphy?"

"Nothing. It's just . . . today is Nunnally's birthday so I was wondering if he was okay or if I should go see him."

"Nunnally? His sister?" Abigail asked in surprise before sighing heavily. "Now that you mention it, he did look tired. I don't think he slept last night. I didn't really think anything of it since he's been so busy planning his trip to Osaka and making sure everything here is in order for his absence."

"But if he went to work, maybe I shouldn't bring it up. He might be trying to get through it by keeping himself busy. Anyway, I've got to go. I left Lukas waiting for me. I'll see you on Friday."

"Euphy, you remember that we have to pretend we don't know each other on Friday, right?"

"Yes, but I'll still _see_ you. Try not to be too hard on Lelouch today. Bye now." She said, exchanging her final goodbyes with Abigail before hanging up and heading back out.

They took public transit and walked, both of which were still novelties to Euphemia. As a royal princess, there had never been the occasion or need to ride a train or a bus and walking was generally kept to a minimum unless it was for pleasure in a garden, but never to reach a certain destination.

She stopped for flowers on the way and discovered they were very expensive. She'd never really thought about it before. Cornelia had (likely out of disapproval and spite) given her an allowance to 'enhance the learning experience'. She spent the majority of her funds for the month on a bouquet of some of the most beautiful flowers she'd seen and had a card inscribed with 'Birthday Wishes' pegged in the center.

Lukas hadn't asked what she was doing or where she was going. He was giving her 'privacy', following a dozen feet behind her as she walked. Eventually, she sighed an turned around. "Lukas, I think you following me like this is more conspicuous than anything else."

"You're the one who asked for privacy, Euphy." He countered.

"Yes, and you denied my request. Don't do things halfway like this." She said, hand on her hip. "I said it was fine for you to come, so you can walk with me. Besides, we're almost there. I thought you might have caught on eventually, but right now you look like a stalker."

He snorted as though it was funny as he approached her. "Alright then, princess." He said teasingly, bringing an angry flush to her cheeks.

"I told you not to call me that."

"Then stop acting like one." He countered. "For the sake of your cover and all. By the way, where are we going and would you like me to carry that ridiculously huge bouquet you bought?"

She pouted for a moment before shoving the bouquet into his chest and pointing a little ways down the street and across the road. "There."

". . . the cemetery?" Lukas asked, perplexed, as he hefted the bouquet in his newly healed arm. The cast had come off just that morning.

"Just come on." She sighed, leading the way towards the wrought iron gate of the cemetery where the memorial to Nunnally lay.

"Fine, fine." Lukas grumbled but paused just inside the gate. ". . . that's Lelouch." He said in surprise, gesturing to a group of men in dark suits at the end of a row of headstones. "Geez, if you'd wanted to visit him, you didn't have to go through all of this cloak and dagger stuff. I could have taken you to the house, you know? Meeting in a cemetery? Talk about clandestine."

Lukas was right. It was Lelouch and he did look as exhausted as Abigail had said as he stood before what must have been Nunnally's memorial with his Knights and Royal Guard giving him the courtesy of six or eight feet of 'privacy'. He looked worn down and ragged, as though he hadn't slept. Even his shoulders were slumped and defeated as he stared down at the empty grave. They never had found Nunnally's body.

"Euphy?" Lukas asked in concern. She realized he'd continued walking as he talked and was now a few feet in front of her looking back.

"No." She said suddenly.

"Huh?"

"We'll wait here. I don't want to interrupt."

Lelouch reined in his emotions fairly tightly these days. She doubted his grief was something he wanted any one to see. So it was bad enough that his entourage was lurking over his shoulder. She wasn't going to add to the strain.

She bowed her head and stared down at her shoes, giving her brother the privacy he deserved but was denied.

"What's going on?" Lukas asked eventually, leaning casually against the fence behind him. "Oh, here they come."

She looked up then, watching Lelouch's guards seamlessly fall into position around him as he turned away from Nunnally and head back towards the gate they were next to. He didn't so much as turn his head to acknowledge her as he passed, but she did catching him watching her out of the corner of his eye, gaze filled with a guilt-ridden sadness that made her chest hurt.

"Lelouch." She murmured softly, wishing she was able to comfort him right now. But if he was acting like this, it was likely for a reason. He was probably being followed by those nosy reporters that had taken such an interest in his day to day affairs.

She glanced away, bowing slightly in the awkward kind of way she would expect from a civilian who had never dreamed of meeting royalty. Lukas followed her lead and Lelouch's entourage passed with her anonymity still intact.

Across the cemetery, a man in a blue jacket and ball cap also made his way to the exit on the other side. Only once she was certain that both Lelouch and his tail were gone did she slowly begin making her way towards the end of the row where Nunnally's empty grave rested at the feet of a magnificent statue of an angel.

"Nunnally vi Britannia . . .?" Lukas breathed quietly. "This is Lelouch's sister?"

"And my sister." She answered sadly before taking her bouquet back from Lukas and placing it at the angel's feet. On the pediment below, carved in thick, blocky letters was Nunnally's full name, her date of birth and the date their father had declared both her and Lelouch dead. "Happy Birthday Nunnally." She whispered to the cold statue before noticing that the angel had a face that looked a bit like Empress Marianne's.

That was likely one of Clovis' touches. He had been the one who had made the memorial here for the vi Britannia's. Lelouch's grave had once rested next to his sister's, but it had since been removed, leaving nothing but a single blank and overgrown marble slab behind. His would have probably been just like Nunnally's, watched over by the angelic figure of their mother.

"I'm sorry. If I'd known it was for something like this I would have -"

"You wouldn't have let me come alone." She interrupted. "We both know that. Not even Lelouch could visit her without people hovering over his shoulder. But it's okay. I understand my situation."

"I'm sorry." He apologized again before beginning to move away from her to give her privacy.

And suddenly she didn't want to be alone anyway.

"Stop." She said quickly, reaching out to grab his wrist.

She didn't want to be alone and overwhelmed. She didn't want to think about how much the royal family had failed Nunnally or the look she'd just seen in Lelouch's eye, as though it were his fault she was gone. She didn't want to think about her guilt and how many years this day had passed by without a tear shed or a thought for her lost siblings.

So she began to speak. Ideally, she would have wished Lukas was Lelouch so they could share this grief together. Lukas didn't know who Nunnally had been, so this act was meaningless to him. But she would introduce them a little. She would give Nunnally life through the memories she had of her and keep her alive.

"When Nunnally was five she decided Lelouch was her hero. She would have done anything for his approval. At the time, Lelouch was busy trying to impress Clovis and wasn't paying enough attention to her. I remember, I went over one day to visit them. We were going to have a picnic and Lady Marianne had even given Cornelia the afternoon off so she could join us without having to stand guard.

"The gardens around the Aeries Villa are expansive and there's plenty of old, tall trees that are good for climbing. Nunnally decided to climb one of the biggest ones to impress Lelouch. She got halfway up before she started shouting for everyone to come over and see what she was doing. Of course we were all terrified for her. Lady Marianne began climbing up after her, but that only made Nunnally climb up faster.

"She was stubborn and she'd decided she was going to climb to the top. As you probably can guess, she didn't make it. She slipped trying to evade Lady Marianne and fell from the tree. Cornelia panicked and tried to catch her, but Lelouch got there first. He was only eight at the time and was hardly bigger than she was, but he still used himself to cushion her fall.

"She walked away from the incident completely unscathed while Lelouch had to suffer through a sprained ankle and some bruising. But she got her way in the end. After that, Lelouch made a concentrated effort to include her. They'd almost lost her then and it made her the center of their family. Nunnally was _the princess_ and ended up winding both Lady Marianne and Lelouch around her finger. It was . . . cute." She finished with a sigh.

But even that story didn't really paint who Nunnally had been. It didn't show her kindness or her cheerfulness. It didn't show the way that Nunnally had always known just how to make someone feel better with a tight hug and sloppy kiss (which more often than not turned into a raspberry) to the cheek.

"I loved her." She said softly, gazing up at the angelic Marianne standing guard over the grave as moisture began to blur her gaze. She blinked rapidly to keep the tears from falling as she'd been taught to do. A princess wasn't allowed to be seen crying in public. "I miss her. They never found her body, you know? I suppose a part of me is still hoping that they were only separated – that she's still out there somewhere. When we first got Lelouch back, I kept waiting with bated breath, hoping that Nunnally would come forward as well. If they'd just been separated, if she'd seen him alive and well, I don't think anything would have stopped her from joining him. I was hoping for it, but it doesn't seem like it's going to happen. She's really . . . gone."

She was surprised when Lukas tugged her into a hug, arms enveloping her as he pressed her head into his shoulder. "Cry if you need to, Euphy. No one else can see."

She obeyed and let the mask she'd been struggling with fall as the tears began streaming down her cheeks. He was right and no one else could see to reprimand her for her weakness.

* * *

Nunnally hadn't gotten her hopes up. She hadn't expected Lelouch to show up, hadn't even longed for it (lie). And it was because she hadn't let herself hope, that she'd been able to enjoy her birthday without him. At least, that's what she told herself.

Milly had organized it for her and the party she'd thrown had lost none of the Ashford splendor that had made Milly renowned on campus. Even if she was trapped in the basement of a research lab and even if there were only five guests, Milly had made sure that her birthday hadn't gone to waste. There had been cake, music, party games, and, of course, presents. It was everything she could have hoped for in a party and she was truly grateful that Milly had decided to put it on for her.

She hadn't really known what to expect when Sayoko had begun stealthily bustling around the place this morning, but when the others had all arrived after school with party favors and noise makers she'd almost teared up. It almost made her ache to realized how much she was loved by them.

But all of that had been hours ago and now there was only silence and Sayoko busily cleaning up the confetti and discarded wrapping paper, humming a low tune to herself as she worked. Nunnally sat in her chair and enjoyed the chance to wind down, fingers idly running over the velvet bow Rivalz had jokingly stuck in her hair (it had once decorated the album of her favorite musician that he'd given her).

She was avoiding it. . .

She'd been avoiding it since Milly had tucked it into her hands and told her who it was from – her last birthday gift. She'd been able to postpone it by telling the others she'd rather open that one alone, but now she wasn't so sure she wanted to open it at all.

Lelouch had sent her a box a little larger than her fist wrapped in thick paper and an expensive silk ribbon. It sat alone on the dining room table as she considered whether or not she really wanted to open it. A part of her wished he hadn't sent it.

It was one thing for him to simply forget about her birthday and let the day pass like any other, but it was quite another for him to acknowledge her birthday and not come see her. It hurt more. It felt like a rejection – like he had better things to do than to wish her happy birthday.

She was being greedy, she knew. She'd deliberately kept herself from making any kind of expectation for the day to prevent a let down. She'd prepared herself to spend the day alone and eventless, like any other day. But then Milly and the others had defied her expectations and thrown her a party. And then she'd received this gift from Lelouch.

It was selfish and greedy, but the natural next step of the progression. She wanted him there to share the day with her and he wasn't. Maybe it was spite that had made her hesitate in taking his gift. Maybe she was just pouting. Whatever it was, it was foolish. And she knew that, but it didn't make her any less upset.

She took a deep breath and reached for the gift Lelouch had sent her, running her fingers along the ribbon before tugging it free and digging a finger underneath a fold in the paper. She'd just see what it was. It was just curiosity. It was just because Lelouch always gave the best gifts.

But she didn't really care. She didn't _need_ it. Really. . .

The paper came away, followed by the lid, revealing to her questing fingers a shape that was far too familiar to her. It was a paper crane. He'd used a different kind of paper than she had, thicker and smoother to the touch, but the shape was unmistakable, if not a little less well-practiced.

She wondered what it meant, why Lelouch had sent her such a thing as her seeking fingers ran over the delicate wings. But such thoughts were halted when she came across something she wasn't familiar with – tiny metallic bumps. A chain, she realized a moment later.

"You decided to open it." Sayoko observed, returning to the room.

She nodded mutely as her fingers ran along the chain draped over the crane's neck and down to the pendant it was placed on top of. The metal was a cool and smooth oval interrupted by small, jagged ridges she knew was the cameo of a rose etched into the front. Her fingers trembled as they closed around it, easily picturing the locket in her mind.

She remembered it. It had once hung from the neck of their mother. And of their grandmother and great grandmother. It was an heirloom from their mother's side that would have been hers this year if she'd stayed in Britannia. It was rightfully hers, but she'd given up on the hope of ever obtaining it after they'd been exiled.

She felt tears begin sliding down her cheeks as she clutched the locket to her chest. She remembered mentioning it to Lelouch once. How it had saddened her that she'd never get mother's locket – how the tradition would end with her. And he'd promised her then, when she'd been all of thirteen, that he'd definitely get her a locket for her fifteenth birthday. He'd told her that the actual piece of jewelry didn't matter as much as the tradition, so it didn't matter if it was a new locket or the one their mother had worn.

But this was the original.

She used to play with it all the time as a child while sitting in her mother's lap. Inside had been a picture of her maternal grandparents. She felt for the catch and deftly stuck her nail into it, opening the locket before holding it out to Sayoko. "Who's pictures are in it now?"

"There's one of your mother and the other is of Master Lelouch." Sayoko answered. "It also looks like there's a note in the bottom of the box."

She felt for it and sure enough, there was a folded piece of paper tucked into the bottom of the box.

"Would you like me to read it for you?" Sayoko asked attentively.

"No. It's in Braille." She answered, fingers already skimming along the punched paper as she unfolded the letter.

There was no way Lelouch had forgotten about her. There was no way he didn't still care. Lelouch had learned Braille when she had to encourage her to actually study it. He knew how to read and write it fluently, though he rarely did it by hand. Lelouch had always preferred to either just read to her or to use a Braille writer to save time and effort. But this note was done freehand using a stylus.

_Nunnally, _

_ I miss you and Happy Birthday. I'm sorry I can't be with you today. I know my gift is a small consolation, but I came across it at Aeries soon after I arrived in Pendragon and remembered my promise to you. I give to you our mother's locket, even though it was never really mine to give away, and wish you the happiest of birthdays._

_ I know you have to be upset with me. I've been afraid to put you at risk by contacting you. I've hardly even talked to Milly and the others. But as the situation has changed in a way that gives me an excuse to be close to the Student Council, I decided to risk this package for your birthday. _

_ Thank you for the crane at my wedding. It was smart thinking sending it through Nina. I always carry it with me in my Knightmare in case I need a reminder of what I'm fighting for. I also have a wish for you and I'm working diligently on fulfilling it as quickly as possible so that we can be together again. We will be able to be together again without worrying about being made into tools for someone else's agenda one day. I will come for you, Nunnally. I promise. And I will always keep my promises to you. So please be patient with me a while longer. _

_ I love you. I love you. I love you, my most cherished sister. This will never change._

_ Lelouch_

She swallowed the lump in her throat and forced back the tears threatening to spill down her cheeks as her fingers traced repeatedly over the last line of the letter.

_"Patience is a virtue, Nunnally."_

. . . She'd wait. She would always wait, if it was for Lelouch.

* * *

Lelouch lay in bed in one of the guest rooms on the second floor, staring blankly up at the ceiling as he replayed the events of the day. He had a list as long as his arm of complaints and concerns he needed to deal with, but all he could think about was Nunnally. She'd been all he'd been able to think about all day. Which is what had led to the trip to the cemetery. That had been the hardest thing he'd done in a long time. Pretending Nunnally was dead so the media would believe it. So he could continue to protect her like this, even though he had been sorely tempted to just up and go to her.

He'd refrained though. Nunnally's safety was more important than his loneliness. Even when he'd had to see a tombstone with her name on it.

He'd never been to their memorials before. He'd never wanted to risk being seen in proximity to the vi Britannia name so it was his first time seeing it. It had made him nauseous. He wasn't sure if it had made it worse or better when Suzaku had quietly hissed at him that he should be somewhere else.

It hadn't surprised him when Suzaku had figured it out. He'd practically been able to see the thoughts connect during the knighting ceremony. He hadn't even been surprised when Suzaku had confronted him about Nunnally's survival. What had surprised him was that Suzaku had attempted to manipulate him. Very ineptly and obviously, to be sure, but he had still tried to force Lelouch into doing something he hadn't wanted to.

He almost found it funny. Perhaps he was rubbing off on Suzaku, or maybe he was just finally breaking through that oh-so-docile veneer Suzaku had constructed over the last seven years. Maybe he was finally getting back the Suzaku that had been his friend before the invasion – the one who had unapologetically tried to lord himself over a foreign prince.

Still, even if he was glad that Suzaku was finally breaking out of the shell he'd encased himself in all these years, he wished Suzaku would have chosen another point to push on. It wasn't like he hadn't wanted to be with her today. It wasn't as though he'd forgotten about her.

But he would rather die himself than let her fall into enemy hands. And if he was resolute in that determination, then he would remain miserable to ensure her safety.

He sighed and rolled over, staring at the glowing red numbers on the alarm clock. 1:34. It was far too late to change his mind now anyway. Nunnally would almost assuredly be asleep by now. Dreaming peacefully, with any luck.

He stiffened when the door to his room opened and warily glanced over his shoulder to find Abigail slipping quietly into the room in plaid fleece pajamas. She didn't say anything as she tiptoed to the bed and crawled under the covers next to him, winding her arms around him before resting her head on his shoulder.

"Abigail -" He began through gritted teeth. He definitely wasn't in the mood for this game tonight.

"Shut up. I'm not trying to seduce you this time." She said, though he was acutely aware of the fact that he was only in his boxers. He'd thought he'd be alone tonight and resumed his regular sleeping attire. He was also acutely aware of the way she was pressed against him.

"Then what are you trying to do?" He growled, reaching for her shoulder to shove her off of him.

"Euphy told me about what today was." She said, halting his movement in it's tracks, leaving his hand hovering in the air between them. "I didn't want you to be alone. That's all."

He'd seen Euphy at the cemetery earlier, grieving for the sister she'd thought she'd lost, but he hadn't thought she'd be concerned enough about him to try to check up on him through Abigail. He wished she hadn't. He was uncomfortable with people touching him. He allowed those charged with protecting his life to lay hands on him when there was a danger present, and C.C. touched him regularly as a means of annoying him, fully aware of his discomfort, but aside from that, it made him uncomfortable. She wasn't family and she wasn't a friend that he trusted.

"Days like this are the worse. Days that should have been spent together." She continued softly, her breath caressing his collarbone. "It's better to have someone else with you so you don't have to think about it."

She was doing nothing but compounding his already potent guilt over missing Nunnally's birthday. "How would you know?" He grumbled petulantly.

"My mother died two years ago. Cancer." She answered.

He grimaced at his callousness. He hadn't met Lady Chapman, but he hadn't given it any thought either, even when Abigail had shown up at their wedding without her mother. "Sorry." He apologized, and meant it. He knew what it was like to have his mother taken from him, what it was like knowing that you would never see the woman that had given you life ever again.

There was a long silence after that and he found himself unwittingly relaxing into her embrace. It . . . wasn't that terrible. He tried to think of the last time he'd been held like this – when he'd been the one seeking comfort instead of giving it. His mother, probably, before his life had been torn to shreds. Before he'd ever been in need of any real comfort.

"I hate Christmas, just so you know." She continued quietly. "That's the worst day for me. We used to go to the mountains to go skiing every year. We'd stay at the chateau, drink hot cocoa and ski. My mother loved it. We haven't gone once since she died."

He took a deep breath, inadvertently inhaling the scent of his wife's vanilla perfume, glad that she was taking the focus off his own grief. He didn't want to think of how he had failed Nunnally, so the sad story of Abigail's past was more than welcome. He wondered if she knew that.

"One year I broke my leg out there. I think I was twelve. It was the most miserable Christmas I've ever had. I hit a tree. Everyone was so worried."

He let his eyes drift closed, soothed by the gentle retelling of a lifetime's worth of Christmas vacations and the warmth of arms around him and the tickle of breath against his skin. She was right that it was better than brooding. It was better than imagining how upset his sister had been when she'd realized he really wasn't going to visit her on her birthday.

He listened to Abigail's monologue, a continuous flow of soft words whispered into the dark, painting a picture of an aristocratic girl on a mountain and the things she'd seen and experienced there. It was only when the first ephemeral rays of light began creeping through the window that he interrupted her.

"Abigail." He said gently, "This doesn't change anything."

"I know." She answered with a bitter smile.

He sighed heavily, fingers still entwined in her hair that he'd pulled out of it's braid in the middle of the story about the first time she'd ever seen a bear. "It doesn't change anything." He said again, "But thanks for this."

She leaned up on her elbow to stare down at him, her expression sad and serious. "Any time, Lelouch. I'll always be here if you need me." Then she smiled slyly and pressed her advantage, dropping her lips to his and a soft, almost chaste kiss. "Go to sleep, Lelouch." She whispered before pressing another kiss to his forehead and each eye lid. "And have sweet dreams."

"Ab -" He began protesting, but she was already moving away, out of his grasp and out of his bed, padding barefoot across the wood floor towards the door.

He almost demanded where she was going. He almost called her back, before he caught onto her game and bit his tongue. Instead, he watched her go, thoroughly dissatisfied with the loss of warmth and comfort, but also thoroughly exhausted.

He snorted in amusement at how very cunning his wife was before he let his eyes drift shut and let sleep claim him.

* * *

Lelouch was frowning, eyes still cold in a manner that let Suzaku know that he was still angry about their fight the other evening and the remarks he'd made the day before. Well, it was either that, or he was pissed about the complaints he kept getting from the aid stations he'd set up around Shinjuku. Of the four medical outposts he'd set up, one was perpetually sending Edith reports of abuse and corruption.

Which was why Lelouch had decided to go investigate the matter personally. Of course he'd justified himself taking the day off to poke around near the ghettos by stating that if there was corruption it would reflect badly on his reputation, so they had no choice but to go and check it out. Suzaku thought he was just tired of the office.

Lord Gottwald didn't look overly thrilled with the idea. But then again, Suzaku wasn't all that keen on having Lelouch so close to the ghettos either. Even if they were travelling in a beat up old car Lelouch had had upgraded specifically so he could travel incognito, and even if his Royal Guard had formed a perimeter around the medical station for Lelouch's protection with Lloyd and the Lancelot standing by, and even if Lelouch was wearing kevlar under his suit, it was still Shinjuku and he doubted the people had forgotten what had happened here not too many weeks ago.

After all, Lelouch was the one being blamed for that massacre. But just because Suzaku knew that there was no way in hell that Lelouch would order something like that, didn't mean it was so clear cut for the rest of Area Eleven's population. Especially with it coming so quickly on the heels of those news reports of civilian casualties in Area Eighteen.

The aid station was about what he'd expected when they arrived. He'd seen similar types of set ups during the invasion. A few cheap trailers surrounded by chain link fencing with a big red cross painted on a piece of ply board mounted on it. There were two entrances, he noted. One that they entered through on the Settlement side and another facing into the ghetto with a large gate on it.

The pair of Knightmares standing sentry on either side of that entrance were hard to miss.

Lelouch shook his head in exasperation when he saw them but didn't say anything as he slipped inside the first trailer, leaving Lord Gottwald behind to stand guard at the door with a silent flick of his hand. It was stifling inside, the air hardly moving through a single oscillating fan on the desk by the door, but it did little to make up for the lack of proper ventilation.

"I'll be right there." A woman's voice called out from behind a curtain in badly accented Japanese. The trailer was small, but there were three separate curtained off area's which he knew had to be makeshift examination rooms and a storage area next to the door where they'd come in.

Lelouch waited patiently without saying a word, silently examining the medical supplies on the nearest shelf, though Suzaku imagined he was just as uncomfortable in the trailer as he was. Already, he could feel his clothes beginning to stick to him in the heat of the small box of a doctor's office.

A few moments later the nearest curtain snapped open and a frazzled looking Britannian woman in her mid-forties stepped out, stethoscope draped around her neck over pink and purple polka dot scrubs. Behind her, a Japanese woman and her son sat at the examination table.

All three of them stared at Lelouch in mute fascination until Suzaku took a small step forward and broke the spell.

"Viceroy! I-I mean, your highness!" The doctor stammered, forcing herself into an awkward bow.

"Relax, Dr. . . . Sandhurst." Lelouch said, reading off her name tag. "So, you're the one who keeps sending complaints to my office."

"I . . ." Dr. Sandhurst took a step back, looking frightened yet determined at the same time. It was a little ridiculous that just Lelouch's presence could inspire such a reaction.

Lelouch heaved a long suffering sigh. "I said relax, doctor. You made a complaint about corruption so I'm here to fix it. And you can stop guarding your patients like I'm some kind of rabid dog."

The woman flushed. "That's not what I . . . My apologies, your highness."

Lelouch nodded before glancing past the doctor and holding up a hand in greeting. "Hello," He said, effortlessly slipping into Japanese. "I apologize for interrupting your visit."

Hearing his native tongue always brought a bittersweet pang to his chest. Bitter mostly because the Britannian establishment had banned the use of the Japanese language and often associated anyone who used it with terrorism and dissent. Except at Lelouch's villa where the majority of the staff were bilingual Elevens and alternatively called their master Lelouch-sama or Master Lelouch, depending on the company.

The Eleven woman paled and clutched her son closer, a boy only four or five years old with a heavy plaster cast setting over one arm and fading yellow bruises on the other. The boy, at least, wasn't terrified by the mere sight of Lelouch, but was rather watching the Britannian prince and Suzaku curiously.

"Mom -"

"Shh." The woman hushed the child.

When Lelouch moved, Suzaku was forced to follow him or be left behind and remiss in his duties. So he sidestepped the doctor to remain close as Lelouch crouched down in front of the child. "What's your name?" Lelouch asked.

"He doesn't speak Japanese." The boy's mother said softly, visibly trembling and restraining herself from snatching her child away from Lelouch.

Lelouch frowned at the woman before turning back to the boy. "What's you're name?" He asked again, this time in Britannian.

"Ken."

Ken. A nice ambiguous name that could be of either Britannian or Japanese origin. He hated seeing how much of his culture had been sacrificed, but at least they were still alive.

"I'm Lelouch. How were you hurt, Ken?" Lelouch asked, gesturing towards the cast.

"The bad men came to shoot everyone. Dad said to go out the window but I fell off the ladder." The boy answered with all the guileless innocence of a child who didn't fully comprehend the situation. "It hurt really lots, even after Mom kissed it better. But it doesn't hurt as much anymore. And then we had to hide in a garbage bin until the bad men went away." He finished with a scrunched up nose, probably remembering the smell.

Lelouch's eyes had closed at the retelling, and only Suzaku knew why. He too could remember the pungent, suffocating smell of the inside of a dumpster and so could Lelouch. They had done whatever they'd had to to survive and no hiding place had been beneath their dignity during the invasion.

He touched Lelouch's shoulder in comfort, silently urging the prince back to the present – to forget about that painful past. Perhaps the same couldn't be said for Lelouch, but Suzaku had still been a child before Britannia had made war on Japan. But it was impossible to remain a child after the things they had witnessed.

He was glad that at least Ken hadn't had that experience stolen from him, those carefree days of childhood. Even despite the tougher living conditions in the ghettos, the boy seemed more or less healthy and untarnished.

"Hey . . . are you one of the bad guys?" The boy asked suspiciously a moment later, leaning in close to look at Lelouch's face. "You look like one of the bad guys."

"Ken!" The boy's mother cried, terrified as her fingers curled around the boy's shoulders – ready to snatch him away as though she expected Lelouch to strike him down.

Lelouch chuckled and pushed himself to his feet. "Yes. I'm a very bad man." He said clearly. Suzaku sighed. However 'okay' the mask Lelouch wore was, he knew that his friend was not actually comfortable with some of the things he'd done.

"Then why are you with a bad guy?" Ken asked, pointing at Suzaku suddenly. "You're one of us, right? You're supposed to fight the bad guys, like Dad!"

Lelouch stiffened slightly as the woman looked like she was about to faint. But Suzaku wasn't wasn't paying attention to either of them as he listened again to the questions he hated the most hurled at him from the lips of a child.

Why was he with the Britannians? Why wasn't he fighting his country's oppressors? He was Japanese, wasn't he?

_Traitor_.

How many times had he been called that? He couldn't even count them all. But each time it twisted like a knife in his chest. Ah, such a bad analogy. But he would do what none of the terrorists and rebels could. He would make Britannia acknowledge the worth of Japan and restore it's way of life.

And he'd never really felt like a traitor for following Lelouch. Maybe it was because he knew that deep down Lelouch hated Britannia as much as any Japanese freedom fighter. Maybe because Lelouch had loved Japan.

"Lelouch isn't as bad as he makes himself out to be." He answered, the boy still waiting on his answer.

"Now now, Suzaku," Lelouch said, shredding the slightly doting demeanor he'd had as he menacingly drew himself up to his full height. "Don't ruin the reputation I've made for myself. The Prime Minister wants a wolf, not a puppy."

"That's not . . . my husband isn't . . ." The Japanese woman blubbered, shaking her head. "When they came for us, Jiro sent us ahead and tried to hold them off. He was just trying to protect us. He wasn't a terrorist. Ken kept asking where his father was. I told him he was off fighting bad guys. I didn't have the heart to . . . He didn't. . . Jiro never made it out."

For a long moment, no one moved as Lelouch scrutinized the distraught woman. Suzaku hoped Lelouch believed her because he wasn't looking forward to traumatizing her son any further. The tension grew to a tangible hum before Lelouch sighed and turned away.

"Dr. Sandhurst, you mentioned corruption. Do explain the situation here so I can remedy it. Is the problem with the Knight Police or the other doctors?"

From the notes Edith had given them before they left, there was supposed to be three doctors and twelve officers on site each day. It wasn't a huge number of people, but the cost of running four of these clinics was actually pretty high. Suzaku wasn't surprised Lelouch was jumping on this problem right away.

"The Knight Police. They guard the gate and have a nice little extortion racket going on. If the Eleven's don't pay, they hurt them until treatment is necessary and take their money by force." The doctor explained, relaxing slightly as Lelouch turned his attention away from her patients.

"So . . . what? You're upset because they're not giving you a cut? After all, you're the ones doing all the hard work." Lelouch prodded, deliberately arrogant and cold.

The doctor's eyes narrowed for a moment before she remembered who she was talking to and forced herself to calm. "My salary allows me to live comfortably, your highness. I don't need to supplement my income by stealing from Elevens." She said crisply. "However, I do know that Dr. Jansen has accepted a cut of their profits. I turned them down."

Lelouch turned back to Ken's mother. "How much did you pay to get in here?"

"S-sixty, your highness." The woman answered, still trembling.

"For this visit." Sandhurst said coldly. "But you were here last week and they charged you then too."

Lelouch massaged his forehead for a moment. "Are all of the officers involved?" He asked.

"I'm not sure. I spend most of my time in here, though I do know that Richard is the worst of them. He's on duty today. Sometimes he attacks them even after they give him their money." She said darkly. "Saying they have to make it worth their while."

"And you haven't confronted him?"

The doctor pursed her lips for a moment before rolling up her sleeve, revealing a black and purple bruise around her forearm, dark enough to see the definition of the finger marks. "He doesn't like to be interfered with."

Lelouch's eyes narrowed for a moment before turning on his heel and leaving the trailer. Suzaku gratefully followed, glad to leave the stifling confines of the trailer. Lelouch stalked across the outpost, both of his Knights flanking him as he moved, but Lelouch stopped short of the gate in the shadow of one of the trailers.

As luck would have it, an Eleven was already at the gate, arguing heatedly with a uniformed officer, his voice carrying in his outrage. "But the radio said it was free!"

"Suzaku," Lelouch said evenly, though he could tell from the press of his lips that Lelouch was pissed. "Give me your cape, jacket and cravat."

Suzaku followed the order, dutifully shrugging out of the most distinctive parts of his uniform. Without them, he just looked like he was wearing dress slacks and a white shirt. He could guess where this was about to go.

Their attention was drawn back to the gate by a pained shout, a long litany of curses in Japanese and angry, anti-Britannian slurs. The Eleven was on the ground by then, clutching his face as blood leaked between his fingers.

"Go take care of that officer, Suzaku." Lelouch ordered.

"What?" He demanded. This wasn't what he'd been expecting. He'd thought Lelouch had wanted to use him as bait to see if the officer would pick a fight with him too. He hadn't expected Lelouch to use him as a vigilante weapon. He knew all too well what happened to Elevens who assaulted Britannians, and this man wasn't just a Britannian. He was an officer in the Knightmare Police. Even if he was Lelouch's Knight, it didn't change the fact that he was still an Eleven and his opponent was Britannian. "Perhaps Lord Gottwald should do it."

"Suzaku." Lelouch reprimanded, voice crisp and sharp in his anger as he watched the Eleven hit again, this time with a baton. "Or shall I go?"

"No. I'll do it." Suzaku said quickly. He doubted Lelouch would be able to take down that guy, even if he had been trained. The officer was in his thirties or forties and had both height and weight on Lelouch.

He approached quickly as the officer was occupied with searching his victim for his wallet and snagged the man by his collar, dragging him a few feet away from the injured Eleven.

"What the hell? And Eleven?" The police officer demanded incredulously, glancing over his shoulder just in time to catch a sharp jab to the face.

He didn't relish this violent.

No, that was a lie he'd hidden deep within himself, beneath layers and layers of complacence and obedience. Part of him, some dark wounded piece in the back of his mind had always wanted to strike back. It was the irrational, furious voice that logic always conquered, but right now, at Lelouch's urging, it had been given, if not a free rein, then enough to move it's head.

He hated watching his people suffer. He hated what had happened to Japan. He hated knowing that it was his fault that they were shackled like this. The future was always uncertain. If he hadn't killed his father, perhaps after a prolonged war, Japan would have remained free. Perhaps China would have eventually given them aid.

But only at the cost of thousands of lives.

Still, it was with the future he had robbed from Japan in mind that he sank his fist into the extortionist's gut, followed by a flurry of quick, precise strikes. It was men like these that made his dream of a peaceful existence for the Japanese impossible. These were the kinds of people that were in his way.

He restrained himself from causing more than pain, while part of his mind wished Lelouch would call him off already. The other part took delight in the way he dropped a man more than twice his age with easily fifty pounds on him.

He followed through when the man staggered and fell straight on his ass, planting his booted foot in the center of the man's chest and pushing him flat on his back on the pavement. "What the hell do you think you're doing, you worthless Eleven?" The man growled through split lips.

"Is this enough, my prince?" He asked, only slightly enjoying the way the man's eyes widened with realization of just who he was. He'd heard the 'you all look the same to me' argument from far too many of his commanding officers and comrades over the years. Now they would at least learn to look at him and recognize him as an individual and not just another Number.

Lelouch sauntered forward a bit to examine his handy work, half of Suzaku's uniform draped over one arm. The prince's face was completely expressionless, a mask Lelouch had more or less perfected while in public.

"Are you satisfied?" Lelouch asked after a moment, quirking an inquiring eyebrow at the Eleven that had been assaulted a few feet away.

The man was in his mid-thirties, terrified and squinting at them through an eye that was quickly swelling shut. It also looked like the bastard had broken his nose and Suzaku unconsciously found himself pressing his heel harder into the police officer's chest.

The officer, for his part, had gone completely slack at the realization that he'd been accosted by a Knight of Honor with the prince present at the time. Suzaku was willing to bet that Lelouch wouldn't ignore the fact that the man had thrown a few sloppy punches at him either.

The Eleven nodded meekly, probably more afraid of Lelouch than he was of his attacker. Of course, the fact that Lord Gottwald was hovering at Lelouch's shoulder with a distasteful scowl on his face probably didn't help put him at ease either.

"Fine." Lelouch nodded, tossing Suzaku his uniform as he stalked towards the downed officer. "Redress yourself, Sir Kururugi." He ordered before crouching down over the officer, demeanor going from neutral to icy. "I hear you've been making quite a profit off the medical aid I'm offering to the Elevens."

The man just stared, gaping like a fish in the face of irate royalty.

"What's your name, officer?" Lelouch barked.

"Richard Matthews, your highness." He stuttered after a moment.

"I wonder if you understand the purpose of this outpost, Mr. Matthews." Lelouch said as long, piano fingers slipped deftly into the man's pockets, apparently in search of his wallet. "It certainly wasn't to extort the Numbers. I could easily do that by taxing them." Lelouch continued as he found the man's wallet and flipped it open. The officer's badge glinted silver for a moment before Lelouch tugged it free and carelessly tossed it a few feet away. "You won't be needing it anymore."

"Your highness, I . . ."

"Are you going to try to justify your actions?" Lelouch asked, sifting through the contents of the man's wallet.

"I -"

"Ken, come over here." Lelouch called, cutting him off.

It was only then that Suzaku noticed the rest of the inhabitants of the outpost had drifted closer to observe the drama. Even little Ken and his mother stood next to Dr. Sandhurst and another doctor, and the rest of the Knight Police officers charged with protecting the outpost.

The little boy glanced up at his mother, who looked reluctant to let go of his arm, before tugging free and trotting over to Lelouch expectantly. "Yeah, 'louch?"

Lelouch pulled a wad of bills from the stolen wallet – obviously more than the sixty that had been paid – and handed it to the child. "Give this to your mother, okay?"

The boy nodded as he took the bills.

"You know, Ken, it's not a good thing to beat people up and take their money. But in this case, it's okay. Because this is a bad guy and he stole it from your mother in the first place." Lelouch clarified as the boy examined the money he'd been given.

"What about yours then? Since you're a bad guy too, 'louch." Ken asked with the mischievous, greedy gleam of a child who knew they were asking for something they shouldn't, but wanted to see if they could get anyway.

Lelouch chuckled as his gaze softened affectionately and he reached into his breast pocket for his own wallet. He pulled out his credit cards and identification – anything Ken would get into trouble for having – and a small nondescript key before handing the entire thing to the child.

Ken grinned broadly at having pulled one over on Lelouch, clutching the black fold of leather to his chest as Lelouch ruffled his hair. He ran back to his mother a moment later to show her his treasures and Lelouch turned back to the injured officer, the lighter atmosphere disappearing like vapour.

"You will be stripped of your rank and discharged from the Knightmare Police Forces. It is the duty of Britannia's police forces to protect the people, not to take advantage of the helpless. Consider that I'm being lenient with you since you did attack my Knight." Lelouch said before pushing himself to his feet and turning to the rest of the assembled Knightmare Police officers. "If another report of corruption and extortion reaches my desk, head _will_ roll. Half of you will be relieved of your duties here and replaced with Honorary Britannians from my own personal forces to ensure this type of thing doesn't happen again. Do you understand?"

The threat was met with a chorus of "yes, sir"'s and stiff salutes.

Lelouch turned away, tensions easing from his frame as the watchers dispersed. "Well, my Knights, I do believe I was just mugged by a five year old."

"How much was in your wallet?" He wondered. He knew Lelouch tended to carry a lot of cash on him. He'd noticed it shortly after he'd started staying with the prince and had asked about it, the response to which had been that it was for buying bribes should the need arise.

Lelouch shrugged. "Enough to tide them over for a while." Money was of little consequence to Lelouch now unless it was by the millions.

"They're just going to think you're trying to assuage your guilt by throwing money at them." He said softly. Poverty, while an issue, wasn't the biggest problem the Numbers faced. It was the discrimination that prevented them from getting decent paying jobs and the lack of any social institutions to protect them from abuse that needed to be dealt with first.

Lelouch stuffed his hands in his pockets and glanced away through the gate into the ruins of Shinjuku, fresh damage from KMF combat visible on some of the buildings. "Well, who says they're wrong? It was my fault."

"You didn't order that massacre." Suzaku protested firmly. But it was so like Lelouch to try to take all the blame for himself. Even when it came to the civilians that he accidentally killed in Area Eighteen, Lelouch had never once tried to argue that it was an accident. He'd got the full story out of Hector and the others (minus details on the weapon they used on the fort), but Lelouch had claimed full responsibility for the deaths of almost a thousand refugees along with responsibility for the victory that paved the way to a conclusion of the conflict with the MEF.

"It was because of me that Clovis ordered it. I'm the one that drove him to it. For the sake of my own selfish ego." Lelouch said darkly.

Because of C.C..

Because Lelouch had chosen to take C.C. to use as leverage against his brother. Because Lelouch's pride had been hurt by being excluded from the operation – his right by Imperial mandate – and had been looking for revenge.

Suzaku wanted to comfort Lelouch, to convince him that it wasn't entirely his fault. It was possible Clovis would have gone that far even if Lelouch hadn't interfered. But he wasn't exactly sure how to word it convincingly and before he was given the change to try, Lord Gottwald was directing Lelouch's attention to the way Ken's mother was timidly approaching them.

"Ah, your highness, I'm sorry about Ken. He has no manners. He'll be punished." She said, holding out the wallet Lelouch had just given away, still trembling slightly.

The prince didn't move, hands still in his pockets as he refused to take back the wallet. "Keep it." Lelouch growled, effortlessly switching languages. "And teach your son Japanese. If you don't keep the language alive, who do you think will?"

* * *

AN:

:/ So that's another one. Before anyone asks, I won't be telling you any other pairings for this fic since I caught so much flak for revealing Lelouch's. And it's not really a romance fic anyway.

To be entirely honest, I wasn't even going to write this chapter and was going to skip on ahead to the party so I could get back to Osaka faster, and that last pov was originally a sidestory that I decided to stick in because otherwise the chapter would have been too short. But then some of you were like 'Nunnally!' last chapter and I was like 'oh yeah. I can't just forget about her on her birthday.' which is how this chapter happened. I hope you all enjoyed it, though it didn't really progress the plot much.

Speaking of enjoyable things, you should all go to my profile page and check out the new fanarts from L.L. I won't paste the links right into this again since I don't think they worked last time anyway, but you should totally go check them out. She's done C.C. and Lelouch in a Final Fantasy-type style cover page thingy (or at least I think it looks like a cover of a book). Go look and make sure you leave her a comment.

And leave me a comment too ^.~ Don't forget to review.

Allora

Edit: 06/28/2011 . So after a number of you pointed it out to me, I realized that I've had Nunnally's age wrong all this time. For some reason I was thinking there was only two years between her and Lelouch, instead of three. So Nunnally just turned 15 and Lelouch will be turning 18 in December. . Thanks for pointing that out to me. ^.^;


	62. Chapter 62

Chapter 62

Kallen thought a lot of things were messed up in her life at the moment. Ever since Naoto . . . ever since that fiasco concerning Code-R. So when she was walking home from school on Friday only to hear the screech of tires behind her seconds before a hand closed over her mouth and she was dragged into a unknown vehicle, she figured it was probably par for the course.

That didn't, of course, mean that she didn't put up a fight. Even as the van began to pull away from the curb, she'd already managed to free one hand by shoving her elbow into her assailant's stomach and reach for the switchblade in her pocket. The blade flicked open with an audible click before a hand closed around her wrist.

"Woah, Kallen! Calm down. It's just us."

She froze and slowly turned around to stare disbelievingly at her assailant. "Ohgi?"

"Yo." He said, waving nonchalantly from where he was seated on the floor in the back of the utility van. She glanced up to the driver's seat where Yoshida gave her a similarly casual wave.

"What the hell are you doing?" She raged.

"You cut off contact. We thought something had happened to you. We just wanted to make sure you were okay." Ohgi explained, hands held up in mock surrender.

"So you abduct me off the street?" She demanded. "Maybe I was just busy. Did you ever think of that?"

"Were you?" He asked seriously. "You've never stopped calling before. I know I'm not Naoto and you don't have any obligation to me, but I promised your brother I'd look out for you if anything happened to him. I like to know that you're okay."

She pursed her lips, still angry at their stupidity but a little touched by their concern. She should have thought of this before cutting off contact with Ohgi. She should had known he'd worry, especially after the way they'd lost Naoto.

" . . . Sorry."

"What's going on, Kallen? Why'd you stop calling?" He asked, before his eyes traveled to the knife still in her hand and he frowned. "What happened to your other knife? The one Kazane gave you?"

She averted her gaze and flipped the blade closed, shoving it back into her pocket. "That's . . ." She hesitated, unsure what to say. If the prince saw this situation, would he assume she was tipping them off? Would he think she was telling them about the true identity of L.L.? Were his people watching her even now?

"Tell me." Ohgi urged. "Yoshida said he thought he saw someone following you. That's why we decided to approach you like this. Please trust us. We'll help you."

"You can't help me." She sighed. "I cut off contact to protect you guys, obviously. You should have stayed away from me."

"Did someone find out about you? What happened?"

She shifted nervously before settling on a half-truth. "I was invited to Sir Gottwald and Sir Kururugi's knighting ceremony." She said softly. "And the party afterward."

Ohgi frowned. "Kallen . . . where is that purse knife?" He asked dangerously.

". . . I'd imagine Prince Lelouch still has it."

Ohgi's eyes widened as the blood drained out of his face. "You didn't." He breathed in disbelief.

She glanced away, fully realizing how stupid she had been. "The man following me probably works for him."

"Why? Why's he doing this? Why not remove you? Do you have any idea how lucky you are to be alive?" He demanded.

"I don't know why. I'm as surprised as you are. Or more so." She added grimly.

"Does he know you're a terrorist? Or does he think you're just an angry noble?" Ohgi asked rapidly.

"He knows. Which is why you should stay away from me. And ditch this van somewhere where they won't find it and torch it. He can't find out who you are." She said vehemently.

"And what about you?" Ohgi asked. She could already tell he didn't like the idea.

"He seems content in letting me be Kallen Stadtfeld for the moment. And . . . I go to school with his foster sister and his friends. They like me. I can use that to protect myself." She answered.

"Are you stupid? Stay away from them. If he catches you too close to someone he cares about, he'll probably kill you." Ohgi protested.

"Well . . . that's kind of impossible. I was recruited into the Student Council by Milly Ashford. From what I understand, I'm not allowed to resign. And the majority of the council members are in my class." She informed him sullenly.

Ohgi's fists clenched and she could tell he was panicking. They were just a small resistance group, after all. And without Naoto they stood no chance of going toe to toe with the Viceroy and coming out on top. Ohgi knew his limits and knew his faults as a leader. And even if he had had Naoto's charisma, they wouldn't have had the resources necessary. To a small resistance group such as theirs, Prince Lelouch vi Britannia was about the most intimidating opponent they could come up against.

"We're taking you with us. We'll ditch the van in Saitama and slip back into Shinjuku via the old subways. We know that place better than anywhere else, and the Britannians haven't had a presence in the area since the massacre. It'll be fine."

"Stop it, Ohgi. I . . . basically bartered with him. He said he wouldn't come after you guys if I did what he said. I don't trust him, but I can't just disappear." She said frustratedly. "Drop me off somewhere, then take the van and torch it in Saitama. Then disappear. Don't expect me to call you. I don't know if he's monitoring my calls, but I'll solve this by myself. I got myself into this mess, and I'll get myself out of it."

"Kallen . . ." Ohgi said helplessly, but she didn't miss the way his eyes slightly narrowed suspiciously. "What did you agree to? You said you didn't know what he wanted."

She was saved from answering when Yoshida slowed down to make a left turn. She opened the door and tumbled out, barely dodging an oncoming car. "Just get out of here and leave me." She growled, slamming the door shut before taking off on foot across a busy intersection on foot and miraculously making it to the sidewalk unscathed.

She glanced back at the van, finding Ohgi fighting to get the window down to say something to her. He was being stupid and reckless. If she didn't leave now, he'd probably give himself away and end up sacrificing himself to save her. It wasn't worth it.

So she turned her back to him, hand clenched into fists in her pockets as she made her way back the way she'd come and towards the Stadtfeld estate.

Oh yes, her life was certainly messed up. She'd just rejected an invitation to disappear into the ghetto in favor of spending her Friday night holed up in the Stadtfeld residence. Since she wouldn't be caught dead at the Ashford event they were throwing this evening in honor of the prince's Knights (or rather, she probably would be dead if she decided to attend), and since she was still being watch, she was going to have to satisfy herself with watching old movies on tv and eating popcorn with too much salt on it.

She really hated Lelouch vi Britannia right about now.

* * *

Milly Ashford was in her element.

To anyone else, her position would be defined by untold amounts of stress and unbridled chaos. But Milly thrived under such conditions. She was the nerve center of this entire extravaganza. She knew every guest, the caterers, the musicians. All of them answered to her. Every problem they encountered, every question they needed to ask, every decision that needed to be made . . . it all came to her.

She loved it.

She loved the pressure and she loved knowing that the enjoyment of Ashford Academy's student body was resting on her shoulders right now. Her influence would either make or break this party and she was determined to succeed. She'd gone all out for this one – a celebration fit for royalty. After all, she was entertaining not just one, but rather three members of the royal family this evening (even if she didn't think Princess Abigail really counted).

She took a deep breath before grinning broadly at Rivalz approaching her. "I think we can call this one a success." He said cheerfully. "And you look wonderful in that dress."

She glanced down at the sleek baby blue strapless dress she'd found. It had been short notice, but she'd managed to find a dress that was both stunning and tasteful – something Lelouch wouldn't be embarrassed to associate with her in. It was downright modest compared to some of the dresses she'd seen so far. Thigh high slits and sweeping necklines seemed to be the norm with almost all of the girls of campus hoping to catch Lelouch's eye – even if he was married and in attendance with his wife.

"Thanks, Rivalz. How were things in the kitchens? Everything running smoothly?" She asked. Rivalz might be her date for the evening, but they were also both working on keeping things organized and so had arrived separately and hadn't been able to see each other until now.

"Yeah, everything's fine. Must be because Lelouch is here. We haven't had an event this hassle free since he left. He's like our lucky charm." Rivalz answered with a laugh.

"Maybe we should put him to work then." She said with a teasing smile as she turned to where Lelouch, his wife and both of his Knights stood together on the other side of the room.

She hated to admit it, but Lelouch and Abigail looked good together. He had the tall, dark and handsome thing going for him, while she was a blond bombshell it was impossible to miss. Half of the boys in the room kept shooting furtive glances at her, checking out the plethora of diamonds at her throat that drew attention to her bust line. Abigail vi Britannia looked like she'd been born a princess. It didn't help at all that they were both wearing the exact same kind of polite smile, as though their thoughts were mirrored.

"Milly, I don't think that's such a good idea." Rivalz said, snagging her wrist. "His wife's not particularly fond of you, remember?"

"Psh, and? You don't think I'm going to let her stop me from talking to Lelouch, do you?" She asked imperiously.

But before she could get an answer, Shirley rushed up to them, dragging another girl in a simple coral cocktail dress behind her. "Madam President. This is Mandy from the A/V club. She wants to know where to start."

Milly grinned. This was one of her more ingenious ideas. Nunnally had asked for a recording of the evenings events – specifically she wanted to hear from Suzaku. So she'd contacted the A/V club about making a video of the night which she would later sell to the students as a fundraiser. She was betting a lot of the female population at Ashford would pay good money to have video footage of Lelouch at their fingertips.

"Oh! Come with me. We'll start with them." She said, pointing at Lelouch as she led the girl closer to the royal party.

"Is that really okay?" The girl asked nervously as she trailed along after Milly.

"Sure. Lelouch already knows we're doing this. It'll be fine. Here, start up your camera and get some footage of everyone all dressed up." She said, waiting patiently for Mandy to do as she was told. "Now zoom up on Lelouch from here." She instructed.

She caught the moment Lelouch felt them watching him as his smile turned a little more genuine. He even raised a hand and waved slightly. "Lelouch!" She said happily, abandoning Mandy from the A/V club as she approached, before curtseying politely to his wife. "Your highness."

"Milly. I think you out did yourself this time." Lelouch said with a smile. "I'm glad I don't have to balance your budget any more."

"Yeah, I don't think Kallen's going to be happy when she sees that, but I had to splurge a little. After all, I couldn't slack off knowing that we'd have such distinguished guests in our company." She said before turning to his Knights. "Sir Kururugi. Sir Gottwald. I'm glad you both could come. This is, primarily, in your honor – though I do admit a part of it was so we could steal back Lelouch for a few hours."

"We're honored." Lord Gottwald said with a polite dip of his head.

Kururugi nodded. "Yes. Thank you, Miss Ashford."

"Oh please. Drop the formality. Just call me Milly. And I'll just call you Suzaku, if that's alright. It's strange being so formal with people the same age."

"Um, sure. That's fine." Kururugi answered.

She glanced over at the other Knight with a teasing grin. "I'll leave you with your titles, Lord Gottwald. Otherwise I think you'd be offended. Unless, of course, you'd prefer if I called you by your given name?"

The man fought back what looked like the beginnings of an eye roll in favor of a tolerant smile. "Whichever you prefer, Miss Ashford."

"Jeremiah, then." She said, pushing her luck as she watched for his reaction. He didn't frown or glare so she figured it was probably okay.

Lelouch chuckled. "I wonder what you did to win her over, Jeremiah. "She's rarely this impetuous right to someone's face."

"Mm, swearing life and limb to you probably did it. I thoroughly approve of your Knights, Lelouch." She said with a slight nod.

"Well, thanks for your approval, Madam President." Lelouch said with a sarcastic smirk.

"That being said, I doubt you need them to protect you tonight. Why don't you let them enjoy themselves, hm?"

"They're welcome to."

"Is that so?" She frowned. "That's funny because I heard a rumor that you wouldn't let Jeremiah here enjoy the festivities."

Actually, she'd been petitioned by a group of girls to make Lelouch let Jeremiah dance with them. Apparently they thought he was dreamy – and even she had to admit he looked rather dapper in his uniform, with his refined aristocratic features and the diamond wolf brooch glittering on his chest, despite the fact that he was ten years her senior.

"I prefer to stay with my prince." The older Knight said politely.

"I see. Well in that case, I'll take Suzaku." She said with a grin, thrilled to see she'd caught him off guard.

"Pardon?" He asked in surprise.

"Usually it's supposed to be the other way around, but would you dance with me, Sir Kururugi?" She asked, holding out a hand to him.

Lelouch none-too-subtlely elbowed him forward with a low chuckle. "Go on, Suzaku. It's your fault that I'm here, so I'm going to make you suffer for it."

Suzaku sent a dirty look towards Lelouch before turning back to her and falling into a perfectly courteous bow. "Let's do this properly then. Would you care to dance with me, Miss Ashford?"

She took the hand he offered her with a smile. "Of course. I'd be delighted." She played her part.

He led her out to the dance floor while she secretly fretted over whether or not she'd put him on the spot and whether or not he actually knew how to dance. But her fears seemed unfounded as he turned to her and placed his hand on her back in the correct position. He began leading her into the steps as she relaxed.

"You were afraid I didn't know how?" He asked a few moments later, quirking an eyebrow.

"Was I that easy to read?" She wondered.

"Not really. Off the record, your fears aren't completely unfounded. This is the only dance I know and only because I had Edith teach me how to before the knighting ceremony." He confided.

"Well you picked it up rather easily then. I couldn't tell." It wasn't just flattery, she really wouldn't have been able to tell he was new to the waltz if he hadn't told her.

"Thank you." He said humbly, leading her into another turn as his gaze repeatedly tracked back towards Lelouch.

"But an appraisal of your dancing skills wasn't the reason I did this." She said a moment later. That got his full attention, though he didn't speak, waiting for her to continue. "I expect you to enjoy yourself this evening, Suzaku. Even if you're not enjoying yourself, I expect you to smile and pretend that you are. And try to get on camera a lot." She ordered, shifting automatically into President-mode.

"I'm fully aware of the purpose of tonight's event, Milly." He informed her curtly.

And what exactly was that supposed to mean? He knew about Nunnally? He knew this was Nunnally's idea? Surely not. Lelouch had said that he didn't trust his subordinates with the secret of Nunnally's survival. Though . . . Suzaku wasn't really a subordinate as much as a friend. . . and he would have met Nunnally before the invasion.

She frowned. Had Lelouch told him about Nunnally? And if so, why?

"Where is she?" He asked, his tone dropping low enough to not be overheard by any of the other dancers.

That put her on her guard.

"I'm sorry. Who?" She asked obliviously.

He stared at her for a long moment, his emerald eyes doing their best to strip through the wall she'd just put up. But she stuck to her defenses and held out until he sighed. "Never mind."

The dance finished a few moments of awkwardly eying each other later and she dropped into a polite curtsey. "Thank you for the dance, Sir Kururugi. Please make sure you enjoy yourself this evening." She reminded him before turning away.

Whatever Suzaku Kururugi knew about Nunnally, he didn't know the whole story. And if Lelouch was keeping him in the dark, there had to be a reason for it. She would be damned if she let out the secret Lelouch was so intent on hiding.

* * *

"Look. Milly's after the Eleven now."

"Well, even if he's an Eleven, he's still close to Lelouch."

Euphy glanced questioningly at two of her classmates. She'd made friends easily within her class over the last week, and it was likely Milly's influence that had made the experience so painless. She'd never heard anything bad about the Student Council President, but the disdain of the two girls next to her was readily apparent. Carmen and Jessica sat next to her in class and had been quick to befriend her.

"Oh," Jessica said, noticing her confusion. "Milly and Lelouch used to have a thing together."

"A thing?" She asked in bewilderment.

"Yeah. Not exactly dating. Lelouch never officially dated anyone, but they were always together. There was definitely something going on. Then after Lelouch went back to the royal family, she moved in on his best friend. You met Rivalz Cardemonde, right?" Carmen asked.

She nodded mutely, her eyes finding the Student Council Vice President across the room busily talking to Shirley.

"Yeah, so then they started dating. Milly never dated anyone seriously before Rivalz either because she had Lelouch. But I guess that's done with now if she's set her sights on his Knight." Jessica continued. "I don't think I could ever do anything with an Eleven. It would just be too weird."

"Why?" She asked dumbly.

"Are you kidding me? Just look at him. Even if you dress him up, it doesn't change what he is. It would be gross. Kind of like . . . an animal or something. They're not like us." Jessica said with a frown. "I wonder what Lelouch was thinking? Kururugi must have threatened him or something."

She opened her mouth to protest – to inform them that that wasn't the case at all, but rather that Lelouch and Suzaku were old friends – before snapping it shut and holding her tongue. They would want to know where she'd got her information from and that would compromise her cover.

"I doubt it." She said instead, pressing her lips into a thin line. "Prince Lelouch doesn't look like the kind of person that would be easily threatened. And Sir Kururugi doesn't really look like that sort of person either."

"I told you, just because he's dressed up doesn't mean he's actually civilized." Carmen said with a dismissive sigh. "You can't judge them just by looks alone."

Which was funny, because that was exactly what they were doing – condemning him because he wasn't Britannian. It wasn't his fault. It wasn't something he could change and even if he could she didn't think she'd want him to. Suzaku Kururugi was Japanese, it was obvious just from looking at him. And he'd never been anything but pleasant towards her, even if her first impression of him had been a bad one.

Instead of responding, she turned away without another word and began determinedly making her way towards the royal party. She saw Lukas out of the corner of her eye, detach himself from whatever conversation he'd been having with some of their other classmates to come walk beside her.

"What are you doing, Euphy? Think about your cover." He hissed at her quietly.

"No." She said softly. "They won't learn if no one is willing to point out their misconceptions."

She had been taught to lead by example and that was exactly what she intended to do.

"I was listening to what they were saying. I see why you're upset. But while I respect the idea behind your decision, it's still stupid. If someone figures out who you are, you'll have to go back to Britannia, right?" He argued next to her, voice low enough not to carry.

"Well, we'll see about that if it happens. I like it here." She said simply, "But not so much that I won't be me anymore just to stay."

"Euphy, please stop and listen to me. You could just as easily make whatever point you're hoping to make with words."

But she didn't stop and she didn't listen. She'd made up her mind and she intended to follow through. Lukas was still hissing in her ear when they came before the royal party and she dropped herself into a perfectly polite and demure curtsey. He was given no choice but to bow as well.

"Your highnesses." She said softly before turning to the Knights, "Sirs. I'm Euphemia Valeri and this is my friend Lukas Sims. It's a pleasure to meet you."

It was . . . somewhat thrilling not being on the receiving end of this exchange. She hated when people bowed to her and hated their unfeeling politeness. This way was much more fun, pretending like he wasn't her brother. Playing strangers. She fought back her smile.

"And you." Lelouch said with a small frown. "Was there something you needed from me?"

"Yes, actually. Would you allow me to ask your Knight to dance?" She inquired.

"I can't guarantee he'll say yes, but you're welcome to try." Lelouch replied in a monotone, looking as deliberately disinterested in her as he had to everyone else who had approached him except Milly.

"Thank you." She said with another slight curtsey before she turned. "Sir Kururugi, would you dance with me?"

The young Knight looked surprised for a moment and only hesitated for a second before sweeping into a gallant bow and taking her hand. "Of course, your . . . yes, I mean. Of course, I will."

He led her onto the floor, his fingers strong and callused against her own before he turned and began leading her through the steps. She followed easily, allowing herself to be led through the waltz as whispers and gossip began circulating around the room. Well, at least she was taking the heat off of Milly.

"Was something wrong, your highness?" He asked politely, his muscles coiled and tense across his shoulders.

She shook her head. "I'm just Euphy here."

"Of course. I'm sorry. Is something troubling you?" He asked again, concerned eyes practically boring into her.

"Why would something be wrong?" She asked.

"Well, this would be an ideal way to report a problem to Lelouch without blowing your cover." He reasoned.

"So something has to be wrong for me to want to dance with you?" She inquired with a teasing smile. "What if I just wanted the pleasure of your company?"

"I see." He said, glancing away.

"You're uneasy. Is it because I'm Britannian, because I'm Lelouch's sister, or because I'm a girl?" She asked, without letting her smile drop.

He chuckled nervously, but still didn't meet her gaze. "The second option. I don't hate Britannians. Or girls." He added as an afterthought.

"I see." She said, then pressed on. "So now that I've narrowed it down, is it more because of Lelouch or because of who my father is?"

". . . I don't imagine His Majesty is very pleased with my position." He said tactfully.

"True. But I don't think he has spies watching our every move. And even if he does, I doubt that he will fault you for enjoying yourself tonight." She replied. "That is, after all, the point of this evening's affair."

He glanced at her strangely, eyebrows raising in surprise for a moment. "Oh?" He said uncertainly.

"It doesn't take a genius to figure it out. I don't imagine the nobles were exactly a pleasure to be around on the day of your knighting. Lelouch must care for you a great deal to have agreed to this." She said.

"Well . . . I don't think he really had a choice." Suzaku said. "Milly was fairly insistent."

"The only person I know that's more stubborn than Lelouch is my sister Cornelia." She confided. "So if he agreed to this party, it was because he wanted to."

Sir Kururugi looked like he wanted to say something in rebuttal but he hedged instead. "Perhaps."

"I'm glad Lelouch has a friend like you. I'm glad that he's chosen Knights and that he has people he trusts." The words tumbled out.

She'd been thinking about it ever since she'd come here – that she really didn't know Lelouch that well any more. And that he didn't trust her. She was someone he cared about, but not someone he could confide in.

She understood the reason why. She didn't like it, but she knew it. Lelouch had been burned badly by their father. He'd lost his mother, and then his home in rapid succession. And no one had come to his and Nunnally's aid. No one had stood up against the Emperor. No one had attempted to shelter them.

She'd been too young then. She hadn't understood the full implications of what was happening. She still remembered that Cornelia had been reprimanded for protesting their exile. She remembered Cornelia crying, trying to make sense of what had happened to Lelouch and Nunnally – trying to figure out who had killed Lady Marianne. But even she had quickly been silenced.

Lelouch had been abandoned, so she understood why he didn't trust her. He'd already been betrayed once. When he'd first come back to Pendragon, it hadn't seemed like he'd trusted anyone. But now, it seemed like he did. Even if it wasn't her, she was glad he had someone he could confide in. She was glad that there were people on his side.

"Thank you, your highness." Sir Kururugi said, relaxing enough to send her a genuine smile. "Your approval means a lot to me."

"It's Euphy." She corrected for lack of a better thing to say. His presence was a little overwhelming when he didn't hold himself so rigidly under control. Especially when he smiled like that. "Please just call me Euphy."

". . . Euphy." He said hesitantly, as she visibly watched his walls beginning to go up again.

And of course, the song ended at that moment and he was wearing that polite smile she'd seen far too many times to count on far to many faces to remember. He was about to thank her for the dance and go back to Lelouch.

It was impulsive, but she reached for his hand anyway and dragged him from the dance floor before he could let the thank you escape. "Come on, Sir Kururugi, I'll introduce you to some people. And don't forget you're supposed to be having a good time here."

"Euphy, I should get back."

"Sir Gottwald is surely capable of protecting the prince without you?" She said, before turning back inquiringly. "Or don't you think so?"

"What? No! Lord Gottwald is . . . he's . . ." He spluttered for a moment, trying to come up with an adequate description as he allowed her to drag him off to the side of the room. "Lord Gottwald is an exemplary Knight."

"I'm teasing you, Suzaku." She said with a smile. He paused for a moment, dragging them to a halt as he stared at her incredulously. And then she remembered that the Elevens were more stingy about how they referred to people's names. "I'm sorry. Did I offend you with my familiarity, Sir Kururugi? This is, after all, only my second or third time meeting you."

"No. It's fine, your highn. . . Euphy. It's fair, right?" He reassured her, but his tone had recovered some of the uncertainly from the beginning of their encounter.

"It is fair." She nodded. "Come meet some of my classmates. Keep in mind that I expect you to make a good impression on them. I'm sure Lelouch expects it too."

He hesitated for another moment before sighing in defeat and allowing her to continue dragging him back to where Carmen and Jessica were watching them. "As you wish, Euphy."

She would show those girls, with actions rather than empty words, that Sir Kururugi was not some kind of villain trying to swindle Lelouch. She would show them that Suzaku was a perfect gentleman, even despite being an Eleven. She had faith in the boy Lelouch had put his faith in. After all, Lelouch wouldn't have chosen Suzaku if he hadn't been able to rely on him.

* * *

Jeremiah found the evening's affair all very annoying. Especially the interest a number of school girls had decided to take in him. To be honest, it disturbed him greatly to have such young girls making eyes at him. He was thankful he had the excuse of staying by his prince's side as a way to divert them.

It was difficult to believe that these were Prince Lelouch's peers. His prince exhibited a maturity that he had yet to see displayed by any of the other students in the room. Still, these _were _the prince's peer and so he had to remain polite instead of giving them a lecture on just how wrong it was for those girls to have a crush on him.

"Was there a problem?" Prince Lelouch asked in a quiet undertone to Lukas, who was still standing a few feet away and watching Princess Euphemia and the Number dance.

"No. Some of the girls were bad mouthing Sir Kururugi. This is her way of making a point." The younger Zimmerman sighed.

"I see." Prince Lelouch said with a frown as the music paused between songs and Princess Euphemia dragged the Eleven off of the dance floor and away from his post. "Go back to her, Lukas."

"Yes, sir." Lukas replied automatically before shooting the prince a sheepish smile at the ingrained response and making his way back to the princess.

The boy seamlessly melted into the group of people the princess and the Number were in, automatically taking up the spot next to Princess Euphemia as he joined in the conversation. Even watching from here, it was easy to see the boy was charismatic. It wasn't the same kind of leading charisma that Prince Lelouch possessed – the kind that made his followers willing to lay down their lives for him – but rather it was a more personable kind. The kind that made him easy to befriend and easy to trust. The kind that made infiltrating the student body at Ashford Academy an easy feat.

Princess Abigail chuckled softly. "I see what they mean now. He looks striking next to her."

Prince Lelouch turned to look inquiringly at his wife as Jeremiah remained at her shoulder. It was the position he'd taken up earlier, protecting her while Kururugi protected the prince. It had frustrated him that he'd been been cast aside in favor of that Eleven, but at the same time he had a much better chance of getting along with the princess than Kururugi did. And there wasn't the chance that he would 'accidentally' fail to protect her. The Number's pride had to have been hurt after being slapped by her.

"Lukas?" Lelouch asked.

"Mm," The princess shrugged, "Well, he does have a memorable face. They both do. He and his brother."

The prince laughed openly before turning to glance at her mischievously. "So you think Lukas and Hector are attractive?" He asked teasingly.

Somehow, their relationship seemed to have gotten a bit better. Whatever had transpired in his absence, he was glad to see the change. The prince wasn't as dismissive of his wife as he had been when she'd first arrived and he'd been deliberately affectionate towards her in front of the party's guests.

"Well, it's not like it's not true." Princess Abigail said. But if she was trying to make the boy jealous, the attempt completely failed. "However, the point I was trying to make was that I could see how the rumors started."

"What rumors?" The prince asked, expression turning serious.

"Apparently it's going around the campus that Euphy and Lukas are involved with each other romantically." Princess Abigail revealed. "Even despite the number of times they've denied it."

"I see." Prince Lelouch said, his expression darkening.

"Don't be so serious." The princess reprimanded teasingly. "It's obviously not true. They keep telling everyone that they met because their brothers are good friends."

The prince chuckled. "Well it's not a complete lie. Hector and I are friends, though I met Lukas first."

"Mm. It's a good thing you decided not to have him on the floor tonight. There is a family resemblance and they might have been found out." Princess Abigail said.

Captain Zimmerman was overseeing the security for the evening from an office upstairs and coordinating all of the guards, both those in uniform and those who were disguised as servers and other employees. Every square inch of the Viceroy's Palace was covered by security cameras and he didn't envy the man the job of keeping an eye on everything. Though he did have two subordinates with him – guards who regularly worked at the Viceroy's Palace – and he believed C.C. was staying up there as well.

"Yes, that's why I'm keeping him upstairs." Prince Lelouch said, letting the conversations fade back into silence as he observed the goings on of his former classmates.

The prince was relaxed this evening and wearing a smile that came and went easily. The mask was thin tonight. It was the first time he'd seen the prince so close to his true self since he'd been shot.

"Speaking of that, I'm going to go check on him up there. Jeremiah, please stay with Abigail."

"I'll go with you." The princess said before he was able to accept the order.

Prince Lelouch shot her a glance that was more curious than annoyed. "I won't be long."

"Is it something you don't want me to see?" She asked pointedly.

"No." The prince answered simply.

"Then I would rather stay with you, Lelouch."

The prince shrugged. "Suit yourself." He said before offering his arm.

Jeremiah fell in behind them as they retreated from the room, leaving the Number gallivanting with Princess Euphemia – though he did catch the silent signal the prince sent to the Eleven before they left telling him to stay put. He'd learned a few of the signals from the prince, but apparently the two had developed an entire silent language consisting of over a hundred different distinctive gestures and movements.

"You know, Lelouch, I don't see why we can't act like this all the time." Princess Abigail said plaintively.

"I shouldn't have to act in my own home." The prince replied.

"You hate me that much then?" She asked,

"No. I'm indifferent towards you." Prince Lelouch said with a shrug.

The princess sighed and fell into silence for a moment before continuing. "Then we'll just have to entertain guests like this more often." The princess said teasingly as they slipped out of the ballroom and head towards the stairs.

"You're aware that half the country would love nothing more than to see me dead at the moment, right?" The prince asked with a wry smile. "The noble and influential half."

"All the more reason to network with them and bring them over to your side." She replied.

Prince Lelouch snorted. "I'd like to see that. This problem isn't going to be remedied just by schmoozing. I'll eventually have to appease them."

"I accept your challenge." She said simply.

"Huh?" The prince said in surprise.

"While you're away in Osaka, I'll show you how much you can accomplish just by networking. How long are you going to be away?" She asked.

"I'm not sure. It depends on how the Kenshiki respond to us."

"If I can recruit fifteen noble or influential people to your side by the time you get back, I'll win." She bargained.

"Win what?" The prince asked warily.

"A date." Princess Abigail said with a smirk. "Nothing extravagant. I want you to take me out to your favorite restaurant. Not the nicest or fanciest, but the one you liked to go to the most before you returned to Britannia."

Prince Lelouch snorted in amusement. "That's all? What do I get if you can't do it?" He challenged.

"If I can't do it, I'll go back to Britannia and I'll stay out of your hair." She answered solemnly.

"I accept." The prince smirked. "How many do you already have?"

"As of this moment? None. As of tomorrow afternoon, I'll have three. My father has a lot of connections with people in the sakuradite business here." She said confidently.

"Just because they know your father doesn't mean they'll support me." Prince Lelouch warned.

"You underestimate me. As usual. Just wait and see, my darling husband. I'll show you exactly what your wife is capable of."

Prince Lelouch laughed openly. "I'll look forward to it." He said as they arrived at the door to the surveillance office where Hector, C.C. and a pair of random guards were monitoring the festivities below.

"Lelouch." Hector said, saluting casually while the others shot to their feet to stand at attention. C.C. remained slouched in her seat as she rapidly clicked through different video feeds and grumbled softly to herself.

"Is something wrong, C.C.?" The prince asked with a frown.

That got her attention and she glanced up for a moment before frowning. "No." She said simply before turning back to her previous activities – all without even glancing at Abigail, who was still latched to the prince's arm.

"Have there been any problems?" Prince Lelouch asked Hector instead.

The Captain shook his head. "I would have let you know if there had been. Everything's running smoothly. The worst we've had so far is some kids trying to sneak in some liquor."

"Good." The boy sighed. "The safety of the students is of the highest priority. For tonight, I expect you to look to their well being before my own, Hector."

"I know, Lelouch. I won't let anything happen to your friends. Trust me. I won't let you down. So go back and enjoy yourself. You can leave this to me." Hector reassured him.

"Right. We'll go back down then." The prince nodded, turning to usher Abigail back out of the room. "And C.C., keep out of sight." He called over his shoulder as he went.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." She replied in a drab monotone without even glancing at him.

Jeremiah followed his prince back down, wondering what the relationship between his prince and C.C. really was. Even if this mistress business was just a game to aggravate Princess Abigail, he'd seen the way she watched him. It was Jeremiah's job to watch the prince and the people around him, scanning for any threats.

C.C. watched him the same way, as though Prince Lelouch were something precious but fragile to her.

* * *

C.C. had not had fun the evening of the party. She'd been told to remain out of sight and not to approach him. Normally, she would have simply disregarded his order and siddled up to his side anyway, but he'd had his wife with him the whole night and creating a scandal on that level would have drawn far too much attention to her. She was fine with harassing Lelouch in private, but she didn't want the entire world to know about it.

So she'd spend the evening looking for that terrorist girl on the video feeds. After Lelouch, she was probably the next most interesting person in attendance and she already knew of C.C.'s existence. So therefore, she would have been fair game. Except she seemed to have finally smartened up and had decided not to attend.

She'd enjoyed the way the girl had gone from indignant to frightened at a few simple words and gestures. It was good to know she could still pull off a menacing act after all this time. It had been a while since she'd tried this forceful of a personality.

Still, things hadn't gone as planned which had left her bored – which had eventually led to her patrolling the hallways by herself in the pant suit she'd stolen from Edith's closet. She looked like an employee, which was the look Lelouch had wanted for her.

She'd found it surprising how many people had been willing to get into trouble to invade Lelouch's private life. It was a little known secret that Lelouch didn't live in the Viceroy's Palace, but the number of girls she'd found sneaking through the hallways in search of Lelouch's bedroom was surprising. She really didn't see how he was so popular with the girls.

Of course, the girls were easy to deter. Usually once they were caught they went back down to the ballroom. The two different couples she'd caught in search of a private place to be together had left even more quickly. Almost as quickly as the boy she'd caught trying to smuggle one of the smaller paintings off the wall – a Clovis original. That particular guest had been carefully escorted out of the building by Roy and Charles before being asked not to come back.

The entire affair had been, for lack of a better word, boring. It had done nothing to stimulate her at all.

Events the next morning were similarly disappointing. Even when she'd paraded her luggage around in the foyer and made a point of making sure that everyone knew that she was going to Osaka with Lelouch while his wife wasn't, she hadn't managed to get a reaction out of any of them.

Gottwald had clenched his fists angrily, but he was too easy to bait. It seemed the pretty princess had taken a page out of Lelouch's book and was keeping her emotions under a tight rein. It really was no fun this way.

"Oh ho! It's lovely to see you again, your highness." That annoying bespectacled man she'd once seen waiting outside the villa said as he and a woman were escorted into the foyer. "And thanks for inviting us along on this little excursion this time. We at A.S.E.E.C. are really looking forward to it."

"Lord Asplund," Lelouch said calmly, "you seem well. . . and enthusiastic."

"Of course. I hope you'll put the Lancelot into the field at every opportunity." The man replied.

So this was Kururugi's keeper . . .

She already didn't like him. He was far too jovial to be normal. She wasn't looking forward to having him with them in Osaka at all. People like him were never fun to toy with. Because they were abnormal themselves, it was harder to raise their eyebrows.

"We'll see what kind of situations the future presents. For now, thank you for agreeing to relocate to Osaka with me." Lelouch said politely before turning towards Edith and dismissing the man. "Is everything else ready?"

"Yes." The woman answered immediately.

"Then it's time to go. Keep an eye on Calares for me. I'll be checking in with you regularly." Lelouch said to his assistant.

"Wait, Lelouch." Abigail suddenly said as her prince turned away.

Lelouch paused and turned back to his wife.

C.C. frowned. Was it just her, or was Lelouch suddenly more patient with her? When she'd first arrived, Lelouch hadn't even spared her the time of day, and now he was delaying his departure to hear whatever ridiculous argument she was going to present for him to allow her to go with them to Osaka.

"Stay safe, Lelouch." Abigail said instead, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "I'll look forward to that date when you get back."

To her surprise, Lelouch actually blushed – likely taken by surprise by her acting like this in front of so many people – and stepped away from his wife. "You too. Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone." He said gruffly, before turning around. "Let's go."

C.C. smirked. Such a sly woman.

"You don't have to worry." C.C. said with a grin, "I'll take _very _good care of him while we're away."

* * *

AN: Sometimes, I think I have the attention span of a goldfish. -.- Anyway, I finally finished this chapter (it was a bitch, but I'm going camping this weekend and I wanted to get it out before I left) so I hope you enjoy it.

There's another wonderful fanart from Komo Pineconeseed. It's of Lukas so go check it out. The link is, as per usual, on my profile. (And sorry about the delay on this chapter Komo, I said I'd have it done two days ago but then . . . sigh).

Right then, anyway. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. You can let me know if you did by giving me a review. As for me, right now I'm going to go sleep -.- (Only15 more hours until smore time!)

Thanks for reading!

Allora


	63. Chapter 63

Chapter 63

It was raining in Osaka when they arrived. A depressing, constant drizzle that soaked into everything. However, despite that, the majority of the ATTF was still standing at perfect attention on the tarmac next to where Lelouch's plane had touched down at the Osaka garrison base. The only person under an umbrella was Sir Hopkins, standing just as stiffly in front of his men as one of his subordinates shielded him from the rain.

Lelouch ignored the rain, quickly dismissing the soldier that had come forward to hold his umbrella (though C.C. quickly snatched up the opportunity and the umbrella carrier for herself), as he approached his men. "Adrian, how are things?" The prince asked as the man crisply saluted, a gesture mirrored by the others assembled.

"Nothing significant has changed. For a while we were on to them, but since capturing a few of their men, the rest seem to have gone to ground. We haven't heard anything out of them for the last few days, sir."

Jeremiah frowned. Losing a handful of their men was unlikely to be enough to deter the Kenshiki from acting. Even as the thought crossed his mind, a standard military jeep skidded to a halt near by and a young soldier scrambled out and raced forward. He wasn't a member of the ATTF as he wasn't identified by the black and silver arm band, so he was probably one of the garrison's regular soldiers.

He saluted hastily as he butted into the prince's conversation, sinking to his knee despite the wet pavement. "My Lords. I apologize for interrupting."

"Report." The prince said indifferently.

"The squads stationed at the MacDonald Hotel and the City Planning Office were just lost." The man said quickly. "Mayor Howard's residence has also been destroyed, but Sirs Keeley, Morgan and Chittick escaped the explosion unscathed and are currently pursuing a suspicious vehicle in their Knightmares."

"When did this happen?" The Prince demanded.

"Just moments ago, your highness. As your plane was landing."

Jeremiah stiffened and reached for the prince, intending to drag him back onto the plane while using his own body as a shield. The departure and arrival time of the prince hadn't been leaked to anyone outside of the Royal Guard except for Adrian Hopkins. Which meant either they had been betrayed, or the god damned Kenshiki were watching them even now.

Prince Lelouch batted his hand away before it even touched with an unconcerned flick of his wrist. His expression hadn't changed at all, even knowing that his life was in peril.

"My prince," He protested, knowing they were wasting precious seconds. He scanned the horizon again (he'd already done so three separate times since leaving the plane) and noted likely sniper posts. There was only one that he could really see unless the Kenshiki had managed to get onto the garrison base. Hector Zimmerman was already standing in the space between the possible sniper and the prince, meeting his eye for a moment with a slight nod before turning away to monitor the horizon. "This means that -"

"I'm well aware of what this means." The prince said coolly as he refused to budge. "They're toying with me."

Jeremiah unwittingly found himself glancing at Kururugi for some hint to what the prince was thinking. Much as he disliked it, the Number seemed to know his prince better than anyone else. Suzaku Kururugi's expression was deadly as he stood next to his prince with a visual tension humming through his entire body. He looked like some kind of jungle cat ready to pounce and burst into motion at any moment.

". . . Lelouch . . . your highness. We should see to your safety first." Adrian said hesitantly.

"My Knights and Royal Guard will protect me. That's what they're here for. I'm not going to flee at the merest hint of danger." Prince Lelouch replied calmly. "Now, reinforce the perimeter. If we can't ensure the security of the garrison base, we can't fight the Kenshiki effectively. Send reinforcements to the Knights pursuing the vehicle. Surround it. Tell them their aim is to capture the terrorists alive. I'm going to need to go inside to see a map of where they're headed so I can properly direct them. Also, von Hoffman, prep our Knightmares for combat. If something unexpected happens, we'll be taking the field. That goes for you and the Lancelot as well, Lord Asplund."

"Thank you, your highness. Come along, Cecile. It's time to get our darling Lancelot ready to go." The increasingly annoying engineer said loudly as he turned away with his subordinate, along with the middle aged engineer the prince had thieved out of the Middle East.

There was a moment of busy activity as soldiers broke out of their formation on the tarmac to see to the new orders that had just been issued and still the prince didn't look like he was planning on moving himself to safety. Jeremiah understood why. Fleeing in terror would have damaged the prince's reputation, but it still would have made him feel more comfortable.

"Adrian. . ." The prince said slowly a moment later. "You said in your report that you had found five suspected Kenshiki safe houses?"

"Yes, sir." The man said with a quick nod.

"Well, since the Kenshiki went through all of this trouble just to welcome me to the city, it would be rude of me not to extend my own greeting in return. Send out a strike team to three of them. I don't want anything more than than rubble left. Understood?"

"Only three, your highness?" Hopkins asked.

The prince smirked coldly. "It's best not to show our hand all at once."

The Wolf of Britannia was back and with a vengeance.

* * *

Kallen had waited with bated breath for some kind of consequence to Ohgi's faux kidnapping to occur, but nothing had happened yet. It seemed either the prince didn't care that she'd been kidnapped (he was probably thrilled by the prospect) or he'd caught on to the ruse. Either way, nothing had really changed.

There was still that really obvious guy following her. And yesterday when she'd gone to the convenience store to get some juice she was pretty sure she'd seen another guy in the shadow of the neighbor's gate. So her previous theory about there being more than one stalker seemed to be true.

It was so annoying. Especially having to go to school every day. But by now the prince probably knew that her illness was made up and so if she had one of the maid's call the school claiming she'd had a relapse, she'd probably end up with even more trouble.

It left her in a foul mood most days. If Naoto had still been alive, she would have been living with him already. But now she couldn't even visit the apartment. Ohgi would probably just be annoyed by her presence anyway. She hadn't missed the way he'd been suspicious of her when she'd mentioned making a deal with the prince.

But, then again, he had every reason to be suspicious. Shortly after Naoto's death, Ohgi had mentioned that there was a possibility they had been betrayed. That one of their own people had sold the meeting time to the Britannians. It was just too convenient that they had chosen to strike right when everyone was gathered together.

But since everyone's bodies had been accounted for, it left a high chance that the traitor was still among them. Personally, she didn't believe it. There was no way anyone in the resistance would have been able to do that to their own comrades. There were practically like a family, after all. It was far more likely that someone (most likely Tamaki) had been talking about it and had been overheard.

Still, Ohgi had voiced his suspicion and she'd as good as confirmed that she was in cahoots with the prince. In such a situation, she'd have been hard pressed to trust herself too. She didn't expect to receive any more contact attempts any time soon.

All in all, it annoyed her. On top of that, maintaining her cover also annoyed her, which generally left her in a foul mood and bitter by the time she got home every night. She grumpily slammed the door when she got home from a preplanned shopping trip with one of her classmates and _almost_ let out an overly obnoxious 'Tadaima!' for the sake of annoying Lady Stadtfeld. But she refrained just a second before a man easily twice her size in a stereotypical black suit stepped into the foyer.

What the hell? Those bastards that were following her had breached the house? Wasn't her step-mother home? She wasn't exactly worried about the woman, but if they'd disposed of her or something it let her know just how serious the situation was.

She tensed and took a step back, preparing to flee even though she knew at least one of her stalkers were still waiting for her outside the house. Shit. Could she take him down? He was a bigger guy, but he probably wasn't much bigger than that cop she had killed what seemed like an age ago. She still had her knife, and she reached slowly into her pocket for it now.

"I apologize for frightening you, Miss Stadtfeld." The man said with a polite bow. "Please don't be alarmed. My name is Corporal Seckel. I'm just here to ensure Princess Abigail's safety."

. . . Prince Lelouch's wife was _here_? In her house? _Now_?

Had Prince Lelouch sent her?

Surely not. He knew what she was. She'd tried to stab him. There was no way in hell he'd actually send his wife here, was there? No. No possible way.

Which meant that the prince hadn't told his wife that she was a terrorist. Abigail was here for her own reasons – which probably had something to do with their fathers.

"Her highness is waiting for you in the sitting room with your mother." The man supplied helpfully when she didn't move.

"Waiting for me?" She asked in surprise.

"She wished to see you as well."

She hesitated. Normally, in this kind of situation she would have disregarded the summons and gone up to her room. This wasn't the first time someone important had visited and wished to make her acquaintance, but this situation was completely different. Not only because this was the Viceroy's wife, but also because she had already made herself an enemy of the prince.

She couldn't afford to slight this woman.

"Of course. I'll go to see her right now." She said stiffly as she dropped her bags next to the door.

"I will escort you, my lady." The man said politely.

She refrained from rolling her eyes. Who did this guy think he was to escort her in her own house? She might have been an heiress, but she didn't require all of these formalities. They were embarrassing and annoying.

But she ignored it for now, much more concerned with what the princess had to say to her that was so important.

She followed the bodyguard towards the sitting room, dreading the encounter more with every step. Despite always hating this place, the Stadtfeld residence had always been a safe haven. Now, it felt like it had been invaded and it made her skin crawl. It didn't feel safe here anymore and she was regretting more and more that she hadn't taken Ohgi up on his offer of helping her disappear.

"Miss Stadtfeld has arrive, your highness." The man announced as they entered the room where her step-mother and the princess were having tea on opposing sofas.

"Princess Abigail." She said as she forced herself into a curtsey.

Abigail hadn't changed. She was still the miniature barbie doll she had always been. And she still had that slick smile that could trick anyone into thinking she wasn't a total bitch. It was simply Kallen's misfortune that she usually got to meet the other girl's true personality since she had once thrown a temper tantrum as a child and pulled Abigail's hair in a fight.

"Kallen!" Abigail exclaimed with a pleased smile as she rose from her seat and embraced her, pressing a kiss to her cheek as though they were good friends. "How have you been?"

She couldn't move. What was with this behavior? Even if there were other people around, Abigail had never been this nice to her. Not only because of the hair pulling incident, but also because the first time she'd met Abigail had been long before the invasion. Abigail knew that she was only half Britannian and had always scorned her for it. She would never have lowered herself to kissing someone with such 'tainted blood' before.

"I've been well. And you?" She asked as politely as she could manage through her surprise. Either Prince Lelouch keeping Suzaku Kururugi on a leash had had a huge impact on Abigail, or she was up to something. Kallen was almost certain it was the latter.

"Very well, thank you. Come have tea with us. I was just catching up with your mother." Abigail said, despite knowing full well that Lady Stadtfeld wasn't her real mother.

Kallen accepted because she didn't have a choice and settled on the sofa next to Abigail where the princess had indicated.

This was a dangerous game. It would only too easy to assassinate the princess right now, even despite the surly looking men standing unobtrusively around the room. She _could_ do it. But once again, there would be no way to escape intact if she did.

Maybe they had counted on that. Because even if the princess herself hadn't been informed that she'd made an attempt on the Viceroy's life, surely her guards had been told. Unless the prince was hoping she'd do his wife in.

" . . . Kallen?"

She blinked in surprise and bowed her head in embarrassment. "Ah, sorry. I haven't been feeling well today. What were you saying?" She lied.

"I'm going to be holding a fundraiser next Saturday for the families of the hostages the terrorists killed at the Tokyo Hospital recently. I was hoping I could count on your attendance." Abigail inquired, though it really wasn't so much of a question as it was a veiled order.

". . . Of course." She said, shooting an inconspicuous glance at her step-mother. It wasn't like she really had a choice. Lady Stadtfeld wouldn't have allowed her to damage the family's reputation by refusing.

"Will the Viceroy and his . . . Knights be attending?" Lady Stadtfeld asked with only the slightest pursing of her lips to show her displeasure at the thought.

"No. Unfortunately, my husband will be busy eradicating the terrorists responsible for Prince Clovis' murder." The princess said with a confident smile.

Kallen froze, the tea in her cup sloshing gracelessly over the lip as her mind began racing. Catching Clovis' murderer? Don't make her laugh. But that meant that the prince was about to set up a scapegoat to take the fall for his crimes. And who was a better scapegoat that their resistance group? Not to mention that Ohgi had just pulled that stupid stunt despite knowing she was being watched.

"So he knows who killed the former Viceroy?" Lady Stadtfeld asked curiously.

"It's not common knowledge?" The princess asked in surprise. "Even so, it should have been easy enough to find out. They were on the news all the time clamoring for Prince Clovis to resign and hand himself over as a hostage."

So that was it. That was who the prince intended to blame for Clovis' death. Well, at least it wasn't Ohgi and the others.

"You mean the Kenshiki Faction." Kallen said blandly, using the opportunity to fish for more information. "But they never claimed responsibility for Prince Clovis' death."

"It's not hard to see why. I heard there was rioting and vigilantes roaming the ghettos after Prince Clovis was killed. The backlash would have been far greater if they'd publicly announced it. By leaving it a mystery they bought themselves enough time to get into hiding. If they hadn't, in that kind of situation, the army would have annihilated anything in their way to avenge their prince." Abigail explained.

"Well, it's good they found out who did it. I'm sure your husband is eager to avenge his injury as well. Still, will Sir Kururugi really fight against his own people? He's still one of them, after all." Lady Stadtfeld mused. "I'm afraid I don't understand what the prince was thinking when he chose such a Knight."

Abigail smiled slyly. "Sir Kururugi is like a fighting dog kept on a leash. He'll fight whatever Lelouch points him at. Personally, I find him rude and boorish, but he serves his purpose. Apparently his family still holds some sway over the Elevens. Be assured that Suzaku Kururugi is just a tool in my husband's arsenal.

"He has been sent here to create peace, by whatever means. Gaining the trust of the common Elevens will expedite that. Please don't underestimate my husband's love for this country and it's rightful citizens. He is, after all, putting his own life on the line for the Empire by leading the fight against the terrorists himself."

Lady Stadtfeld sat in silence for a moment before bowing her head. "Of course, Lady Abigail. Forgive my foolish criticisms."

"It's quite alright. Lelouch may be unorthodox, but he really is putting his everything into creating peace." The princess said with a snake-like smile. "It's why we all must do our best to help support him."

Kallen fought to keep the frown off her face. Abigail was such a viper. With that forked tongue of hers, it wouldn't take her long to get the nobility on her side. She might speak dismissively of Kururugi, but Abigail was just the same – a tool being used by the prince. If he was using Kururugi to gain influence over the Japanese, he was definitely using his wife to gain influence over the nobility.

And since the majority of the Britannian masses were already in favor of him, it just left those already committed to opposing Britannian rule outside of his influence – i.e. terrorists.

* * *

Lelouch tapped his index finger slowly against the arm of his chair. He was in the command center on the garrison base and it was already well past midnight. He should have been, like everyone else that wasn't on duty, already tucked in his bed and dreaming.

But he already knew that sleep wouldn't come easily tonight. Not with the way he was feeling. Not with the heavy weight of responsibility that was pressing down on him. Really, killing enemy combatants was a completely different sensation to knowing that you had led your own subordinates to their deaths.

It had been his decision to use those locations as decoy headquarters. It had been his decision to post guards there. It had been his decision that had gotten fifteen Knights and twenty eight infantry soldiers killed. His decision that had gotten just as many soldiers again injured.

It was the first time since the assassination attempt on Edith that someone under his command had died. He hated to admit it, but it had shaken him a bit. It drove home the point that he was holding a great many lives in his hands and that a single mistake or careless order on his part could cause a lot of people heartache.

He'd had Adrian send information about those who had been killed to Edith. She'd get in contact with their families and take care of the funerals. Just thinking about all of the families his decision had just broken made him feel even more sick.

He flipped the page in front of him and gazed sullenly at the text, only half aware of the information in front of him as his thoughts wandered. It was an old intelligence report, from early on in the Kenshiki's reign but his mind was more focused on the events that had transpired today.

It had turned out that he personally taking the field hadn't been necessary. The escaping suspects from the mayor's residence had decided to shoot themselves when it became apparent that escape was no longer an option and the rest of the terrorists had been surprisingly quiet all day. They hadn't even taken responsibility for the bombings.

It reeked of Kei's influence.

Both Kei and Saito might have been equally ruthless, but Saito lacked the precision to pull of three simultaneous attacks and get away with it. That Saito hadn't made his usual flashy announcement after the attacks suggested that the two leaders had not yet resolved their differences.

It didn't really help him. It just meant that there were two heads he'd have to cut off instead of one. Still, any way he looked at it, the mysterious character going by the name Kei was the greater threat. And aside from the terrorist he'd used his Geass on, he hadn't heard even another whisper of the man's existence. He was well hidden and had covered his tracks well.

He was abruptly dragged out of his thoughts when the door burst open and an exhausted looking soldier strode in purposefully. "Commander Hopkins." The soldier said with a salute before starting and bowing towards Lelouch. "I apologize, your highness. I didn't notice you there."

"It's fine." He said tiredly. "You approached us for a reason, I assume."

"Yes, your highness. I'm Sergeant Matthew Scheible of the O.S.I.. I was put in charge of researching the backgrounds of the known members of the Kenshiki Faction. I was told to find Commander Hopkins as soon as we found anything interesting, regardless of the time."

Lelouch sighed. He didn't need an explanation, he just needed the information. He'd been the one to bring the O.S.I. into the situation since there really were no better trained intelligence agents, but they tended to be too long winded for his tastes. "And what did you find?"

"It's likely that Tatsuhiro Saito is a member of the old ruling class. A minor noble, at most, but it could explain how the Kenshiki Faction gained so much support and the means to fund their activities so quickly. His father was a member of the House of Representatives on the Diet of Japan. That's a kind of committee of politicians put in place to check to create laws and -"

"I'm well aware of the political structure of pre-war Japan." Lelouch cut him off. He didn't need a lesson in politics at the moment. Particularly not from a Britannian soldier. "Tell me more about Saito."

"Of course, your highness. Shou Saito and his wife were eliminated along with the majority of the Diet during the invasion. It was believed that their children were also killed, though it seems that Tatsuhiro, at least, escaped. We're still looking into what became of their daughter. Because they were believed to have been already dead, the Saitos escaped the KOS list Prince Clovis made shorty after the invasion." The soldier explained.

Ah, the dreaded kill on sight list Clovis had had made for all of the important Japanese officials that had escaped the chopping block during the invasion. The list that had had the Kururugi name at the top. He'd scrapped it within minutes of becoming Viceroy.

"So he's the son of murdered Japanese nobles." He mused before his gaze slid across the room to where Suzaku was waiting in the shadow next to the door. "Do you remember him, Suzaku?"

Suzaku grimaced, but dutifully left his post to take a closer look at photo of Tatsuhiro Saito posted on one of the walls. "I don't." He finally concluded after a long moment of examination.

"Figures." Jeremiah grumbled under his breath from his place behind Lelouch's chair, earning himself a sharp glance.

"My mother may remember the family. She kept tabs on all of the Diet members before the invasion. But I doubt she would cooperate with us." Suzaku provided.

"It's a matter of national security. Refusal to cooperate is a federal offense." Jeremiah growled.

"Enough. Are you suggesting I arrest my Knight of Honor's mother?" Lelouch asked coolly. He had never liked Lady Kururugi, and he was fairly certain the sentiment was mutual, but that didn't mean that he was going to forget that she had still begrudgingly provided for himself and Nunnally when they'd been exiled. He owed her, and he wasn't about to repay his debt with an interrogation. "Anyway, it's not information on his parents that will help us.

"Learning that he comes from money and power, while informative, doesn't really change the situation either. I'd already considered that possibility. But even if the Saitos were minor nobility, they probably didn't wield all that much clout even in Japan's heyday. And since the end of the war, I imagine whatever funds he might have inherited have disappeared anyway. One of the first things my brother did after the end of the war was to freeze all the funds in the Japanese banks and relegate the largest balances to the national treasury. Saito would have lost everything."

That revelation sent the room into silence for a long few moments. "What about Kei? Have you found anything on him yet?"

"Nothing yet, your highness."

His frown deepened into a scowl. "You may go." He said dismissively as he massaged away the headache that had begun throbbing at his temples.

"I take my leave, my lord." The intelligence agent said, bowing curtly before turning on his heel and removing himself from the room.

The room sank back into silence as he brooded. It was probably a half an hour later before the silence was broken.

"Lelouch." Suzaku said, blurring the edges between his l's and r's in a way that made it apparent his friend was about to speak in Japanese to him. Suzaku had done an admirable job of suppressing his natural accent. But whenever he spoke Japanese it became all to obvious that he was a native speaker. "No one else will go to bed until you retire for the evening. You're going to have a team of zombies tomorrow if you keep everyone up much longer."

For the first time in a while he glanced around at his inner circle and noticed the apparent signs of exhaustion setting in, from the bags under their eyes to the way half of them remained standing or pacing around the room in order to keep awake.

"I'm going to bed." He finally declared, rising from his seat, unsurprised when everyone else rose with him.

"Of course, your highness. Sleep well." Adrian said diplomatically. Lelouch was suddenly tired enough to let the formality slide.

"Good night." He nodded instead before turning away and headed back for the barracks they had once again commandeered for their use with his Knights and Royal Guard in tow. Lelouch pretended not to see the grateful expressions on his Royal Guard's faces when they finally reached their beds.

"Are you going to be alright, Lelouch?" Suzaku asked in an undertone outside the door to Lelouch's private room. "You were rattled today and -"

"I'll be fine. I just need some rest. I'll be back to normal by morning." Lelouch assured him, though he wasn't a hundred percent certain it was true. He was frustrated and feeling guilty at the same time. The two generally didn't mix well together, but taking into account his overdeveloped sense of vengeance as well meant he was already musing over the best way to make the Kenshiki beg for their miserable lives. That initial strike back at their bases wasn't nearly enough to pay them back for their crimes.

"Of course you will." Suzaku said with a teasing smirk. "You're invincible, right?"

"Something like that." He smiled wryly.

"Sleep well, Lelouch. I'll be right outside if you need anything." Suzaku said, gesturing to cot that had been pushed up against the wall right next to the door.

"Overboard, but thanks. Good night, Suzaku."

He turned into his room to find it already bathed in the dull glow of a side lamp and to find C.C. already asleep on his bed, her trademark barricade of pillows already dutifully constructed down the center of the bed. He sighed and shrugged out of his clothes before changing into his pajamas, crawling in next to her and turning off the lamp.

Despite his earlier misgivings, sleep found him surprisingly quickly.

* * *

AN: . . . yeah, this chapter was delayed for a variety of reasons, but mostly because I completely lost my motivation to write for a while after being toasted by a couple people. To all those who came to my defence, thanks ^.^

To all those who hate Abigail and think she's just a useless addition to the story . . . well, all of my OC's were introduced to the story for plot specific reasons. It's not like I just threw in a bunch of OC's for my own amusement. If I could get away without creating a character, I usually did. So, I'm afraid that if you don't like Abigail, you're just going to have to live with it, because she's not going anywhere.

This chapter is so short because I noticed only when proof reading it right now, that an entire scene that I wrote was out of chronological order. -.- That one will probably finish off the next chapter, so for now you'll have to be satisfied with just this 8 pages.

Oh yeah, and by the way, Dauntless is already 1 year old. :) I think my writing style has come a long way in just this much time. Maybe by the time I actually finish this I'll have developed enough to write my own original story that I can be proud of.

Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing. And thanks for waiting so long for this update.

Allora


	64. Chapter 64

Chapter 64

_"Lelouch is your hero, right, Nunnally?"_

_ Lelouch smiled indulgently at his sister from across the garden table before drawing his gaze up to where Clovis was standing behind her chair. His brother was wearing that mischievous grin that had always spelled trouble when they'd been children._

_ "Of course. Lelouch is wonderful. He always protects me and he's nice to everyone and he's really smart too. He's probably the greatest person I know." Nunnally said with a wide, innocent smile. _

_ "Only probably?" Clovis goaded. _

_ "Well . . . no, he __**is**__ the greatest person I know. Always so righteous and noble. He's really the best brother in the world." Nunnally corrected herself. _

_ "He is great, isn't he?" Clovis agreed. "I bet you want to see him, don't you?"_

_ "Mmhmm." Nunnally nodded. _

_ "Alright. I'll let you see him." Clovis declared with a flourish, covering her eyes with his hands. "Are you ready, Lelouch?" His brother asked with a wide smile, turning his head for the first time to reveal the wound that had killed him. Blackened blood had stained the skin and matted in his blond locks, turning the smile into a mailicious leer. "Should we give you a moment to make yourself presentable? After all, it's been a while since she's seen you. It would be a shame if she was disappointed. There's a mirror."_

_ Lelouch glanced at the full length mirror that had appeared next to the table and lurched to his feet in shock. He was drenched in blood, his clothes thoroughly soaked and sticking to him along with his hair as his skin was a single steady shade of slick red. It looked like he'd bathed in it._

_ "Ready or not, here she comes." Clovis taunted, drawing Lelouch's attention back away from the mirror and towards the real danger, as he pulled his hands away from Nunnally's eyes. "Just open your eyes, Nunnally, and see how righteous and noble Lelouch is." _

_ "Stop!" Lelouch yelped frantically, leaning across the table to hide her eyes from the sight. She couldn't see him like this. But he froze a half dozen inches from her face, his hand still dripping with the blood he had doused himself in. He couldn't touch her like this. He couldn't stain her with his sins. But she couldn't seem him like this either. He didn't want her to see him. So long as she couldn't see the sins he'd committed, they'd be fine and nothing would change between them. _

_ Nunnally's eyes opened slowly and Lelouch felt true, paralyzing terror as he saw violet irises for the first time in years. He sank as the fear sapped the strength from his legs and his heart pounded in his throat. It made him dizzy and nauseous, his skin crawled with the need to escape her but he could do nothing but stare wide-eyed up at her from the ground at her feet. _

_ Nunnally stared at him in wide-eyed horror for a moment before her eyes narrowed in disgust and loathing._

_ "He's your hero, right, Nunnally?" Clovis smiled cruelly. "Really, Lelouch, how long did you hope to hide it from her?"_

* * *

C.C. awoke to a terrified shout and a flailing elbow to the cheek. It took her only a handful of disoriented seconds to ascertain the situation and wrap her arms around the trembling prince in bed next to her who was still fighting with the sheets.

"It was just a dream, Lelouch." She murmured softly as he struggled against her grasp. "You're fine, Lelouch. I said I'd protect you, remember? You're fine. You're safe now."

Whatever he had dreamed about, it had terrified him. He was trembling from head to toe and she could feel the rapid pounding of his heart under her fingers. She held him tighter, running a soothing hand up and down his back as she continue to murmur pointless comforts to him. It was a trick she'd learned from taking care of Mao. It didn't really matter what she said in this kind of situation. All that mattered was the tone.

She flinched a second later when the door slammed open and Suzaku appeared, naked katana already in hand. He charged before taking the time to take stock of the situation, point of the blade headed straight for her. But he froze a second before striking, hovering over them on the end of the bed as she glared mutely at him.

". . . Lelouch?" Suzaku asked awkwardly, staring down at his friend as he relaxed his grip on the sword and let it hang loosely at his side. ". . . are you alright?"

The interruption seemed to snap Lelouch out of his nightmare as he went rigid and still before covering his face with one of his hands and pushing his way out of her embrace. "I'm fine." Lelouch said hoarsely. "Get out."

Suzaku's gaze softened as he backed away off the bed. "Sorry for barging in." He said as he left, closing the door softly behind him.

Lelouch rolled away from her, hunching in on himself as he buried his face in his hands. "You too, C.C.. Please leave."

She stared at his back for a moment, unmoving in her nest within the covers. "Are you embarrassed because you had a nightmare?" She asked tactlessly. But he didn't answer her. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. It's just your body's natural reaction to stress. After all, who knows your weaknesses better than your own subconscious?"

"I asked you to leave." Lelouch growled.

"It was about your sister, wasn't it?" She pressed on. "You said her name."

"C.C.." He said warningly.

"I'm not asking you to talk about it. Come back to bed. Go to sleep." She ordered, draping her arms over his shoulders and pulling him back. He stiffened, but didn't resist as she dragged him back into laying position against her chest and lightly stroked his hair. He must have still been exhausted and disoriented from his dream to allow it.

She wondered what she was doing. This was Lelouch, a dangerous prince and soldier, not some child for her to coddle. He wasn't Mao. But at the same time, she didn't think she'd ever wanted to protect anything as much as she wanted to protect him. If she could save him at all, even if it was just from a dream, she would. Lelouch was unlike every other contractor she'd ever had.

"You're humming that song again." Lelouch noted sleepily.

She frowned, and realized he was right. "It's a lullaby. Someone used to sing it to me when I was a child." The nun who had tricked her into accepting this curse – the woman she'd considered a mother – had done exactly this for her when she'd been unable to sleep. She frowned at the memories of betrayal that surfaced and chose to change the subject instead of dwelling on it. "Who would ever believe me that the dreaded Wolf of Britannia needs to be sung to sleep at night?"

"C.C." Lelouch growled, pulling away from her.

"Relax." She chuckled as she pulled him back into position and covered his eyes with her hands. "I won't tell. Go to sleep, Lelouch. I'll make sure you have good dreams."

C.C. did not, generally, use her Code frivolously. It was something she reserved for emergency situations in the attempt to blend in more with society and prevent another witch hunt. But for tonight, for Lelouch, she could afford to be a little indulgent.

That night, Lelouch dreamed of his family. Of Marianne having tea in the garden. Of Nunnally cheerfully challenging him to a game of hide and seek, long before she'd lost the use of her legs and eyes. Of Clovis encouraging him to help raid the pantry for sweets and of Schneizel reading the classic Count of Monte Cristo to him while Euphemia napped with her head in his lap.

It was the life that had been robbed from him by the selfish actions of a single immortal. The life he should have had. The one he would have had if Geass had never existed.

She wondered how Lelouch would feel if he knew that the source of his secret weapon was also the thing that had destroyed his childhood. It would probably leave him feeling even more bitter than he already was. So she would keep it a secret, just like so many other things.

She glanced down at the face hidden beneath her hands, now slack with sleep and the nostalgic images she was pushing into his mind and frowned a little. It wasn't that she enjoyed lying to him – and indeed she had never truly lied, but merely evaded and misdirected his attempts at questioning her. But the truth about Geass would probably only hurt him – knowing to what end he had originally been discarded by his father, or even knowing why it was that she was using him.

He didn't need to know until the critical moment. It would only serve to stress him and, as tonight's episode demonstrated clearly, he was already more than a little stressed. She'd tell him everything in the end, probably. But not before he really needed to know. He just needed to focus on his other duties for the time being.

* * *

Suzaku didn't sleep well after being disturbed by Lelouch's nightmare. He hated seeing Lelouch like that – weak and vulnerable. To Suzaku, Lelouch had always been somewhat composed. Even as children, even when he was afraid, Lelouch would never have readily shown it. In fact, Suzaku would go so far to admit that anger was probably the only emotion Lelouch was every really true to himself about.

So he'd hated seeing the way Lelouch had been after his nightmare and he hated the situation that had caused his friend to feel that kind of terror. But more than all that, he hated that he'd been the one to be kicked out of the room while C.C. had been left in there with him.

At first he'd expected her to follow him out or for Lelouch to bodily throw her from the room, but as the minutes he'd waited outside the door for that to happen dragged on, it became more and more apparent that that wasn't going to happen. It was probably because she was a woman and therefore better suited to comforting him, but he still hated how much Lelouch trusted that girl.

Suzaku had voiced his suspicions (backed up by what he had overheard from that phone conversation) many times, but Lelouch had dismissed them every time. He hated the way Lelouch trusted her when she didn't deserve it. And – maybe – there was a slight feeling of jealousy towards how close she had gotten to Lelouch.

He liked to believe that he understood Lelouch. Maybe he didn't understand all of Lelouch's tactics, but he'd always liked to believe that he understood how Lelouch felt about things. But now, when it came to C.C., he wasn't so sure. Because he didn't understand how Lelouch felt about her at all. All apparent signs indicated that he didn't really like her, but he still indulged her every request.

Shortly before dawn, he gave up on his tossing and turning on his cot and abandoned sleep altogether. He alerted Hector (mostly because he didn't want to wake Lord Gottwald) that he was going for a run before silently slipping out into the early morning mist. He'd check in on the perimeter as he went before taking breakfast.

Running had always been something he'd enjoyed. He could lose himself in it and let the rest of the world just fade away as he concentrated on his breathing and the burn in his legs. It was like a form of meditation. He didn't have to focus on any of his other worries.

Because worse than Lelouch letting his composure break, and worse than the way C.C. had wormed her way into his inner circle, were the events that had taken place yesterday. The Kenshiki were targeting Lelouch.

That in and of itself wasn't all that surprising, but their actions yesterday had proven that they had gotten a lot closer to the prince than Suzaku was comfortable with. Even knowing the decoy targets Lelouch had created, the Kenshiki had waited until the precise moment when Lelouch's plane was landing to detonate them.

Those bombings had been a message to Lelouch if he'd ever seen one. Not only had they limited their possible targets and confined Lelouch to the garrison, but they'd also told the prince quite clearly that they weren't just a bunch of worthless rabble. It was a declaration of war very much akin to the first Kenshiki attack that had simultaneously destroyed a number of Osaka's busiest train stations. The fact that it hadn't been accompanied by an extravagant announcement like the first had absolutely zero dampening effect on the message's content. Lelouch had understood loud and clear.

. . .

It could all just seep away with his exhaled breaths. For a little while at least.

The sun was already creeping over the horizon by the time he decided to stop, slowly decreasing his speed to a jog, then a walk as he headed towards the mess hall. Lelouch would probably have food brought to him in the barracks before showing his face in the command center like the last time they were in Osaka. But Lelouch likely wasn't even moving yet, especially not if he hadn't slept well last night.

"Lord Kururugi." A voice hailed respectfully.

It was only then that he noticed that the group of soldiers he'd been following into the mess had suddenly stopped and turned around to face him and salute.

"Ah . . . um. Good morning." He said, as he returned the salute, thoroughly unaccustomed to being on this end of the exchange. He hadn't really had to put up with all of the military formalities that came with his new position until just now.

"Good morning, sir." They chorused while standing at attention. He was a little startled to notice that even the Britannians amongst the group were giving him their respect. Of the six soldiers in the group, half were Honorary Britannians. He'd somewhat expected the support of the Honorary Britannians in the ATTF, but this kind of subservience from the Britannian's baffled him. It made him uncomfortable.

"At ease." He said awkwardly, hoping they'd go back to doing what they'd been doing instead of watching him attentively. "As you were."

"You're breakfasting alone today, Lord Kururugi?" One of the soldiers asked, doing the exact opposite of what he'd hoped for. "You're welcome to join us, if you wish."

"Oh. I suppose." He said. It wasn't that he was trying to be unsociable, but he could still remember Lelouch telling him that from the moment he'd made his oaths he'd have to be perfect. That was fine, usually, but in a social setting the lines of 'perfect conduct' blurred a bit. And he was still getting used to the idea that he technically outranked most of the soldiers on the country now.

He joined with their group despite his discomfort and felt that discomfort rise drastically when he entered the mess and every other soldier in the room rose from their seat with a loud scraping of chairs and clattering of cutlery in order to salute him.

. . . So this was what it was like for Britannia's elite. He was now a Knight and a noble and one of Lelouch's most trusted companions and everyone in Britannia knew it.

He managed to get them to sit back down without, in his opinion, making himself look like a total idiot and quickly lined up to get some food – only to find that the line had reformed behind him. He silently swore that he'd stick close to Lelouch from now on. It was okay when this kind of behavior was being directed towards the prince, but towards him, it was just weird.

It was only once he'd already sat down at the table that he realized he'd met one of these soldiers before. Seated across from him and to the right was that sniper that had earned himself a meeting with Lelouch the last time they'd been in Osaka. He also realized, with some embarrassment that this man had been the one to invite him to breakfast in the first place.

"Hey, you're . . ." He trailed off, discovering he'd forgotten the man's name.

"Private Eiri Kondo, sir."

"Right. Sorry I forgot your name." He said awkwardly before digging into his breakfast as a means of avoiding more awkward conversation. Once again, it didn't work and he was met with introductions from the rest of the soldiers at the table. Trying to curry his favor probably.

He was grateful a few minutes of awkward conversation when their attention was distracted by a disturbance near the door. Once again soldiers were pushing themselves away from their breakfasts in order to rise to their feet and salute.

He caught sight of Lelouch surrounded by Gottwald and the Royal Guard when he too rose to his feet. Lelouch was scanning the room just inside the door, dressed in the form fitting black flight suit that matched his Royal Guard. Apparently Lelouch would be taking the field today. Lelouch's gaze landed on Suzaku near the back, sending a silent signal asking if he was alright, to which Suzaku subtly answered with a nod.

Lelouch ordered the room back at ease before similarly being ushered to the front of the line for food with his companions. He seemed fine to Suzaku as he helped himself to breakfast while talking with Hector. He didn't look like a guy who had been up all night being tortured by his subconscious, which he was glad of. Maybe leaving C.C. with Lelouch hadn't been that bad of a thing.

"Suzaku." Lelouch greeted as he joined the table, taking the seat to Suzaku's right that had been quickly vacated by one of the Britannian soldiers. "You were gone this morning."

"I went for a run, your highness." He answered, tacking on the honorific for appearances sake.

"You forgot your phone." Lelouch informed him.

He grimaced and apologized. He hadn't figured anyone would need to get a hold of him this early in the day. In fact, he'd fully expected Lelouch to still be sleeping when he got back to the barracks.

"It's fine." Lelouch shrugged before glancing at the other occupants of the table from the corner of his eye. "Kondo. Good to see you again." He smirked.

The Japanese man stiffened for a moment before bowing his head. "I'm honored that you remember me, your highness."

"Of course." Lelouch said with a smile that probably no one else at the table could tell wasn't genuine. "I hand picked every member of the ATTF. And you've already proven yourself the last time I was here."

Kondo flushed. "Thank you, your highness. I will continue to serve you the best I can."

"See that you do." Lelouch said, before turning to the other occupants of the table surrounded and interspersed with the Royal Guard. He struck up a conversation easily, learning their names as well as their motivations in the short few minutes they were at the table. It was kind of uncanny the way Lelouch drew them in. Just by spending a few words on them, he'd probably won over their loyalty.

They finished their breakfast shortly and Suzaku fell in beside Lelouch as he prepared to leave, taking his place to the prince's right. "We'll be taking care of those other hideouts today." Lelouch informed him softly. "But first there's something I want to show you all."

Lelouch smirked mysteriously and refused to answer any inquiries into just what it was he wanted to show them, instead leading them into the Knightmare hangar where he could see the A.S.E.E.C. van was parked.

The prince threw open the door with a flourish and smirked somewhat triumphantly as he gestured them all inside. The Lancelot was in the bay furthest to the left with Lloyd and Cecile busily running diagnostic tests from the console at the machine's feet. But that wasn't what drew the eye first.

No, rather it was the new Knightmare docked in the central bay. It was black and silver – Lelouch's colors – and seemed to loom over the Sutherlands docked aroundit. It wasn't that it was necessarily bigger, in fact, Suzaku could see that their shoulders stood at the same level, but the entire machine seemed to have been designed to look imposing. Especially with the modified head piece made to look like it was wearing a crown. It also boasted one of the heavy kevlar KMF capes that Princess Cornelia had become known for using in a slate gray.

"This is what von Hoffman has been working on since he arrived in Area Eleven." Lelouch informed them, gesturing towards the black Knightmare. "I call it the King Piece. Lord Asplund preferred Arthur, but I didn't think it was really worthy of such a name since it's really just a pawn. Ostentatious, isn't it?"

Lelouch's personal Knightmare. It was like painting a target on his back. Suzaku stared aghast at the machine, then at Lelouch and back again. If Lelouch went into the field in that thing he would have every terrorist in Japan gunning for him. Though, knowing Lelouch, that was probably the point.

"It's basically just a Sutherland with a customized frame for aesthetic's sake, though it does have, courtesy of cooperation from the A.S.E.E.C., a Blaze Luminous system installed. However, since the Sutherland's don't have nearly as much energy as the Lancelot, it only lasts for a maximum of three minutes before blinking out and completely draining the machine. That is, of course, only if you start using it with a full energy filler and stand completely still. It was kind of tacked on at the last minute." Lelouch explained nonchalantly.

"Now, I've decided to take your concerns into account, so," Lelouch said, pulling a black key hanging from a lanyard out of his pocket and holding it up for all to see. "Who wants it?"

Suzaku glanced at the Royal Guard, watching their expressions cycle through disapproval to surprise, to trepidation.

"Who did you want to pilot it?" Hector asked warily.

"I'm looking for a volunteer." Lelouch replied.

The Captain frowned before arguing. "You didn't have that thing built without a specific pilot in mind. Which one of us was it?"

Lelouch narrowed his eyes slightly, no doubt disappointed that his Captain refused to play out the scenario he'd envisioned, before swinging his arm away to hold out the key to Amanda.

Amanda's eyes widened in surprise. "Why me? Hector's a better pilot."

"Hector was never eligible. As Captain of my guard, he is a possible target for the terrorists' attention. But you're almost as good and you aren't an officer in my guard. That's why." Lelouch answered.

The woman frowned before tentatively reaching out to accept the key – only to have Lelouch jerk it out of her grasp at the last moment. "You understand the position, right? You will be in more danger than any one else on the field. You'll be my decoy."

"I understand." She said firmly. "Now give me the damned key."

* * *

Lelouch cracked his neck as he coldly contemplated his handy work. The Kenshiki base below had been thoroughly obliterated along with it's inhabitants. Well, a better description would be that they had been massacred. Despite the fact that the Kenshiki had killed more people in the last couple months than most terrorist groups did over years, the fact remained that they didn't have the resources to combat the Knightmare Frame.

Still, Lelouch was at a disadvantage and he knew it. He didn't know Kei well enough to predict his movements yet so all he was left to do was react. It was much easier being a terrorist than defending from them. The terrorists could strike at any number of targets and even if he guarded the most important ones (most of which had already been destroyed in Osaka) it left other locations vulnerable. He only had so many soldiers and he could only stretch them so thin before the practice became useless.

To be completely honest, Clovis had managed to completely bungle the military's equilibrium before he'd died. Clovis' solution had just been to throw more soldiers at the problem and had pumped the garrison base full to capacity. But just having the numbers advantage wasn't enough if you didn't know where they were going to strike next.

Right now, the only definite motivation he knew the Kenshiki had was his own assassination. The Kenshiki might, in general, claim to be working towards the liberation of Japan from Britannian rule, but that was just a justification. They had yet to hit a target that would cause lasting damage to the Britannian infrastructure in Osaka. They had also yet to engage the military.

All of their targets had been civilian in nature – slaughtering the unarmed and innocent. Their targets had also been chosen for shock value. They weren't rebels and they weren't freedom fighters. They were anarchists who sought to rule over this city through fear.

He wouldn't allow it to go on any further. Hence the King Piece.

If the Kenshiki wanted to kill him so badly, he'd give them a target to direct their attention at.

He glanced over at the black Knightmare to his left. He was 'guarding' Amanda along with Charles and his Knights. Hector, Roy and Nick were covering a nearby entrance to the subway tunnels that he'd predicted the Kenshiki would attempt to make use of as an escape route. Not that many of them had made it that far.

He opened his mouth to order their withdrawal but was cut off by the monotone beep of a unit being lost. He glanced down at his console before snapping his head to the side to watch Charles' machine collapse beside him.

"What? Charles?" He demanded into his mic, but was interrupted by his own machine shuddering violently as the back of the cockpit was impacted with first one, then a half dozen rounds. "Shit." He snarled helplessly as his console began beeping warningly and his screens flashed the damage reports.

He'd just been completely disabled. Every impact had hit on a vital joint or mechanism.

His Sutherland wobbled on it's damaged legs, teetering backwards with the threat of collapse. Lelouch pulled his ejection lever, determined to get out before that happened, only to receive another warning message on his console informing him that the ejection mechanism had been damaged.

He was trapped in his Knightmare – completely at the mercy of the situation.

Panic rose like bile and for a moment he relived the MEF's ambush, when they'd tried to capture him. For a moment he could smell sweat and blood and the smoky tang of detonated Sakuradite and melted metal, then he was taking a deep breath and forcing himself back under control. He couldn't afford to lose it right now.

First things first.

"Charles. Report!" He ordered firmly. His central systems still worked, even if all of his limbs had been damaged. He wasn't completely helpless.

"One hit. He forced the auto-ejector. I don't know who this guy is but that should be next to impossible." Charles answered gruffly. "But I'm fine. My cockpit just landed."

"Good." Lelouch growled, but further instructions were cut off when a fighter jet screamed overhead, almost impossibly low to the ground. It seemed the Kenshiki were much better funded than he'd originally anticipated.

"Protect Amanda! Don't let them catch on to the ruse." He snarled before something caught his eye and made him freeze.

The jet was flagged by a Britannian IFF code.

His heart dropped into his stomach as he stared at the unfamiliar code. _RZA-3F9._ The last time he had seen a fighter jet had been on his first day in Area Eighteen. Cornelia used jets. And Cornelia had already tried to have him killed once.

Was that what this was? Another attempt at revenge?

Even as he watched, the jet circled around for another attack and then . . . impossibly . . . it transformed. It's frame slid apart and righted itself like some kind of child's toy revealing a full sized Knightmare which gently lowered itself to the ground.

"What . . . the . . . fuck?" Amanda murmured, mirroring his thoughts exactly.

He was still gaping at the clearly impossible machine when it suddenly rushed forward, a slash harken speeding out of it's arm mounted cradle. But it wasn't headed towards Amanda in the King Piece. Instead, it was barreling straight towards the Lancelot.

Suzaku reacted in time, activating the Blaze Luminous shield to deflect the harken while he released one of the MVS with his other hand.

Whoever this pilot was, they were undoubtedly good. However, Lelouch had never seen a better pilot than Suzaku. It was their foolish misfortune that they'd decided to pick a fight with him.

"Suzaku, engage the enemy. Disable him. I want the pilot alive for interrogation." He ordered. He needed to know who from Britannia was sending assassins after him. It was undoubtedly someone of high standing and influence to have their hands on such a machine. Again, he uncomfortably thought of Cornelia.

"Yes, sir." Suzaku said quickly as he pushed the Lancelot forward.

"Are you injured, my prince?" Jeremiah asked.

"I'm fine but I'm trapped in here. The ejection mechanism is damaged. Amanda, protect me. Jeremiah, protect her. Hector, Roy, Nick, get back here and surround the unknown Knightmare. Assist Suzaku in taking it down." He ordered in rapid fire, knowing without looking that they were all following his instructions to the letter.

He frowned as he examined his surroundings before contacting the garrison for his last order. "Adrian, the OSI installed communication monitors in this area, right?" He demanded without greeting.

"Yes. All of the areas around suspected Kenshiki safe houses were bugged." Adrian answered.

"Send a jamming signal though the ones in this area. I don't want any kind of communication to get through. I can't risk this enemy calling for backup."

"Your highness, if we do that, you will also lose your communications."

"That's fine. Everyone already has their orders. Just do it, Adrian. And send a couple of transports over. We're going to need them."

"Right. Give me a moment."

Lelouch waited, watching Suzaku bring his sword down against the enemy Knightmare's stun lance as he half listened to the muted command center chatter coming from Adrian's side of the line.

The unknown Knightmare pushed away from the Lancelot before it jumped with the help of some kind of thruster and once again instantaneously transformed into a fighter jet.

"Suzaku! Don't let it escape! I'd rather it destroyed than to let it get away. If we can't capture him, kill him."

"Use the VARIS!" Lord Asplund shouted at the same time from where he had been remotely monitoring the Lancelot's performance from the garrison base. A half second later, their communications went silent.

It seemed instruction from the Engineer wasn't actually necessary as the Lancelot was already releasing the experimental new KMF rifle and aiming it at the jet that had flown out of reach before turning back to shower the Lancelot with machine gun fire (most of which was soaked up by the Blaze Luminous shields). As far as Lelouch knew, the VARIS had yet to be field tested. He hoped it performed to standard, unlike the horror story he'd heard from Suzaku about the MVS's in Shinjuku.

The concern seemed unfounded as the gun went off without a hitch. However, the jet was almost unbelievably fast and managed to bank out of the way in time to only suffer a damaged wing. Even as it plummeted towards the ground, it was already transforming back into it's KMF mode. It landed upright, staggering for only a second before making a beeline towards the Lancelot with it's stun lance lowered.

It was a move reminiscent of medieval cavalry charges. A move meant to utterly impale and destroy it's opponent. The Lancelot raised the MVS to meet it.

* * *

C.C. grumbled sleepily as someone poked her forehead repeatedly. She was tired. More importantly, she was warm and comfortable, so Lelouch could just fuck right the hell off. It was his fault that she was tired in the first place since she'd stayed up all night using her Code to make sure he slept well.

She groaned as she rolled over, burying her face in her pillow to deny him his target. She wasn't moving. Lelouch could just get on with his day without her. It's not like he actually valued her opinion anyway and there wasn't much she could do on the base here anyway. So waking her up at whatever ungodly hour this was wasn't necessary.

Ungrateful bastard.

Unfortunately, all her repositioning did was cause her tormentor to move their ministrations to her exposed ear – which was even more annoying. She cracked open her eyes to glare at the boy she'd coddled all last night like some kind of child before stopping, her eyes widening slightly in surprise. She forced her expression back to neutral a moment later as she examined Anya Alstreim's face closely.

"Marianne. You look ridiculous in that body." She huffed as she pushed herself up onto her elbow to regard her former contractor. "It doesn't suit you at all. . . . Why are you here?"

The small, pink haired girl smirked in a manner that totally didn't suit her face before flopping onto the bed next to her. "Orders from Charles. We're looking into Kururugi's suitability as Lelouch's Knight. But more importantly, why are _you_ here? In Lelouch's bed? And why are you still asleep? It's already past noon."

"I was tired since I was up all night making sweet sweet love to your only son. Won't you bless our relationship?" She replied bitingly and had the pleasure of watching Anya's eyebrow twitch slightly in irritation. "And for the record, Suzaku is a wonderful Knight. So go back to Pendragon and let Charles know before you ruin things for me here."

"As always, you think about yourself first. You act like you haven't even missed me." Marianne snickered.

"What's there to miss?" She asked blankly as she examined the girl next to her's face. It was bizarre seeing Marianne's expressions on Anya Alstreim's face. This wasn't, of course, the first time she'd seen Marianne since she'd changed bodies, but back then Anya had still been a child. Now the girl was in her teens and it was possibly more bizarre to think that this was Marianne. They looked nothing alike. "You betrayed me."

"If you really want to think about it, you betrayed me first. You should have told me what you wanted me to do when you made the contract. Instead, you tried to keep me in the dark. If it wasn't for Charles and V.V., I probably never would have figured everything out."

"Not if you'd actually used the Geass I gave you." She countered.

"I bet you did the same thing to Lelouch, right? Just cheerfully leading him along in the hope that he'll unwittingly take up your curse." Marianne scowled. "Or do you think that he'll accept it willingly? A condition you've been woefully trying to get rid of for centuries? What kind of person would willingly take that up? You've misjudged him if you think he'll take your Code without some trick."

"Your son isn't anything like you, Marianne." She said with a huff.

"On the contrary, we are very much alike." Marianne said firmly.

C.C. frowned, refusing to acknowledge the claim. Lelouch was the one. She could feel it. This time she would successfully pass on her Code and be able to finally die. "Why are you here bothering me? Suzaku's with Lelouch right now."

"Yes, I know. But is it so wrong to want to greet an old friend?"

"You've greeted me. You can go now." She grumbled as she begrudgingly got out of bed. If Marianne was here, it meant things were about to get interesting. It also meant that Lelouch would be on edge. Even if he didn't know that the Knight of Six was his mother in a stolen body, just having a Knight of the Round snooping around him would upset him. "By the way, it would be better for you if you let the girl control that body's actions for the duration of your stay here. You have absolutely no discretion and Lelouch is a smart boy. Even if you look like that, you still act the same as you always have. It won't take him long to figure it out."

"Ah." Marianne said playful as she sat up, affecting a cutesy girly expression. "But Marianne vi Britannia had such a huge impact on my early formative years. I want to be just like her."

C.C. narrowed her eyes slightly before turning around and heading towards the bathroom for a shower. She'd try to keep the former Empress from causing too much trouble during her stay. Not that C.C. expected to be very successful in that particular endeavor. Marianne, as always, would do exactly as she wished.

* * *

Gino grit his teeth as his lance was once again deflected by the Lancelot's sword, the blade gouging a chunk out of it as it struck. He didn't know anything about those swords except that he wanted one. It was amazing. It could even cut through a stun lance without suffering any damage.

As soon as he got back to Pendragon, he was going to have his R&D team look into it. The Tristan was a state of the art Knightmare and it was only proper that it had a state of the art weapon like those swords with it. Of course, they probably wouldn't be too pleased that he was piling even more projects up on their work load. Just like they hadn't been too pleased when he'd decided to take the Tristan to Area Eleven for this mission.

This Knightmare was still in the early stages of it's development, an early prototype. It had never been field tested before. Hell, his engineers hadn't wanted to put it into the field for another three or four months minimum. But he'd come across the transcripts of Kururugi's court martial when he'd been doing his preliminary research and had learned about the experimental seventh generation Knightmare that had been given to him.

He'd realized right away that nothing but another experimental new Knightmare would be able to take it down. That, and he'd been practically dying to try this sucker out. It had been completely wasted gathering dust in the R&D hangar as his nerds hummed and hahed over diagnostic readouts and sync ratios.

This was a far better test of the machine's ability.

He grunted, barely managing to duck out of the way of one of the Lancelot's slash harkens as it raised it's rifle and fired a barrage straight at him. He was given no choice but to retreat a few meters and get out of range of the sword that had been sweeping towards him from the Knightmare's other hand.

This was ridiculous. Kururugi was a much better pilot than he'd been expecting. He'd be completely humiliated if he was actually beaten by a Number. He'd never hear the end of it from the other Rounds. He'd probably lose his position and be forced into an early retirement in some backwater country of little to no importance. Hell, he'd probably _want_ to retire in some backwater country of little to no importance just to avoid the embarrassment of showing his face to anyone he actually knew.

He _had_ to win.

He glanced momentarily at the prince's Knightmare, standing behind the slightly smaller Sutherland that probably belonged to his other Knight as he protected his fallen comrade. That had been a slight miscalculation. He'd meant to eject the cockpit like he had with the other, but he'd missed that tiny little box and had been forced to disable it instead.

Still, while the prince hadn't retreated in favor of guarding the damaged Knightmare, he didn't look like he was about to join the fight either. He was content to let Kururugi take care of it. So that was the kind of prince he was.

Gino couldn't help but chuckle softly. Some of the royals were so arrogant. Really, only sending one man against a Knight of the Round when the Rounds had been known to turn the tide of entire wars on their own. But then, the prince probably hadn't realized that he was a Knight of the Round yet.

Well, it wouldn't be a problem when he explained it all later. And it wasn't like he was aiming to kill Kururugi right now. He was just testing the Eleven's readiness. If he couldn't protect the prince from an ambush, he was worthless as a Knight. And this level of attack was light compared to some of the things other Knights of Honor had to defend from.

After all, he wasn't even approaching the prince right now. It was much more difficult to fight when you had to protect something. Those assessments would come later. For now, he'd just wanted to know that Kururugi was actually capable.

Which he was.

It had been a severe blow for him to have his wing clipped. Fortress mode was fun and a little different from piloting your average Knightmare. It also allowed him to escape. With that option taken from him, he really did have no choice but to win.

He sent his own harkens at the Lancelot (a miss) before withdrawing them and combining them to create the energy cannon. His R&D team were great, but they were all about efficiency and streamlining everything. He supposed that was only natural in a KMF that had two forms. A place for everything and everything in it's place. Still, it would have been nice if he didn't have to temporarily sacrifice the use of his slash harkens while he was charging the shot from the energy cannon.

He fired the shot and watched unimpressed as it sank harmlessly into a green energy shield of some sort. Damn. He'd been using that a lot and it was obvious that it had to be a huge energy sink. Just how much power did the Lancelot have, anyway?

The Tristan was all about speed and maneuverability, but the Lancelot was quite the mover too. It really wasn't fair. He was about close to admitting that maybe the white Knightmare outclassed his Tristan.

When he got back to Pendragon, he was going to give his engineers an earful. He'd make them completely remake the Tristan. He wanted something that could beat the Lancelot. Maybe it was childish and irrational, but he didn't see why someone who wasn't a Knight of the Round should have a better Knightmare than he did.

That train of thought was cut off when a harken collided with him from behind. What? The prince? But no, that black Knightmare and it's Sutherland protector were still standing guard over their fallen comrade.

"Tch." He grunted as he used his fractspheres to reassess the situation. There were three more Sutherlands now and none of them looked like they were willing to sit back and let this duel continue. Well then, he'd just have to disable them first.

He darted to the right, firing an oversized slash harken at the weaker machine before coming up short. The Sutherlands had surrounded him and charged all at once. He grimaced and brought up his lance, but there was only so much he could do at close range when the integrity of the lance had already been compromised by the Lancelot's sword.

He was jolted hard when the Lancelot suddenly joined the rush and swept the Tristan's legs out from under him. He fell hard and realized that he had well and truly lost. It was disappointing, but not as disappointing as it would have been the prince's Royal Guard hadn't intervened. This way, he could at least claim he'd been outnumbered.

He held up the Tristan's hands in a show of surrender as his opponents crowded in around him with their rifles raised. At this range, his cockpit would be turned into Swiss cheese if they fired, so he quickly pulled his cockpit release and crawled out onto the Tristan's chest.

The Sutherlands recoiled slightly, probably from the sight of his uniform. There shouldn't have been a soldier in the Empire that didn't recognize the Knights of the Rounds uniforms. He waited for one of them to respond, aware that the communications had blinked out some time ago.

He wasn't disappointed when one of the cockpits opened. He was disappointed that it wasn't Kururugi who had emerged however. The Lancelot towered stiffly above him as a blond man from one of the Sutherlands descended from his tow line and approached.

"Please identify yourself, my lord." He man asked respectfully from where he stopped next to the downed Tristan.

"I'm Sir Gino Weinberg, the Knight of Three." He introduced.

The man looked like he'd just swallowed something sour for a moment before he bowed his head. "I'm Captain Hector Zimmerman of Prince Lelouch's Royal Guard. I realize it's improper, but please allow us to take you into custody and return to the garrison base."

He quirked his eyebrow at the man and considered it a moment. Obviously the man was stepping out of line. Knight of the Round were almost untouchable. Zimmerman couldn't legally incarcerate him. However, at the same time, Gino didn't really see the problem. He figured he'd probably rattled them all a bit.

He glanced over towards the prince's Knightmare and bowed respectfully. "Sure. I can do that." He said cheerfully.

Aggravating the prince wasn't his objective here. He'd received some good information about Kururugi's suitability from their fight and so he was reasonably content to fall in and keep his head low for a while. He would do as they wished.

They waited awkwardly for another ten minutes for the transport to arrive, with no one else leaving their cockpit, not even the prince or his Knights. It was painfully obvious that they didn't trust him.

He didn't exactly blame them, but neither had they attempted to interrogate him yet. He supposed the prince was waiting to do that himself in a more secured environment. In fact, had the prince decided to actually come out of his Knightmare to question him, Gino would have insisted that he get back in it.

He wasn't exactly sure what they had all be up to out here, but he was reasonably certain that the smoking pile of rubble he'd watched them destroy was somehow connected with a terrorist group. He wasn't going to let a prince get shot down by terrorists on his watch.

He rode in the transport next to the driver while Captain Zimmerman kept a close eye on him. He thought it was funny. He'd surrendered of his own free will. If he'd been about to try anything shady, he wouldn't have turned himself in so easily.

The hangar they stopped at was ripe with the kind of post-mission chaos he was used to. A handful of engineers rushed forward to examine the prince and his subordinate's Knightmares for damages as others hauled plasma cutters towards the Knightmare he'd damaged in order to get the pilot out.

Gino was, of course, kept to the side out of everyone's way under the watchful eye of Zimmerman. Once things had settled down a bit more, the Lancelot's cockpit opened and Kururugi emerged wearing a dark frown.

The Eleven wasn't really anything too impressive to look at. He was several inches shorter than Gino was himself, and didn't have much added muscle bulk to make up for it. Still, this was the boy who had managed to hold his own against a Knight of the Round.

Maybe he'd have Anya fight against Kururugi next just to make sure. Perhaps the Tristan was actually more hindrance than help (thought he doubted it). Or worse, maybe his own skills were slipping. But if he could also beat Anya . . . but then the reputation of the Rounds would probably suffer. And if that happened, the Emperor would likely look into it. His Majesty might disregard a single loss, but probably wouldn't tolerate that loss gathering a lot of attention.

Kururugi was staring at him, eyes narrowed in displeasure. Ah, so he was angry then. But since there was nothing either of them could do about that at the moment, he pointedly looked away towards where the prince was just emerging from his custom Knightmare.

Except the pilot of the black Knightmare was blond and shorter than he remembered and, if he wasn't mistaken, a woman. She glared at him. He suddenly had a very bad feeling about this.

Where was the prince?

He scanned the other machines in the hangar to no avail. Had the prince not been in the field at all? Was he, perhaps, monitoring his Royal Guard's activities from the command center? But from what he'd heard, Lelouch wasn't that type. He was a leading from the front kind of commander. So he should have been . . .

His gaze was drawn to the shower of sparked coming from the plasma cutter that was releasing the damaged Sutherland's pilot. He felt a sickening surge of dread as the high pitched whine of the cutter came to a halt and a team of engineers began carefully levering away the panel they had cut from the cockpit.

A moment later, a hand emerged and was quickly snatched up by one of the engineers, who pulled Prince Lelouch free of the now decimated cockpit.

This was bad. This was _really really bad_. Not only had he mistakenly attacked a member of the royal family, but he'd also attacked him from behind in a cowardly snipe attack. There was a certain etiquette that was to be upheld when a conflict rose between nobility. Needless to say, sneak attacking didn't adhere to that protocol. It was dishonorable.

The prince rolled his shoulders stiffly before reaching back into the cockpit and coming out with his sidearm. He held it loosely at his side as he turned to climb down from the Knightmare and approached. He looked royally pissed.

Gino had found few things in life that actually frightened him. However, the look in Prince Lelouch's eye right now sent a chill down his spine. The look told him that the Eleventh Prince of the Empire was not to be crossed. It also told him that he'd completely crossed the line.

He grit his teeth and sank to his knee in respect. How was he supposed to have known that the prince wasn't piloting the clearly very flashy royal Knightmare?

"So His Majesty didn't like my choice of Knight and sent the Knight of Three to assassinate him, is that it? Really, I thought he'd be more subtle. Tell me, Gino Weinberg, am I also your target?" The prince asked coldly.

This was so bad.

"I assure you, your highness, that is not the case. My orders are to assess Sir Kururugi's suitability as a Knight of Honor. I did not intend to involve you in the testing, but I sincerely apologize for doing so." He explained, before another thought came to him. If he had hurt the prince, he'd probably he stripped of his position (if not killed, depending on the Emperor's mood at the time). Everyone knew that Lelouch was His Majesty's new favorite. "Are you injured, my lord?"

"Surprisingly, no. Even though you shot me in the back." The prince added snidely.

"I apologize for that, your highness."

There was a long, awkward moment of silence as the prince eyes him. Gino was left with the unsettling impression of a beast wondering which part of it's prey to devour first.

"So you've been sent here to assess Suzaku's aptitude?" The prince mused slowly. "I wasn't aware a Knight of the Round had any say over the matter."

Gino winced. Of course the prince would be angry. His own earlier actions aside, just the Emperor's orders for them would probably have been enough to raise the prince's anger.

"I'm just following my orders, my lord." Gino said helplessly. He was fully aware of what a tenuous position he was in right now.

Prince Lelouch's face was cold when he dared to glance up at it – a completely expressionless mask. Gino couldn't tell what he was thinking and that made him even more nervous.

"I understand. It's important to the chain of command that orders are followed." The prince said eventually. "However, you did attack me. I'm sure not even His Majesty would be willing to let that slide."

"Your highness," A familiarly leaden voice called from near the entrance of the hangar. Anya approached calmly as though he wasn't under the ax right now, a green-haired girl about his age following in her wake. "Please forgive my partner's transgressions. Sir Weinberg is brash and unorthodox, but he is loyal. He would never deliberately raise his hand at you."

Prince Lelouch's eyes narrowed suspiciously as he glanced over at Anya. "C.C., why are you with her?" He demanded sharply.

"I found her in the barracks rifling through everyone's things. She woke me up." The green-haired girl pouted.

The prince glared before glancing back down at Gino, hand clenched into a seething fist.

This was where the problem was. The line was ambiguous between the Rounds and members of the royal family. Technically, Prince Lelouch was higher up in the hierarchy, but Gino answered directly to the Emperor. If Prince Lelouch decided to punish him, it would be seen as him standing against the Emperor.

Of course, the prince could inform His Majesty of his grievances and send Gino back to Pendragon. But if he did that, it was possible that the Emperor would side with one of his Knights instead of his son. So really, his hands were tied even if he didn't like it.

At least Gino hoped so.

"Suzaku, this man has come here to insult me and to humiliate you. I'll leave it up to you to decide what to do with him." The prince said eventually.

Oh, he was so dead.

He glanced at the Eleven out of the corner of his eye, desperate to glean even a moment of foresight into the other boy's decision. But Kururugi wasn't looking at him. Instead, he was staring at Lelouch as though trying to figure out just what answer the prince wanted him to give.

"You know what I'm going to say already." Kururugi said.

"Then say it."

"Forgive him."

"Che." The prince said, disappointed. "You never change. Sir Weinberg, I suggest you keep this in mind as you go about your investigation. Suzaku just saved you."

"I will remember it, your highness." Gino said, relief sweeping through him. Had that just been a ploy? A way for the prince to spare him without damaging his reputation and looking helpless before a Round? Or, had Kururugi really held his life in his hands for a moment there? How far would the prince have gone?

Prince Lelouch turned to leave, but paused a few steps away and turned back to his Knight. And then, he did something surprising. Gino's Japanese was more than a little rusty. Well, to be more honest, his proficiency at Japanese had never really been polished to begin with. His favorite maid had taught him when he'd been small, insisting that Japanese fairy tales had to be told in Japanese. However, it hadn't really stuck with him.

Nevertheless, he was reasonably certain that the prince had said something along the lines of "Keep your new pets out of my sight for a while, Suzaku." in flawless Japanese.

"Yes, my prince." Kururugi said, bowing slightly.

The Eleven stayed behind as the prince grabbed the girl named C.C. by the elbow and dragged her into his entourage. He left with Sir Gottwald and his Royal Guard forming up around him in perfect precision. It was obvious that that group had been together for a while.

Beside him, Kururugi sighed before bowing respectfully. "Did you require anything from me, Lord Weinberg? I have duties to attend to."

Gino rose slowly back up to his feet, before glancing slyly at the Eleven. "So, why would you spare someone like me?" He asked seriously. It was to his best interest to figure out everything he could about this boy.

Kururugi smiled mirthlessly before glancing away to where the prince had disappeared through the door. "What good would it have done if I hadn't?" He asked. "I would suggest you keep out of my prince's way for the next couple days. He won't appreciate it."

"Yeah, he was kind of giving off that vibe." He nodded. He decided not to let the Eleven know that he understood Japanese. He wasn't about to show his hand that easily. "By the way, this is Anya Alstreim, the Knight of Six. She'll be helping me assess your aptitude."

Kururugi bowed just as politely to Anya while Gino marveled at his composure. He hadn't even twitched at the mention of their mission here. "A pleasure to meet you." He said evenly, though Gino was sure that wasn't actually the case. Anya merely nodded mutely.

"So let's take a look at this Knightmare of yours." He said brightly, to salvage the conversation. "You're a hell of a pilot."

* * *

Snicker. Whisper. Snide remark. Malicious rumors told behind the cover of one's hand.

None of these things were necessarily new to Euphy. However, the way in which the students at Ashford Academy went about it was far more merciless than what she was used to. Before, anyone who had wished to criticize her actions had always had to keep in mind that even if they didn't approve of what she'd done, she was still a princess and therefore higher up the hierarchy.

But the vast majority of the students at Ashford had no idea that she was the Empire's Third Princess. Therefore, they didn't bother to pull their punches and were as maliciously petty as they pleased.

"Hmph, Number lover."

"I heard she went all the way with that Eleven."

"I'm embarrassed to go to the same school as her. She should just go back where she came from."

She didn't mind the slander. It didn't hurt her and on the grand scale of things, there were far worse things that could happen to her than for the students at Ashford Academy not to like her. It didn't hurt. But it did sting a little. She was still reeling by how quickly their opinions of her had changed.

Last week, she hadn't met anyone who wasn't friendly with her, or at least cordial. But by this Monday morning, she'd become a social pariah. The only person she'd met so far that would still openly walk with her was Lukas – and he was paid to do it.

She sighed heavily. She hadn't realized how much this school was like a court and how fickle the students could be. She hadn't realized that her every action would be analyzed and judged. And after all, she was still just the new girl. She didn't have the kind of network in place where she could act without feeling the consequences.

She finally understood why Abigail had taken so much harassment from everyone in Pendragon while Lelouch had been away. She understood what Abigail had meant when she'd said she had no choice but to take it.

But in Euphy's case, she wouldn't be so quick to offer false friendship to the ones that talked badly about her. She didn't necessarily need a lot of friends, and she didn't want to hang around a bunch of people who didn't actually like her. The whole point of going to Ashford was so that she could have fun and she wouldn't be having any fun if she was forced to act the same way she did back home.

That didn't mean she was going to be openly hostile, it just meant that she wasn't going to deliberately try to win over the people who were saying bad things about her. Let them talk about her until they all went hoarse.

"Here. Wait here and I'll go grab your lunch so you don't have to go through the cafeteria with all this going on." Lukas said as he gently led her towards a bench near the cafeteria.

"It's okay." She said, "I'm not afraid of them."

"Please, Euphy. I know you don't exactly like listening to my advice, but sometimes it's useful. If someone throws something at you when we go in there, I'll have no choice but to cause a scene. I'd rather not do that. Especially considering I have no idea if I can be punished by the teachers." Lukas pleaded.

She frowned and stared down at her feet. She wondered if she had listened to Lukas on Friday and had made her point with words rather than actions, if this would have still been happening. She sighed and nodded as she sat down, crossing her ankles with her back straight and her head bowed in the perfect picture of aristocratic docility.

"Okay. Keep your phone handy. If anything even so much as makes you uncomfortable, call me and I'll come running. I'm technically not supposed to leave your side unless I know you're somewhere safe, but I don't think dragging you through the cafeteria right now is a good idea." He lectured.

"I'm fine, Lukas. I'll be fine. This is a school, I doubt anything life threatening will happen to me here." She said. "Just go get our lunches and then we can go have a picnic outside, okay?"

He nodded and turned away, quickly disappearing around the corner towards the cafeteria. She leaned back against the wall behind her and sighed. She wondered if she would have done the same thing again if she'd known that this was how it would turn out.

. . .

Yes, probably.

Suzaku had been a perfect gentleman all evening. He hadn't made a single mistake and she'd found him both kind and amusing once he'd relaxed enough in her presence to act naturally. He'd even consented to staying by her side the entire evening. She . . . liked him.

In a strictly platonic kind of way . . . sort of.

She felt herself blushing at the thought and pressed a hand to her cheek to hide the flush. This was stupid. She barely knew him and in any case, he was Lelouch's Knight and an Eleven. Not that his ethnicity really mattered to her, but it was still a fact that he was Japanese and she was a Britannian princess. So . . .

So it didn't matter in the end anyway. It was just a stupid school girl crush.

She chuckled softly to herself. She'd never really thought she'd be given the chance to have a crush on someone. She had long ago resigned herself to the fact that she would be married off to whoever her father deemed appropriate for her. It was one of the prices of being royalty. She'd just hoped that she could like her future husband. She didn't want a marriage like Lelouch and Abigail's.

"Um, Euphy?"

She glanced up to find one of the boys from her class standing in front of her with a sheepish smile on his face.

"Yes? Can I help you?"

"I'm Ryan Willis. I was wondering if you wanted to be my girlfriend?" He said quickly.

. . .

"Pardon?" She squeaked ineloquently. She'd never even once talked to this boy before and now he was saying he liked her? This was such a bizarre situation. This wasn't how people went about things back home. Was courting only a thing for royalty and nobility? Was this how things were usually done? You just found someone who looked agreeable to you and asked them? Without considering compatibility, standing or affection?

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

Well, as fascinating and enlightening as this experience was, it didn't really change anything. Even if she'd liked him, it wouldn't have mattered. If anyone ever found out about her dating someone from the 'commoner's school' she'd managed to convince her mother into letting her attend, she'd probably be dragged back to Pendragon by the end of the same day.

But the fact of the matter was that she didn't like him. She didn't dislike him either, just she didn't really know him. This was the first time they'd spoken to each other so she found this confession a little weird. So what was the best way to go about turning him down?

"Um . . . I'm flattered, really, but I'm afraid that's not possible. I'm sorry." She said gently. "We can be friends though."

Ryan's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"I just don't feel that way about you. I'm sorry." She said again as politely as possible.

"Don't make me laugh. This isn't about feelings. If you can screw around with a Number, I don't see how I'm any worse."

". . . what did you just say?" She asked, scandalized.

"Everyone saw you leaving the party with Kururugi." He said, leaning in closer to invade her personal space. "So what does that Number got that I haven't? Or are you just like the rest of the girls around here and in love with Lelouch? You were just trying to get closer to him by using that Eleven? Was he even any good?"

She gaped at him, unable to respond for a moment. Not that she was given the chance because Lukas was there a second later. A moment after that Lukas' fist was driving into Ryan's face and the younger boy was flat on his back on the floor.

"Lukas!" She exclaimed in surprise.

"Apologize to Euphy." Lukas ordered in a low growl.

Ryan glared in response. "For what? I didn't say anything -"

He cut off with a strangled yelp as Lukas slammed their recovering classmate back against the floor. "For your ridiculous slander and your blatantly rude remarks. If you don't, I can't guarantee what will happen next."  
For a moment there was absolute silence as Ryan struggled to break the grip that was slowly but steadily encroaching on his throat. But it was useless, Lukas was not only three years older and stronger, but a trained soldier as well.

She'd never seen him like this. Somehow he'd always seemed so kind to her that she'd been able to ignore the fact that he was a soldier – that he had been trained to kill people. Who knew what he would do. This situation had so quickly escalated and spiraled out of control that it scared her. Lukas scared her when he was like this. The murderous look in his eye sent a shiver down even her spine and it wasn't even directed at her.

"S-stop this!" She said, then gathered her courage. "Lukas, stop this now! It's an order. Let him go." She snapped as she closed the distance between them and tried to pull his hand away, failing miserably.

Lukas didn't move. He didn't even glance in her direction, even though she'd given him a direct order. Arrogant as it no doubt was, this had never happened to her. She'd never been deliberately disobeyed.

". . . I'm sorry, okay!" Ryan finally relented. "I'm sorry, Euphy. I was rude. I shouldn't have said any of that."

"I forgive you." She said quickly, "Now let him up."

"Sir Kururugi escorted Euphy to the taxi I had called. He then returned to the prince's side. Watch your mouth in the future, Willis. Not only are you insulting Euphy, but you're slandering a Knight of Honor as well. As you well know, an attack on a Knight is viewed as an attack on their prince. Now, I don't know Prince Lelouch personally, but isn't the royal family a little famous for being temperamental?" Lukas continued in a low growl. "I expect you to come to Euphy's defense in this matter from now on so this ridiculous rumor doesn't spread any further. Understood?"

"I get it." Ryan said through grit teeth.

"Good. You can go now. Don't let me catch you bothering Euphy again." Lukas said, finally letting the other boy up.

Euphy managed to restrain herself only until Ryan was out of sight before her palm collided with Lukas' cheek. "You took that way too far. I even ordered you to stop and you ignored me."

Lukas stared at his feet for a long moment before responding. "I don't regret my actions. Also, with all due respect, Euphy, I don't answer to you. I have been ordered to protect you and your anonymity, and I will do anything in my power to do so . But even so, you are not my commanding officer. I don't take your orders."

She'd known that all along, but for some reason it still hurt to hear it. She considered him a friend, not just some bodyguard. But to him, she was nothing more than the naïve charge he'd been ordered by Lelouch to protect.

She was just a mission.

"I understand. I'm returning to my dorm. I don't want to see you right now. Also, from now on, you can protect me from a distance. I'm not the type to maintain false friendships. You don't have to waste so much effort pretending for my sake any more." She said stiffly as she turned on her heel and began walking away. "Please let the teacher know that I won't be coming to class."

". . . Euphy, that's not what I meant." He called a little helplessly behind her, but she didn't reply.

She pretended not to notice the way he followed her back to the dorms and tried not to dwell on the fact that she'd just alienated the only ally she'd had left in the school. It was kind of lonely going to school like this.

* * *

AN: Phew, the longest chapter yet, I think.

About the Tristan, I'm aware that it's actually an 8th gen KMF, but I didn't want to put Gino in a stock model. So that's why he's in a early proto-type of the Tristan. It obviously doesn't have the MVS pole arm that it had in canon, because at this point, Lloyd's not sharing that technology yet.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don't forget to review.

Allora

PS: Oh, and if anyone's looking for a good manga, check out Akumetsu. I found it really good. :)


	65. Chapter 65

Chapter 65

Lelouch rubbed at his eyes before burying his face in his hands and urging himself to _think_. Nothing had gone well for him thus far. In hindsight, he realized he'd hit too hard too fast. He'd been hoping to provoke the Kenshiki by playing the merciless tyrant – by razing everything related to them to the ground. He'd thought it would be enough to enrage them and lure them out. He'd thought it would be what they expected of him.

It was a move Clovis would have made before covering it up with his theatrics. And since he wanted them to underestimate him, he'd carried his strikes out with all the high-handed ruthlessness of his dead brother. But instead, all he'd managed to do was to send them to ground. They couldn't viably fight his Knightmares and they knew it.

He wished he had an enemy he could just go out and fight. This wasn't like Area Eighteen, where he'd known exactly where the enemy was camping and their relative numbers. The Kenshiki struck their targets quickly and mercilessly then slunk back into the civilian population as if they belonged there. Part of him understood how Clovis had come to the decision to liquidate Shinjuku, to clear away everything to make sure none escaped. However, he was nowhere near that point. Protecting the country's civilians was still his highest priority.

He sighed, not for the first time this hour, and rubbed at his temples. He hadn't been sleeping well lately either. Between Clovis' frequent sojourns into his dreamscape and the new nightmare about being trapped in his cockpit, he'd been spending less and less hours actually asleep at night and more of them staring into the darkness while trying not to wake C.C. up.

It was a frightening thing to be trapped and helpless on a battlefield. Neither skill nor strategy counted for anything. Survival was dependent solely on luck. And there was nothing Lelouch hated more than having to rely on luck. After all, history had proven that he wasn't very lucky.

He shuddered as he remembered last night's dream in particular. His subconscious had decided to try it's hand at combining both of those nightmare favorites and he'd dreamed of being trapped inside his cockpit _with_ Clovis' bloody corpse. Thankfully he'd woken up before the scream that had been building in his throat had let out and he'd managed to swallow it without even waking C.C. up.

He was pretty sure he never wanted to relive the sensation of waking up to find that C.C. had been using her ability on him all night. She'd been toying with his mind for hours. God only knew what she'd done to him. And all he'd gotten from his vehement demands that she explain herself was a smug "Did you sleep well, Lelouch?"

In fact, he had slept well. But he'd rather die that admit that to C.C.. She was still a wild card, despite her repeated pledges of loyalty. He didn't want to let her get too close to him, but at the same time, he couldn't have her away from him either. By now, she was inexplicably woven into his inner circle. She knew too much to let her go freely and to be entirely honest he wasn't sure if he would be able to silence her.

He wondered if that was what Clovis had been attempting by keeping her in that capsule. A kind of stopgap measure to keep her contained until he figured out how to dispose of her. She'd been unsurprisingly silent about anything to do with her captivity. But that wasn't all that strange. She was silent about a lot of things.

Across the room, Jeremiah shifted slightly where he was standing on guard next to the door. He'd been there and silent ever since Lelouch had retired to this office in the command center to think without the distraction the rest of the base's inhabitants to bother him. A faithful Knight serving his liege. One that had abandoned everything else for his master's sake.

Unwittingly, his gaze traveled to the other side of the door where his other Knight should have been had the situation been even remotely normal. His mood soured further. He hadn't even so much as seen Suzaku except from a distance since those damnable Rounds had shown up. He seemed to be taking Lelouch's parting shot to heart and was doing his best to keep Weinberg and Alstreim out of his way.

It was annoying. What the hell did the Emperor think he was doing sending Rounds to so obviously spy on him? Of course he'd expected a reaction from the man, but he'd expected to be dragged back to Pendragon for an inquiry. He hadn't expected to have two of the Empire's most famous elite soldiers breathing down his neck. He would have to be more careful from now on.

He couldn't afford to let his true sentiments towards the Emperor be known. That would be an automatic death sentence. Even if they were loyal to the Empire and would never normally lay a hand on a prince, what he was planning with Schneizel was high treason.

He felt like he was fighting a war on two fronts – the Kenshiki on one side and the Rounds closing in on the other. He knew very well that that was a recipe for disaster. He had to finish the Kenshiki quickly before the Rounds became an even bigger threat. Of course, that was easier said that done.

He needed to set a trap, but it was impossible to know where they would be. His repeated attempts at drawing the Kenshiki out had all ended in failure. The King Piece wasn't working as well as he'd envisioned either, since the Kenshiki refused to engage it. They wanted him, but they wouldn't make a move if he was in a KMF. Short of walking around in public he doubted he'd be able to draw them out.

God, he wished they were properly equipped so they could just go at each other full out, instead of having to put up with all these disgusting snipe attacks before they melted back into the shadows.

He straightened up suddenly as inspiration hit him. "Get me von Hoffman. And Asplund too if he'll cooperate." He ordered sharply. Jeremiah nodded before ducking out the door to flag down a passing soldier to relay the orders.

Victory was always possible. He just had to work the odds in his favor.

* * *

Schneizel curled his lips into a serene smile as he greeted his sister via a video conference in his office. She smiled back, despite the slight crease between her eyebrows that told him she was annoyed by having to answer to him. But he'd been working hard on twisting her back under his control. He hadn't realized she'd strayed quite so far from him in the last few months. Perhaps he should have taken Lelouch's warnings a little more seriously.

Still, even if she suspected him, Cornelia wasn't too much of a threat to his position. She could be troublesome, yes. But she couldn't ruin him. Not unless she had some particularly good dirt on him. Which he didn't think she had. Her suspicions counted for nothing without proof.

"Cornelia, you look stunning today, as per usual." He said charmingly as he took in the over-pronounced collar of her cape and the military uniform underneath it. Heaven forbid she actually dressed like a woman.

"Schneizel." She said with a slight scowl, though it didn't hide the slight flush of pleasure that stained her cheeks. This was Cornelia's weakness. Despite the fact that she had forsaken anything traditionally associated with feminine charm, she still longed to be told she was beautiful. And since he was her brother, there was no reason for him to shower her with the same pretty praises as her prospective suitors. Therefore it had to be true. It was an easy way to slip a leash around her neck.

"Are you enjoying your time in Area Eleven?" He asked brightly.

"Please don't joke." She replied with a frown.

"Has Lelouch been giving you trouble then?" He asked curiously. There had been a number of different ways he'd envisioned Lelouch reacting to the arrival of Cornelia.

"Our initial meeting was somewhat combative, though it likely had more to do with the company I brought with me than my actual presence. He's since left me alone to reorganize the military's structure at the base. General Bartley was obviously incompetent. It's a good thing he lost his position when he did before he led us to ruin over here." She said disdainfully. "I've had my hands full just trying to fix his mistakes. I think Lelouch was a little grateful that he could pass it off onto someone who wouldn't make a complete mess of things. Not that he'd ever admit it, the proud little brat."

He chuckled softly. That was probably true. Schneizel knew first hand that no matter how great of a leader someone was, it counted for next to nothing if everyone under him was useless. He himself hadn't been all that impressed by General Bartley when he'd been sent back to Pendragon for his court martial. However, the man was a wealth of interesting insights into not only the last minutes of Clovis' life, but also what his dear departed brother had been secretly working on for the last several years.

Of course, he wasn't quite sure how much he believed. While the quest for immortality was something that Clovis was probably foolish enough to pursue, having successful results wasn't something Schneizel was willing to put his faith in.

"Well, Lelouch has always been like that." Schneizel nodded. Lelouch rarely asked for help and he never begged for it. Not since that day seven years ago when his pleadings for justice had gone unanswered. He'd been waiting, then, for Lelouch to come to him to beg him to get their father to repeal the order to exile the vi Britannias. At least for Nunnally's sake he'd thought Lelouch would have come, but Lelouch had already been burned by then and the request had never come.

Maybe Lelouch's pride wouldn't let him or maybe he'd thought it would be better for them the further away from Pendragon they were, Schneizel had never found out the reason. And it hadn't been a sure thing that he'd have been able to change the Emperor's mind anyway. Still, he'd been prepared to plead Lelouch and Nunnally's case before the Emperor, even if it had been hopeless.

Anything to try to save his wonderful protege.

"Yes, I remember." Cornelia said.

"So what has Lelouch been doing since that disastrous knighting ceremony?" He asked conversationally.

"Very little, thus far. I think he's waiting for the clamor to calm down before he makes another move. The nobility are still frothing about Kururugi's rise in station." She answered easily. "Right now, he's following Father's orders and concentrating on the terrorists in Osaka. It will be good if he stays there and keeps Kururugi out of the public eye until the nobles forget about him a little."

"I'm surprised you didn't insist on accompanying him to protect him." He prodded. He still didn't know exactly where she stood with Lelouch since his victory in Area Eighteen.

"He wouldn't have allowed it. He's been keeping me at an arm's length since I arrived. Besides, Marianne wouldn't have wanted me to coddle him. He has both of his Knights with him and his Royal Guard is made up of the bodyguards I chose for him. He should be well enough protected, even if he is knocking on the enemy's door." She answered.

"Well, as long as that's the reason." He said doubtfully, averting his gaze.

"Just what is that supposed to mean?" Cornelia demanded sharply.

"Well . . . after what happened in Area Eighteen, leaving him unprotected would be an ideal way to -"

"You presume too much, Schneizel!" She cut him off sharply, her voice rising in anger. "Just because he acknowledges you as his benefactor, doesn't mean you're the only one in the family who cares about him. Yes, I was angry about what you goaded him into doing, but I would never take it that far. He's still my brother and if I didn't trust him and love him I wouldn't have tasked him with protecting Euphy."

He nodded his head to her in acceptance, sufficiently appeased. At least he wouldn't have to worry about Cornelia offing Lelouch before he could make use of him.

"I'm sorry, Cornelia. I just had to make sure." He said contritely. Damaging his relationship with his sister was not the intention of this call. He only wanted to make sure Lelouch wasn't planning anything even more outrageous than knighting a Number.

"Was there anything else you needed from me?" She asked coolly, withholding her forgiveness.

"No. You must be busy. I won't keep you any longer." He said. "Take care of yourself over there, dear sister."

"I'll be sure to. Good night, Schneizel." Cornelia said crisply.

"And good morning to you, Cornelia. Please call me if you get any hints of anything else worrisome going on over there. I think I still have the ability to rein him in before he does anything this dangerous again." He said before reaching for the disconnect button.

Things were going slightly better than expected. The majority of his allies in Area Eleven had been predictably outraged. Lloyd Asplund was the exception to the rule. He was overjoyed. Apparently Kururugi was the pilot he'd chosen for the Lancelot. It was another added complication, having one of Lelouch's men so thoroughly engrossed in one of his organizations.

He didn't mind that Lelouch was taking advantage of the A.S.E.E.C.. In fact, he had encouraged his brother to use any of their allies to make his mission in Area Eleven more manageable. However, Lelouch using his allies and Lelouch's people infiltrating his projects were two entirely separate things. It made the A.S.E.E.C. indebted to Lelouch, rather than the other way around. He would have protested, had anyone bothered to inform him before the arrangements had been made. He was sure there were other pilots capable of piloting the Lancelot.

But it was too late now and forcing Kururugi out of the Lancelot after his debut would only suggest that he didn't approve of his brother's choice of Knight. He didn't, but his private opinion and his public one couldn't always afford to be the same. He was well aware that he wielded enough clout that even an offhand remark could sway public opinion. He didn't want to make Lelouch's position any more tenuous than it already was.

He'd just have to deal with it. For now, at least, discrediting Kururugi would not only damage his relationship with Lelouch but also put his little brother in danger. He sighed heavily before turning back to his other work. He had other things to be doing than worrying about Lelouch all the time.

* * *

Jeremiah had chuckled softly when his prince had outlined his latest scheme to von Hoffman and Asplund. It was like that time in Shinjuku. He loved seeing this side of the boy. He was brilliant, charismatic, and cunning. Von Hoffman had already left for Kyoto to oversee the preparations at the KMF manufacturing plant there. Lord Asplund had agreed to taking over his duties in his absence.

Still, while he knew that the prince had to get things rolling on this end soon, he hadn't expected it so soon. It had only been two days ago that Lelouch had called the engineers into his office to make his latest request. Working together, the two had quickly and easily been able to come up with exactly what the prince wanted in a mere matter of hours.

Prince Lelouch smirked slightly as they entered the cafeteria. Once again Kururugi was seated with that Eleven the prince was so concerned about, as he had been since the day the Rounds arrived. Maybe it wasn't as suspicious as it seemed, since the boy had requested Sir Hopkins to put him in a barracks after being banished from the prince's sight due to his new watchdogs. In fact, it was likely a scheme that the Commander had cooked up in order to tempt Kondo into making a move, but Jeremiah still didn't like it.

He didn't like that Kururugi was a Knight to begin with, but since he was and there was nothing Jeremiah could do about the matter, Kururugi had damn well better be loyal. He knew Lelouch had been betrayed in the past. Repeatedly. He also knew that the prince considered Kururugi his closest friend and was trusted above all others. If the younger Knight betrayed the prince, Jeremiah didn't want to consider the consequences.

This time, instead of taking a table far away from Kururugi and the intruding Knights of the Round, Lelouch quickly crossed the mess hall to join him.

"Suzaku." The prince greeted warmly as the inhabitants of the table (Knights of the Round included) quickly made space for their lord and him. Prince Lelouch had given the Royal Guard a morning of reprieve to make up for the late nights he'd had them working lately.

"Lelouch." Kururugi exclaimed in surprise, earning a glare from Jeremiah. "Your highness." He corrected quickly. For propriety's sake, as least in public the boy had to maintain an acceptable distance from the prince.

"Good morning." The prince said, nodding his head towards the rest of the inhabitants of the table before dropping a sealed folder in front of his Knight.

Orders.

Kururugi glanced at the folder before gingerly picking it up, his gaze momentarily shooting towards Sir Weinberg, who was sitting across from him. "I'll take care of this now, my prince." The boy said with a slight bow as he rose from his seat, abandoning his half-eaten breakfast.

Jeremiah was slightly envious of how well they knew each other. Without a word, Kururugi had immediately comprehended exactly what their prince wanted him to do. He wanted to know the prince as well, but found himself still held slightly at a distance. Prince Lelouch had been warming up to him lately, but he was still held at bay. He was acutely aware that he was still just a tool in Lelouch's arsenal. He wasn't protected like Kururugi. He had yet to become a true ally.

"Thank you." Lelouch said, inclining his head slightly, watching as Weinberg and Alstreim attempted to suppress their frowns and bowed politely before following Kururugi out. They were tethered to the young Knight by the pretense of their orders from the Emperor. If they thought they could use this opportunity to spy on the prince, they were sorely mistaken.

Lelouch would rather distance himself from the Eleven than give the Rounds the opportunity to gather information on him. It was probably a tribute to their great friendship that the Number could accept this without any apparent resentment.

Prince Lelouch tucked into his breakfast and Jeremiah followed suit, cutting into his pancakes as though the awkward silence that had fallen around the table wasn't stifling. It was a full minute before anyone spoke.

"Um . . . your highness, is Lord Kururugi in trouble? He wouldn't say." Kondo finally asked awkwardly.

"No." Prince Lelouch answered casually. "The Knights of the Round have merely been sent to evaluate his aptitude. I'm not worried. There's nothing they'll be able to find fault with. His martial arts are superb and I've never seen a better Knightmare pilot.

"Actually, it's because Suzaku's such a good pilot that I wanted to talk to you this morning, Private Kondo. I'm going to be allowing Honorary Britannians to pilot Knightmares." The prince waited a moment for it to sink in as he took a bite of his breakfast. Everyone at the table had gone still, Britannians and Elevens alike. "I can't grant true Knighthood, of course. Altering the tenets of the Knightmare Corps is unfortunately beyond my control, but those who can make the cut will be granted the rank of Warrant Officer and be recruited to pilot Knightmares within the structure of the ATTF."

"Are you serious, your highness?" Kondo asked in surprise.

"Yes." The prince nodded. "Suzaku's case serves as a definite example that we're ignoring valuable resources by excluding the Honorary Britannians. I said this before, but I don't care about nationality, only about skill. I looked into your simulation records from Basic Training and I think you'll make the cut, Kondo. You too, Private Higa." He said, nodded to the younger Eleven seated next to Kondo.

"But this isn't a charity act. You'll have to prove that you can still make those kinds of scores. All of you will be retested. Only those who can perform on the same level as the Knightmare Corps will be recruited."

Kondo suddenly pushed himself away from the table and Jeremiah found himself half raised from his seat ready to protect his prince. He would think nothing of striking down this Number right here in the mess hall if he dared to make any hostile movements towards Prince Lelouch.

But he didn't. Instead, Kondo took a step back so he could properly bow to the prince. "Thank you for your encouragement, your highness. I'll try my best to be worthy of it."

Prince Lelouch smiled easily as Jeremiah slowly sank back into his seat. "Thank you. Now, please, seat yourself. It will be a while until I can get more Sutherlands from Kyoto, so until then you will have to maintain your regular duties, but I will have my engineers set up a couple simulators in B hangar for use when you're not on duty."

"That's very generous of you, sir." Kondo said as Higa nodded in agreement, likely terrified of speaking in front of the prince.

"Well, I can't expect you all to be like Suzaku and excel without practice, can I?" Prince Lelouch said.

"We will try to live up to Lord Kururugi's legend, your highness."

"Please do try." The prince replied with a smirk.

* * *

Suzaku shifted slightly in the cockpit of the Lancelot, keeping a close eye on the machines the Knights of the Rounds were piloting. Part of him was expecting them to turn on him at any moment. He was prepared – no, he was paranoid – and had his thumb resting lightly on the button that would activate his Blaze Luminous shield just in case.

But thus far the attack hadn't come and the two elite Knights had followed him wordlessly as he went about the orders Lelouch had given him. He was about ninety percent certain that the tip about there being Kenshiki activity at the port was false. Lelouch wouldn't have sent him alone if that was an actual possibility. He would have probably used it as another opportunity to show off the King Piece. So Suzaku knew that this was just Lelouch's way of getting the Knights of the Round out of his way for whatever it was he was really planning today.

He hated this. He hated the way the Knights of the Round had just curbed his use to Lelouch. If Lelouch severed ties with him now, everything he'd been working so hard for until now would be ruined. It wouldn't be possible to go back to the old plan. He was already too well known. If Lelouch discarded him to avoid a conflict with the Emperor and the Knights of the Round, he would go back to being a Private.

And without Lelouch's protection, he didn't harbor any kind of delusions of continuing in the military unscathed. The Britannians hated him for rising to such a station. He'd be lucky to survive. He really had gone 'all in' when he'd agreed to serve as Lelouch's Knight.

Though, presumably, Lelouch already realized this and wouldn't sever ties with him so quickly. Still, if the Emperor managed to find something damning enough to threaten Lelouch with, he wasn't certain his friend wouldn't choose to sacrifice him in order to save himself.

If the Emperor ever found out about Nunnally and pressured Lelouch into discarding or killing him, he had absolutely no doubt that Lelouch would do the deed himself to ensure her safety, regardless of their friendship. He realized now how smart it was for Lelouch to have spirited away the person that meant the most to him into hiding.

If Lelouch had a definite soft spot, it was Nunnally.

He grit his teeth and brought the Lancelot up to a halt overlooking the port, forcing his thoughts away from that particular subject. The port was more or less dead. While some of the city's more enterprising businesses had forced themselves back into activity, the port wasn't one of them. He'd heard that a lot of manufacturers were refusing to ship into the city for fear of sustaining losses. Those businesses that needed a fresh supply of goods to survive were forced to import by truck or train from Kyoto.

Which meant the likelihood of the Kenshiki using the port was probably next to nil. It would be too suspicious. There would be no opportunity to blend into the crowd, which seemed to be their standard operating procedure thus far.

Lord Weinberg's face suddenly popped up on his screen, smiling brightly. "So, what's the plan here, Chief?" He asked.

"My orders are to survey the port, Sir." He answered calmly.

"Gah, that's boring. You're sure that's all there was to it? You'd think Prince Lelouch would give his Knight of Honor something a little more juicy." The Knight of Three said exasperatedly.

"I'm very sure of my orders, Lord Weinberg." Suzaku replied.

"There you go again. How many times have I told you to just call me Gino? I'm seriously tired of you shoving all this formality down my throat." The Knight of the Round whined.

"I apologize, Sir."

"It's Gino! Gi-no. Gino."

" . . . Gino." Suzaku said with a wince after a moment of hesitation, trying to gauge the likelihood of this being a trap. But condemnation never came for addressing his superior so casually. Instead, the Knight of Three grinned broadly.

"Well, that's better. And I'll call you Suzaku, if that's okay? Or would you prefer Kururugi-kun. That's how they'd say it in Japanese, right?"

"Suzaku is fine." He said tensely, willfully distancing himself from his native language. It couldn't be a good thing to have someone like one of the Emperor's Knights of the Round addressing him in the Japanese fashion. That was entrapment if he'd ever seen it.

"Good! Suzaku, then." Gino said brightly. "I think we'll make good friends."

Suzaku sighed heavily. It had been like this for days already. He could never tell where the Knight of Three was going to come from next. What he was going to say, what he was thinking . . . Following his thought pattern seemed next to impossible. Being with Sir Weinberg was like being bombarded, just when he thought Gino was going to come at him from a certain angle, the strike actually came from behind or above or all around him.

He did better even with his arguments against Lelouch. At least with Lelouch he was usually able to keep his feet underneath him. But with Gino it was like he was drowning. He couldn't even react fast enough to predict what the Knight was going to ask next.

"I hope so." He said unenthusiastically for lack of a better thing to say.

"Well, I'm gonna go scout things around. I'll keep out of sight." Gino said before transforming the Tristan into it's fortress mode and taking off with a scream from the jet engines.

Very subtle.

Today was going to be a very long day. Sighing, he settled himself back in his seat to wait it out.

* * *

"I brought the tape!" Milly sing-songed as she made her way into the basement suite of Nina's research lab. "The very first copy for our darling Ashford princess."

Nunnally smiled warmly and held out her hand to greet the Student Council President. "Milly. You didn't have to rush like this. It's only been a couple days. And I'm sure everyone else was wanting a copy of it too."

"Yes, and they'll get their copies when they go on sale tomorrow. But since it was your idea, it's only fair that you get the first showing. The A/V club's new president is really good with editing. I've seen a few snippets of it when I went to check up on them. It's really good. Do you want to watch it now or save it for later?"

"No, I want to watch it now." She said quickly. "The sooner the better."

"Alright. I was hoping you'd say that. I want to see it too. I'll set it up on the tv right now."

"You didn't watch it already?" Nunnally asked in surprise. She was used to Milly taking advantage of the benefits of being the Student Council President.

"Didn't I just tell you you got the first copy?" Milly pouted. "Do you really think I'd cheat you like that?"

"Yes, I do think so, Milly." She teased back, thankful that there was someone she could joke around with like this still. Nina was wonderful, but she didn't have that great of a sense of humor.

"Oh! I'm wounded!" Milly said dramatically, before patting Nunnally's hand. "Okay, it's starting."

Nunnally cocked her head to the side and listened to the opening, strident tones of a classical waltz. She felt a pang of heartache at the sound. She'd been too young to dance properly before the attack that had left her crippled, but she'd still insisted that her mother allow her to tag along to Euphy's dance lessons. She'd learned how to waltz. Clumsily, and most of their lessons had descended into goofing around together, but she'd still learned it.

Lelouch had been conned into being their partner since it was the same tutor that had originally taught him how to dance. They'd switched partners every dance so that they could share Lelouch equally between them.

"Shouldn't we wait for the others?" Nunnally asked belatedly. It was Thursday. They usually all came over on Thursdays.

"Nope. Rivalz was called into work, Shirley has a swim meet coming up so she's got extra practices and Nina said something about having to turn in a research report to her grant committee. So it's just you and me tonight, sister."

"Oh." She said, focusing back on the video at the first syllable out of Lelouch's mouth.

_"Hello, this is Lelouch vi Britannia. I want to thank all of you at Ashford Academy for honoring my Knights. And to everyone watching this video who couldn't attend, I hope you find tonight's affair entertaining."_

"He said that last part for you, you know." Milly said. "As soon as he heard we were doing throwing the party at your insistence he caved."

She hid her frown. That didn't make her feel all warm and fuzzy inside like she was sure Milly had intended. That Lelouch would do something he wouldn't normally for her sake wasn't a good thing. Because she knew very well what it actually meant.

It meant that she had to continue to hide.

It was because Lelouch would do anything for her that she had to stay hidden away like this. Because she was Lelouch's weakness. Because, as a hostage, Lelouch would probably do anything to free her.

She'd come to realize this slowly over the last few months. When she wasn't being selfish and bemoaning the fate that had separated her from her brother, she understood why he'd done it. If she was tucked away like this, she couldn't be used against him. She couldn't be used, period. Which was also part of the point.

The video cycled away to a group of chattering girls that were Milly's age. They said a couple embarrassing things about Sir Gottwald, the other Knight Lelouch had chosen, before the Knight himself was cornered into a brief interview with the camera.

_"I'm Sir Jeremiah Gottwald, Knight of Honor. I am truly honored to be accepted by the student body at Ashford Academy. That my prince's peers approve of the oaths I've sworn is very rewarding."_ The man said, his voice low and smooth and elegant.

The music continued for a moment as she assumed that screen panned over the events that had taken place before she heard what she'd been waiting for.

_"My name is Suzaku Kururugi and I've recently been made Prince Lelouch's Knight. Thank you, Ashford Academy, for your support."_ Suzaku said brightly to the camera.

His voice sounded almost exactly how she'd imagined it would. And he sounded happy. It was the best she could hope for given his situation. Lelouch would keep him safe from anyone who hated him and would want to hurt him. She knew her brother well enough to know that. After everything Suzaku had done for them during the invasion and for saving his life in Shinjuku, Lelouch would be sure to keep Suzaku out of trouble with the aristocrats that were offended by him.

She listened with a smile as a couple more interviews with students expounded on how great of a Knight Sir Gottwald had to be. The majority of them skirted around the issue of Suzaku until about half way through the video when a girl began to speak.

_"I'm sure Suzaku Kururugi will make an excellent Knight of Honor. I have absolute faith in Prince Lelouch's decision."_

Nunnally stilled. "Milly, who was that?" She asked quickly. It had sounded like. . .

"That was Euphy. Princess Euphemia li Britannia. Your sister." Milly answered after a moment of hesitation. "She transferred in last week."

. . . _Euphy!_

Ah, this hurt. Not only was Lelouch close by again, but now so was Euphy and she couldn't even go to see her. She wanted so much to go and see Euphy – to be reunited with her favorite sister.

It was dangerous and impossible, she knew. There was no way that Sayoko would allow her to reveal herself to Euphy, let alone Lelouch. And to do so would be to betray Lelouch, she knew.

She couldn't reveal herself without discarding her brother. Even if it was to be reunited with Euphy she would have to lose Lelouch to do it. And that most definitely wasn't worth it.

Euphy might be her favorite sister, but Lelouch was her only true brother. Lelouch was the one who had protected her and cared for her for years. Lelouch was the one who would bleed himself dry for her sake. She would never give him up.

Again, she felt the burden of being Lelouch's weakness. If he didn't care about her – if she couldn't be used against him – she could do as she pleased. She could demand that Milly take her to see Euphemia right now and could quickly be reunited with her sister.

But that wasn't how things were. In this reality, she was weak and needed protecting and it was Lelouch who had chosen to protect her even to the point of sacrificing himself to the Emperor.

"Oh. You didn't tell me she'd transferred." She said awkwardly.

"I kind of forgot, what with all the planning for the party and all. Sorry. I wasn't trying to keep it from you." Milly apologized.

"I know you weren't." She answered quickly to put her at ease. That particular thought hadn't even crossed her mind. "I was just thinking that I miss her." She said before forcing a smile, "But I know that it's impossible to reunite with her, so you don't have to worry about me getting my hopes up or anything like that. I'm okay with things like this. Make sure you take care of her at school, okay, Milly? Euphy is . . . she's really the best."

Milly patted her hand comfortingly. "I will. I promise. Actually, to tell the truth she's having a bit of a hard time right now after coming to Suzaku's defense. I was going to give the situation a week to clear away on it's own, but it doesn't seem like that's going to happen and we're near the end of the week now anyway. I'll figure out a way to rescue her tomorrow. Or begin working on it. People are finicky to work with."

"I trust you." She said quietly, feeling slightly guilty. She'd been the one who'd forced the Student Council to throw that party. If she hadn't forced Suzaku into such a position, Euphy wouldn't have gotten into trouble for supporting him. So in a way, it was all her fault. "Please help Euphy."

* * *

Tohdoh Kyoshiro was doing something he hadn't done in years – taking time off to visit his son.

General Katase had decided to put operations on hold until Prince Lelouch had dealt with the Kenshiki Faction. It wasn't necessarily a strategically sound decision from a military standpoint, but politically it gave them a chance to further monitor and examine the Viceroy's methods. Katase recognized that pushing now would draw unnecessary animosity from the prince, and while there was still some hope of recruiting Suzaku Kururugi and gaining the ear of Prince Lelouch, that wasn't something they were eager to do.

In fact, it was likely because of this hope of recruiting Suzaku that he'd been granted permission for this excursion, since his son was being fostered by the hidden remains of the Kururugi family. It was an agreement they had come to shortly after the invasion, after he'd dragged the Kururugi family through hell and back to get them through the purge of the nobility unscathed. It would give the more or less extinct Tohdoh family a close connection with the Kururugis once they regained their power.

His wife had been among the first casualties of the invasion. She'd died in an attempt to hold off the Britannian soldiers that had invaded their home long enough for the housekeeper to get their one-year old son away to him safely. And since he'd been unable to devote himself to raising a child when his country was in ruins and being oppressed, he'd hammered out a deal with Lady Kururugi for his child's care. He doubted he'd have made that good of a father anyway.

His country would always come first.

Still, it wasn't like he'd completely abandoned the boy. He provided for all of Katsurou's basic needs via monetary assistance and they spoke, usually monthly, by phone. And any time he found himself in the area he stopped by for a brief visit. But even with taking all of that into account, it had been over a year since he'd seen his son's face and he had never stayed at the Kururigi's residence for more than a couple hours since he'd left the boy with them on his way to join up with General Katase after the invasion.

From what he could tell from looking at the quietly respectful eight-year old sitting across from him, the boy was doing fine. Leaving him here had been the right decision. He couldn't fight properly while worrying about whether or not the boy was safely where he was supposed to be or not.

"For how long will you be staying with us, Tohdoh-san?" Lady Kururugi asked from the head of the table, dressed in a fine red and black kimono as she sipped on her cup of sake.

"No longer than a week, so long as it's not an imposition, Kururugi-sama." He replied.

"Of course not. We are honored to have you with us. Please stay as long as you like." The head of the house said calmly with a smile. Kururugi Chiho was a tall, severe looking woman with just a hint of gray hair evident at the temples of her hair which was currently pulled back in a traditional headdress. "Katsurou-kun has been looking forward to it."

His son flushed slightly in embarrassment but said nothing as he continued to eat in silence. For a moment it reminded him of the way Suzaku had once blushed whenever Genbu had praised him. He wondered if he was drawing unnecessary comparisons or if all children were like that. Though, if he was honest with himself, this wasn't the first time he'd compared Katsurou to a young Suzaku.

They seemed to have similar temperaments. In this type of setting, both his son and the Suzaku he remembered from before the war would always remain silent and respectful. But out from under the strict gaze of adults, they were both proud, boisterous and brash almost to the point of arrogance.

He frowned into his cup as he considered whether comparing his son to Suzaku was something to be proud of or not given the current situation. The honest truth was that he'd never had a better student than Suzaku Kururugi. It wasn't that the boy had been overly smart, but rather that he'd had complete dominion over his body. He could force it to move exactly how he wanted it to with very little conditioning. It meant that the boy had been able to learn moves and techniques that others spent weeks or months to master in a matter of hours.

In that respect, Katsurou was very similar. It didn't come as naturally to him as it had to Suzaku, but he pushed himself harder than the Kururugi boy ever had. He pushed to the point of exhaustion and Tohdoh thought that that was possibly a trait that the boy had inherited from him.

He hoped that this was where the similarities ended. He hoped his boy was never as foolish as Suzaku had been by aligning himself with the enemy.

"I've been looking forward to it as well." Tohdoh said. It wasn't a lie. It wasn't as though he disliked the boy. It was just that he knew he couldn't be a good parent to him. Or any kind of parent. He could never guarantee, after all, that he would always come home after every mission. "I've also been meaning to ask you if you've had any recent contact with your son."

Lady Kururugi's lips pressed into a thin line for a moment before she slowly tilted her head to the side a little. "My son is right here." She said, gesturing to the six year old boy seated next to Katsurou. It was the son she'd born to the man she'd remarried after the invasion – after she'd been acknowledged by the rest of the family as the head of the Kururugi family. The new heir of the family after Suzaku had been disowned.

"I didn't mean Genbu-kun." He said carefully, nodding his head slightly to acknowledge the young lord. "I meant Suzaku."

Lady Kururugi's eyes narrowed. He'd made her angry. "We have nothing to do with that traitor." She said finally.

"Do you have a way to contact him?" He persisted. He realized she didn't want to talk about it, but this was more important than a single family's damaged pride.

"I told you -"

"I know, Kururugi-sama." He cut her off before she could reprimand him. It was slightly rude, but her protests were predictable. "But General Katase wants to speak with him."

She closed her eyes for a moment as a pained expression broke through the mask she'd been wearing. "I have an address." She said eventually. "But from what I've heard he's now living with that Britannian. I haven't contacted him since he ran away."

"Is Aniue in trouble?" Genbu interrupted.

Tohdoh paused, unsure how to answer. From his own standpoint, Suzaku was in a heap of trouble. He was in way over his head and would likely end up drowning before whatever scheme he'd come up with would come to fruition. But telling the boy that would do little to comfort him.

"You don't need to concern yourself with him. Just be good and finish your supper." Lady Kururugi said, patiently ruffling the boy's hair.

Genbu frowned and looked like he wanted to argue, but he dutifully kept his mouth shut and continued eating instead. His mother was not a woman that it was easy to argue with and the boy had to know it. Tohdoh also knew this and so steered the conversation away from the disgraced son of the Prime Minister.

He had completed his mission here. He would get the address from her and they would check it out, but otherwise he wouldn't bring Suzaku up again. Instead, he'd focus on his own child for the rest of his stay and gauge how much the boy had learned over the last year.

As the last and only child of the Tohdoh family, Katsurou had a certain reputation to live up to.

* * *

AN: Well, here's another one.

I realize that nothing was ever really said in canon about Suzaku and Tohdoh's family's, but then again, nothing much was really said about anyone's family except Lelouch (and Kallen a bit). Tohdoh was 30 when Britannia invaded Japan. I don't think it's beyond the realms of possibility that he had settled down and had a child by that time. But mostly that part was meant to introduce you to Suzaku's mother.

Also, that last part was kind of awkward to write since I tried doing it all with honorifics and reversed named. This will only be done when the character I'm writing from is fully Japanese and was raised in Japan. Kallen is an exception because she was raised in a Britannian household. As is Suzaku, since he's pretending to have forsaken his heritage.

Also also, to those who complained about my typos/grammatical errors (c.), I said from the very start that this story was unbeta'd. In fact, I even, at one point, searched for a beta and was unable to find one. So I gave up on that venture. In the end I decided that you were all smart people and favored update speed over wasting time trying to get someone else to correct my few grammatical errors/typos (most of which I'm sure you can still understand the story around). I realize this isn't very professional, but I would like to remind you that I don't actually make any money from writing this. If I did, I'm sure it would be different, but since this is my hobby and I already spend a considerable amount of my time writing this, I don't think it's wrong for me to want to hurry to the most enjoyable part for me - which is reading the reviews.

In any case, I apologize for the delay on this chapter. It just so happened that all of my summer vacation type stuff was jammed into the end of August and so I was rarely home. That and I've been finding harder to write in my new apartment than I had in the old one (probably because this one is less like a dungeon and actually has windows). Hopefully updates will be returning to their much quicker schedule, though I won't make any guarantees (due to the reason stated above).

Anyway, thanks for reading and don't forget to review. Oh and welcome back to school! (for all those that it applies to)

Allora


	66. Chapter 66

Chapter 66

Euphy stared resolutely at her plate in the cafeteria as she continued to ignore the buzz of gossip around her. She was alone and it was not something the student body had failed to observe. The students chattered stupidly about the fight that had to have occurred between her and Lukas as she took another tasteless bite of her lunch.

Lukas was seated at the next table over, surrounded by a group of girls all clamoring to give him their phone numbers and email addresses. Now that they had 'broken up', it seemed that he'd become a hot commodity on campus. She'd overheard a girl earlier talking about what kind of devoted boyfriend material he had to be.

These girls didn't understand him at all. If it weren't for Lelouch's orders to blend into the student body, he probably wouldn't give any of them the time of day. If it wasn't for her presence here, he wouldn't be there at all.

Perhaps she was being uncharitable, but she wasn't in a particularly good mood today. She'd hoped things would blow over, but that didn't seem like it would be happening any time soon. Her separation from Lukas had only added fuel to the fire. The rumors that they had been dating had led to rumors that she'd cheated on him with Suzaku which had led to rumors about the cause of their supposed break up.

It didn't help matters at all that Lukas looked a bit like a kicked puppy as he blankly only half-listened to his admirers' conversation. The most part of his attention was still focused on her and there was rarely a minute that passed that she didn't feel his eyes on her. She sank a little lower in her seat, reluctantly self-conscious.

Couldn't she have just a couple minutes to herself in public without making her feel guilty for the words she'd last said to him? She knew that she'd taken things out of context and out of proportion, but she'd been angry and frustrated at the time and the words had just kind of slipped out. That didn't mean that she approved of that way he'd treated their classmate, but two wrongs didn't make a right.

She wanted to apologize – she _would _apologize – but she had yet to find a good opportunity to do so. He was always surrounded by girls. Even when he was following her, it was from the center of a group of girls that had decided to try to seduce him. And if she even glanced in his direction, she was more often than not met by the angry glares of his admirers.

They thought he was heartbroken. They thought she was a villain. That was all they seemed to need to know about the situation in order to come to Lukas' defense. Not that Lukas really needed to be defended. That thought in and of itself was ludicrous.

He was her protector. He didn't need a posse of high school girls hovering around him trying to save him from some imagined pain.

"Hey!" A voice said brightly behind her, causing her to jump and startle, almost knocking over her juice. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

She glanced over her shoulder at Milly as she set her tray down on Euphy's right. The Student Council President looked as cheerful as ever. Shirley set her lunch down on the other side, effectively boxing her in.

"It's okay." She said awkwardly.

Despite more or less guaranteeing that they would be her friend, she'd scarcely seen any of Lelouch's friends over the last week. Though, granted, she hadn't really been looking for them either. She'd been too focused on her own problems to effectively keep tabs on everyone else at school.

"Had a rough week, huh?" Rivalz asked as he sat down across from her along with Nina.

Euphy wasn't stupid. She knew what they were doing. They were coming to her defense in an impressive show of force.

She shrugged. "I suppose."

"I'm sorry." Milly apologized. "I thought things would calm down on their own if I didn't interfere, but that's not happening. Things only went from bad to worse when Lukas joined the bandwagon and started avoiding you too. What happened there? I thought he was supposed to protect you?"

"It's not his fault." She said sullenly as she pushed the vegetables around on her plate. "We got into an argument and I ended up saying something I shouldn't have. Well, I basically told him to stay away from me."

There was an uncomfortable silence around the table for a moment before Milly threw her arm around her shoulder. "Cheer up, Euphy!" She said brightly. "We're going to have a girls weekend. Starting tonight and continuing on until Sunday, you will no longer be allowed to frown. Why, you ask? Because starting tonight we will be staying at the luxurious Convention Center Hotel at Lake Kawaguchi and engaging in acts of shopping, sightseeing, hiking and swimming in the hotel's pool. Possibly even water sports, depending on how cold the lake is."

She smiled despite how miserable she felt. Milly was a really nice girl. "Thank you, but I doubt that Lukas will let me go." She said, remembering that he wouldn't even let her go to Nunnally's grave for a couple hours without an escort. There was no way he was going to let her go for an entire weekend without one.

"Oh." Milly said with a frown. "Yes, I hadn't thought about that. I thought that arrangement was only for while you were on school grounds. Hmm. Oh, I know! Rivalz, take the weekend off of work."

"I'm already scheduled, Milly." Rivalz protested.

"Then call in sick. Euphy won't be allowed to go if it's an all girl weekend and Lukas would feel awkward if he was the only guy. Therefore you also have to come." Milly reasoned.

Rivalz opened his mouth as though to argue before sighing and giving it up as a lost cause. "Fine."

"Oh! There's Kallen. We should ask her to come too!" Shirley said excitedly as she waved the red head over.

Euphy had only met Kallen once, but the girl seemed nice enough. She was a bit quiet and Milly had told her in a quiet undertone after introductions had been done with that Kallen suffered from a rare chronic illness. It was only due to an uncommon lucky streak that the girl got to be in school as much as she was this year. Apparently she'd missed most of the previous two years.

"Hi, guys." Kallen said, setting her tray down next to Rivalz.

"Hey, Kallen, do you want to come with us to Lake Kawaguchi this weekend? It'll be fun." Shirley proposed.

"Oh. . ." Kallen said awkwardly. "Actually, I have a thing I have to go to this weekend."

"What kind of thing?" Rivalz asked curiously.

Kallen sighed, shoulders slumping a little. "Princess Abigail's having some kind of fundraiser. I said that I'd go."

Euphy perked up at that. She hadn't actually talked to Abby this week since she'd been out of the house every time she'd tried to call. Though if she was planning to ingratiate herself into the local noble web, that probably explained it. When Abigail had first come to Pendragon, she'd rarely been in the house either.

"You know Princess Abigail?" She asked in surprise.

Kallen shrugged awkwardly. "Kind of. My father does business with hers."

"That's interesting. Does that mean you know Prince Lelouch as well?" She asked curiously. While that may be a foolish question considering Lelouch had gone to school here, Kallen wasn't one of the people he'd introduced as one of his friends. Still, if she had a connection through Abigail, it was possible that they had met off campus before.

Surprisingly, the girl winced slightly. "We've met." She answered. ". . . a couple times."

"Kallen's the daughter of an Earl, so she gets invited to a bunch of high class events. She was even invited to the knighting ceremony." Milly explained guilelessly to maintain her cover.

"Oh. That's really cool." Euphy said, for lack of a better thing to say. She supposed the nobility were something of a rare occurrence out here in the normal world.

"Not really." Kallen shrugged. "It's just a bunch of bigots pretending they're better than everyone else."

Euphy smiled politely since part of her agreed. She tried not to chuckle. After all, she herself was one of those noble bigots Kallen had just mentioned (thanks to her mother's side of the family), though she tended to believe that she was quite a bit more open minded and humble that some of her fellow peers.

* * *

Gino was beginning to get annoyed.

Suzaku was a great guy. He was humble, down to earth and easy to get along with. He didn't brag or boast about his skills or his knighthood. In fact, he seemed altogether as though he'd have rather the prince hadn't knighted him.

Which should have made his job easier. It should have completely knocked out the theory that Suzaku was coercing the prince. Except that it didn't.

Why?

Because Prince Lelouch was acting strangely.

At first he'd thought he'd understood why Prince Lelouch kept distancing himself from Suzaku. The prince was understandably still angry at his sneak attack and didn't want anything to do with either him or Anya. However, in light of recent events, he couldn't help but wonder if it wasn't a silent plea for help. If by distancing himself from Suzaku, the prince was hoping to give them the chance to catch on to whatever ploy the Eleven was up to.

Because it shouldn't have been possible for these kinds of plans to go forward without some kind of manipulation. And Kururugi was the only one who stood to gain from this. Even he, without any connections or friends on the base, had heard the rumors circulating around like wildfire.

Prince Lelouch was going to allow the Honorary Britannians within his personal forces to pilot Knightmares.

He wondered what Suzaku was doing. Raising an army within an army? If that was so, giving all of his comrades access to Knightmare technology would only enhance their effectiveness. When they finally decided to break with the rest of Prince Lelouch's forces, they would not only have brand new Sutherlands with them, but also the know-how to use them on the same level as Britannian Knights.

It was a recipe for disaster.

Even though Suzaku had been with them when the prince had first revealed his plan, it didn't put him in the clear. Suzaku could have been communicating with the prince secretly. Which was why he and Anya were currently trying to track him down, Suzaku reluctantly leading the way.

They found Prince Lelouch in an office just off from the command center, seated behind the desk with a stack of paperwork a foot thick on it and the speaker phone on.

Gino bowed deeply as he came before the prince, followed by Anya. Suzaku sent a silent kind of 'there was nothing I could do' gesture instead.

Prince Lelouch frowned, "I have to go now, Edith. Something's come up. Continue keeping an eye on the situation."

"Of course. I'll let you know if things get any worse here. Though I doubt it will. Princess Abigail has been working hard for your sake." A woman's voice came through the phone. "I'll call you again tomorrow."

The room was silent for a moment, then the prince spoke. "Well?" He asked. "I was under the assumption that your assignment had to do with Suzaku, not me. Or have you finally realized that my Knights are both exemplary and are going to be heading back to the homeland now?"

Gino grimaced. "We wanted to speak to you, your highness. In private." He clarified. It usually went like this. Though Anya was technically his senior and should be the one doing the talking, Gino was older and infinitely better with people. Therefore the task of negotiating usually fell to him.

Prince Lelouch arched an eyebrow as Sir Gottwald shifted forward slightly from the post he'd taken up behind the prince's chair, protectively. "Oh?" The prince said curiously. "I should tell you that I trust everyone in this room excluding yourself and Lady Alstreim."

Which meant the likelihood of the prince expelling his Knights for the duration of this conversation was next to nil. But they couldn't very well have this conversation in front of Suzaku either. Still, he would have to try. "My lord, this is something of a delicate subject that we would rather not discuss with you in front of . . . others."

There was a long moment of silence as the prince slowly drummed his fingers on the top of his desk before finally sighing. "Suzaku, Lord Asplund was looking for you earlier."

Gino didn't necessarily doubt that it was true. The eccentric engineer seemed to always want Suzaku for something or another. Time spent out of the hangar was quite often spent evading the peons Lord Asplund had sent after him to recall him. Still, it was a quite blatant dismissal to the Eleven and it made him feel a bit bad. Even if he was suspicious of Suzaku, he couldn't help but like the guy. Suzaku was just that kind of person.

Suzaku grimaced and closed his eyes for a moment before taking a deep breath and dropping into a curt bow. "Yes, my prince." He answered emotionlessly before turning on his heel and exiting the office.

Gino glanced at Sir Gottwald, but the man didn't seem to have any intention of moving. He'd meant what he'd said when he'd called the upcoming conversation delicate. It was the kind of thing that would still cling to Suzaku even if it turned out they were wrong (and he really hoped he was wrong). He didn't really want a man that Suzaku had already reluctantly admit gave him a hard time bearing witness to this.

He winced. "Lord Gottwald, if you could also leave the room please, we would very much appreciate it."

The man's eyes narrowed, "I answer to my prince alone, Lord Weinberg."

"After your past actions, I'm finding it hard to believe that you're asking me to stay unprotected in a room with you." Prince Lelouch said crisply. "Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of my Knight.

"The only reason I dismissed Suzaku is because I imagine this conversation has something to do with him and it would be shameful to have to make him listen to whatever ridiculous thing it is that you're thinking at the moment. So please say your piece, Sir Weinberg. As Jeremiah said, he is completely loyal to me."

He wanted to protest again, but Anya moved on without him.

"Did Suzaku Kururugi coerce or manipulate you in any way in order to make you Knight him?" Anya asked in her dry monotone. "Please don't be afraid to answer truthfully. You will have the protection of two Knights of the Round if he has threatened you. If he's taken a hostage or is blackmailing you, please be assured that we will not rest until your vulnerabilities are secured."

The prince sighed and got through half of an eye roll before he replaced the expression with a neutral mask. "Is that what you think?"

Gino grimaced. "Considering recent rumors going around the base, it seems likely that Suzaku is affecting your policy making, your highness."

"Oh?" Lelouch asked.

"If you tell us what he's holding over your head, we'll be certain to protect it and put an end to this manipulation." He said.

The prince smiled pleasantly. "That's very kind of you, but," He said, his expression turning glacial. "just who the hell to you think you're talking to? You think _Suzaku _can manipulate me? My Knight is superb. He managed to best you in the Lancelot, Sir Weinberg. The only reason he didn't take you down immediately is because I said I wanted you alive. He's been practicing martial arts for as long as he could walk. And, most importantly, he is loyal to me.

"If you want to know what kind of hold he has over me, I'll tell you. It's years of friendship combined with the fact that he has _literally_ died to protect me. But it you think he's using that to actively manipulate my decision making ability, you are very sorely mistaken. Suzaku would have likely been pleased if I'd never involved him in my inner circle. I am the one who manipulated him into accepting Knighthood and my recent decisions have also been mine alone. After all, wasn't Suzaku already under your supervision when I decided to grant Honorary Britannians piloting rights within the ATTF?"

Gino closed his eyes for a moment, wishing the memory of this conversation could be erased from all the parties involved. It had gone from bad to worse and the prince had already been mad at him to begin with. "We didn't mean to offend you, your highness."

"But the fact remains that you did. If you have a problem with the way I govern, tell it to me directly. Don't go looking for a scapegoat to pass the blame off on in a way the Emperor would be pleased with. The blame rests with me and me alone. I will not hide my disdain for the Numbers system." The prince declared confidently.

Gino wondered where that confidence came from. He wondered how the prince could sit before two Knights of the Round and openly declare himself against one of the nations founding ideals. The superiority of Britannia was a principle that went back to before the exile from Great Britain. How could a prince of the Empire so easily cast something like that off?

And what the hell could he say to him in response? They weren't supposed to get involved with Prince Lelouch any more than necessary unless he was being threatened by Kururugi. But backing out now when the prince had so boldly challenged him just didn't sit right with him.

"Of course, you have supreme authority within Area Eleven, Viceroy. Even a Knight of the Round cannot oppose you." Anya said, coming to his rescue. "We were merely concerned for your well being. We've confirmed that Sir Kururugi is not influencing you and, with your permission, will now take our leave."

"You may go." The prince said darkly.

Gino grit his teeth. He wasn't accustomed to being treated like this. Every other royal he had met had treated him with respect and dignity for his position as a Knight of the Round. But Prince Lelouch treated them as though swearing themselves to the Empire was a strike against them rather than a merit.

But a prince was still a prince, whether he was rude or not, and Gino had no choice but to bow before turning and leaving with Anya. She, however, was wearing a small smile, as though she found the prince's antics amusing.

* * *

Lelouch was still seething some time later. Forty-five minutes to be exact. He'd deliberately put Suzaku in a position where he was, not only out of reach, but off of the base entirely when he'd put his latest plan into motion to prevent the Knights of the Round of suspecting his Knight. Instead, they'd come up with a theory of blackmail or kidnapping.

Who the fuck did they think he was? If someone ever dared to take something he cherished from him, he'd take it back himself, swiftly and mercilessly. He wouldn't let himself be trapped by it. And he protected those he loved. This was why Nunnally was in hiding, why Lukas had been dragged to Area Eleven to protect Euphy and why he currently had a security budget greater than that of his house to take care of Ashford Academy.

He jumped when the phone rang, still thoroughly absorbed with his furious thought processes, and snatched it up on the second ring. "This is Lelouch." He said sharply. Few people knew the number to this office and all of them were people he knew personally.

"Your highness, it's Hansel von Hoffman."

Lelouch arched his eyebrow in surprise. "Von Hoffman? Is there a problem in Kyoto?" He asked.

"Ah, no, that's not why I'm calling. I'm already mostly finished your order. The units will be ready for shipping probably by tomorrow afternoon. I'm in the troubleshooting phase already."

"Already?" Lelouch asked in surprise. "You've only been there three days."

"Yes, well once I had the basic design perfected and all of the molds made, manufacturing didn't take long. And most of the units were already constructed before I got here, so it was just a matter of installing our device and connecting it to the OS. It was only eighty units."

Lelouch sighed. "How long did you sleep last night?"

". . . a little less than three hours, your highness." The engineer answered reluctantly.

"In a bed?" Lelouch persisted. He knew from the time they'd spent in Area Eighteen that, once he'd started on something, von Hoffman hated to actually put a halt to his work until either the project was complete or his body couldn't withstand it anymore.

"I believe it was a chair . . ."

"I don't remember putting a rush on my order." He said with another sigh.

"You're waiting on these, aren't you?" von Hoffman asked, before continuing on without a confirmation. "And it was my fault the King Piece wasn't completely ready before we got to Osaka."

"Hardly." He scoffed. "You completely designed and constructed a Knightmare in a matter of weeks. If anything, you defied my expectations. Just as you've done again with this assignment."

"As long as you're satisfied with my work, your highness."

"I'm satisfied." Lelouch assured him. "Just don't work yourself to death. You'd be difficult to replace."

Von Hoffman took the compliment for what it was and accepted it. "Thank you for your praise."

"Did you have any problems due to your citizenship status?" He asked curiously.

"The foreman didn't want me anywhere on the property at first but the letter of approval you sent with me was enough to clear it up." Von Hoffman answered with what Lelouch assumed was probably a shrug.

"No other problems?"

"No. They gave me my own workshop and haven't really bothered me since. Not that I've had time to do much socializing."

"Good. As soon as you're finished with the troubleshooting, head back here. I'll negotiate the shipping schedule with the manager there personally."

"As you wish, your highness."

"Oh, and thanks, von Hoffman. I appreciate your hard work."

"You're very welcome."

Well, at least things were going well enough on this side of his operations. If he'd read Kei correctly, things would all be going to plan. This wasn't an opportunity he would miss.

If only things were as easy to manage back in Tokyo. At least he could just kill the terrorists and be done with them. The discontent rising from the nobility back in the capital was less easy to deal with. Simply annihilating them wasn't an option.

Though it surprised him to find that Edith wasn't panicking yet. It surprised him even more that it was thanks to Abigail. He hadn't thought much of the bet he'd made with her about the nobility. Well, to be honest, he'd thought it sounded like a good idea to get her back to Pendragon and out of his hair.

He'd never considered her as an ally before. When he'd thought of her at all, it was as a burden that had been foisted on him by the Emperor and as a potential spy. He hadn't forgotten that the Emperor had been keeping, if not in contact, then at least an eye on, Abigail while he'd been away in the Middle East.

She was the Emperor's choice and therefore had to have been chosen for him for a reason.

Though, in light of recent events, he might just have to consider himself paranoid. According to Edith, Abigail had been throwing party after charity tea after fundraiser all week. All between the number of house calls she'd been making in order to forge a personal connection with Area Eleven's nobility.

Even if they were pissed, no aristocrat would dare risk turning her away if she showed up on their doorstep. And from that point it was all too easy. He'd seen her silver tongue in action a few times and it had left him feeling disturbingly impressed on each occasion.

He frowned. He'd have to hold up to his end of the bargain and take her on a date if she won. That wasn't something he was looking forward to. He wondered if he should take her to a total dive to prevent her from ever proposing something like it again. Though if she could prove herself that useful before he returned to Tokyo, he supposed he'd have to start considering her as an asset. Which meant it would be bad to upset her.

If she could be made useful instead of remaining as a liability, he`d have to treat her as an ally. He was still undecided on whether or not he wanted that to happen.

Still, so long as she kept the nobility under control while he was away, he'd still have to accept the possibility. It was a sad but unfortunate fact that a lot of Area Eleven`s big businesses were at least partially owned by members of the nobility. The chance of them putting a financial block on his resources, combined with the chance of them turning their connections back in the homeland against him, meant that he was in a very tenuous political position right now.

Schneizel was, as far as he could tell, smoothing things over back in Pendragon as much as he could. Though he really wasn't sure what his brother was up to recently. Aside from an irate phone call a couple days after the knighting ceremony, they hadn't had the opportunity to talk in depth since he'd been order to take a Knight in return for Nina`s freedom.

And even that conversation he wouldn't necessarily call in depth. They were operating independently of each other and he was interpreting the lack of general instruction as a mandate to do as he pleased.

Which was a good thing. Because he was reasonably certain Schneizel would blow a gasket if he learned of this newest venture. Schneizel was, after all, in charge of overseeing the Empire`s budget and the cost of eighty brand new Sutherlands was quite the ante for the gamble he was taking.

* * *

Milly was moderately surprised by how well things were going. She'd managed to get everyone packed, ready to go and onto the train by five thirty. She thought that was pretty good since usually getting everyone to get all of their shit in order on such short notice took considerably longer.

She'd originally come up with the idea of Lake Kawaguchi because she'd used to go there on summer vacation all the time. In fact, the Ashford vacation home was only half an hour away from the lake. Not that she intended to bring Princess Euphemia there after Nunnally's brief sojourn there. Still, the point was that she'd been there a bunch of times and she knew it was an enjoyable place to be.

She also knew that Euphy hadn't really had the opportunity to see much of Area Eleven aside from the Ashford Academy Campus and the Viceroy's Palace. With luck, it would cheer the princess up. And hopefully it would also give Euphy and Lukas a chance to make up without the threat of his admirers interrupting.

Though, at the rate they were going, that situation would likely need some assistance as well. Euphy and Lukas were seated across from each other, both decidedly quiet and not looking at each other.

From where she was sitting, she could tell Euphy was embarrassed and trying to think of a way to apologize to him, though she was probably reluctant to do so in front of so many people. But from where she was sitting, she could also tell that Lukas thought she was still mad at him and that he would probably rather be prowling the train for threats. Not that she'd let him. She'd deliberately boxed them both in next to the window when they'd gotten on the train. And she and Rivalz were standing guard in the closest seats to the aisle to prevent his escape.

Maybe it wasn't very kind, but Nunnally had told her to make sure Euphy was alright. And the first step to that procedure was making sure that the people that were supposed to be on her side were firmly on her side. Once Euphy knew who she could count on, going back to school would be easier.

It had actually been pretty hard watching the way the students at Ashford were treating Euphy. But Milly had figured it would be worse if she'd told them to stop. She didn't like to use her authority over the student body for personal reasons too often . . .

Well, maybe that was a lie.

She liked Euphy. She kept telling herself that and it wasn't a lie. Euphy was kind, understanding and strong enough to stand up for what she believed in. However, a part of her was still determined to reject her. Ashford only had once princess, and that was Nunnally. It was probably stupid, but that part of her didn't want Euphy to fit in too well for fear of her replacing Nunnally. That part had been hoping that the princess would give up and go back to Pendragon.

It was a shame, since Euphy hadn't done anything wrong. It was just her existence – her connection to the royal family - that left Milly with a bit of a bias against her. And no matter how many times she told herself that Euphemia hadn't had anything to do with Lelouch and Nunnally's exile, the fact remained that Euphy was still a princess that had been raised under the thumb of the Emperor.

"Oh, look!" Shirley exclaimed from her seat between Rivalz and Lukas as she pointed towards the window. "You can see Mount Fuji."

Nina hunkered down in the seat next to Milly, making herself smaller than she already was. Nina was deathly afraid of Elevens. In the big Settlements like Tokyo, most of the Elevens were segregated into the ghettos, but the same couldn't be said in the less populated areas outside of the major cities.

While it couldn't be said that Elevens and Britannians exactly coexisted peacefully in the countrysides, the smaller towns and cities didn't have the kind of infrastructure in place to actively exclude the Elevens from the same neighborhoods that the Britannians lived in. It was mostly just the major cities that had been decimated during the invasion, so many of the smaller places had escaped more or less unscathed.

Still, Lake Kawaguchi was a popular Britannian tourist trap. There would probably be a few Elevens wandering about, but it wasn't like they were heading into the ghettos. They'd be totally safe. Which is exactly what she told Nina, but it seemed to only mildly reassure her.

"This country's beautiful." Euphy said wistfully as she gazed out the window.

Well, there was that. Pendragon was situated in the middle of a desert and Euphy had admit to never having left the capitol. Lake Kawaguchi would be something she'd never seen before.

"Just wait until you see it from the lake's shore." Rivalz said with a smirk. "I hope you brought your camera with you."

* * *

AN: Thought I'd make up for the delay of the last two chapters by posting this one now. It's not as long as I hoped it would be, and I was going to put another scene in, but I just couldn't figure out what to write about for it. I'm also down with a cold and so my patience is a bit thin (along with my attention span at the moment). Forgive any typo's/errors, my head felt like it was stuffed with cotton while I was proofing this.

All that said and done, now on to the part where you're all like "? It's going to be just like canon. :(" . . . well, I assure you it won't be. Way back when Dauntless met up with the Shinjuku incident, I said that there would only be like two times that Dauntless touched the original Code Geass timeline. This is one of them. Zero had nothing to do with the hotel-jacking incident.

Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter. Don't forget to review.

Allora

PS: I'm also accepting donations of tissues because it seems that I've run out. Urgh, I'm a snot monster right now. :(


	67. Chapter 67

Chapter 67

Euphy was glad that she'd agreed to coming to Lake Kawaguchi. She was exhausted, but it was a pleasant feeling. She felt satisfied. They had stayed up late on Friday, engaging in girl talk until well past the wee hours of the morning. It wasn't something she had much experience with. Sure, she and Abigail sometimes gossiped, but not to this same degree, and at her old school everyone had always been careful of what they said in front of her.

But Milly and Shirley had chatted uncensored, and even Nina had joined in a few times as they'd teased her and asked her questions far more personal that anyone else had ever had the gall to ask. And caught up in it all – in being part of the group – she had actually embarrassingly admit to her little crush on Suzaku when she'd been asked who she liked.

When they finally did get to sleep, it was only for an hour before the boys were knocking on their door to get them to come down to the restaurant for breakfast. They'd spent the rest of the morning in the pool before finally rallying themselves to go explore some of the specialty gift shops along the waterfront.

They were just returning from that, actually, each laden with a couple bags of cheap novelty knick knacks and, in her case, a piece of expensive maple flavored fudge that had looked too good to pass up.

She hadn't had the opportunity to talk to Lukas in private yet, so he was still keeping his distance, walking on the other side of Milly as they returned to the hotel. But she'd told Milly that she intended to apologize and the Student Council President had promised to give them a chance to be alone for a bit that evening.

So she was relieved about that. After tonight, things would go back to the way they had been. There would be no more of this awkward distance between them and not knowing what to say. It would be nice.

"Shit." Lukas said quietly next to her ear, startling her out of her thoughts as they entered the foyer. He'd slipped in between her and Milly and was wearing anything but a pleasant expression. "Guys, let's go find a restaurant. I'm hungry." He said only slightly more loudly as he tugged on her arm to try dragging her back towards the door.

"What? We just ate." She protested, before she saw what he did. And before it was too late.

There were four of them. Elevens wielding machine guns quickly crossing the foyer to surround them. Lukas stiffened beside her and put himself between her and the terrorists. He looked like he was trying to come up with a plan to take them out, but he was more that a little outnumbered. And he had the added handicap of having to protect her and the others too.

"Surrender your cellphones. If you resist or try to run, we'll shoot all of you." One of them said in thickly accented Britannian.

They reluctantly did as they were told, dropping their cellphones into the half full pillowcase one of the terrorists was holding, though she thought she heard a muffled ringing sound as Lukas dropped his into the bag.

"We're only students." Lukas said to cover up the noise. "We have nothing to do with the Sakuradite Allocation Talks. We're just on vacation."

Right, the Sakuradite producing countries were holding a meeting to help determine future distribution. It had been all over the news and that morning there had been media people looking to interview some of the dignitaries swarming around the lobby as they'd left. She wondered if they'd left already, or if they had also been taken hostage.

"Even if you're students, you're still Britannian and citizens of the empire that oppresses the Japanese." One of them spoke back before what looked like a higher level officer emerged from the elevator.

"What are you doing? I told you to secure the entrance." The officer snapped.

"More hostages walked in before I could lock the doors." One of them answered.

"Fine." The man barked before pointing to a couple of the terrorists. "You three, take them upstairs with the rest."

The terrorists saluted before jostling them all into the elevator. Lukas was stiff beside her, eyes traveling from one terrorist to the next in rapid succession, probably trying to make a plan. She squeezed his hand to draw his attention and make him stop. He was outnumbered and there wasn't enough space for him to move freely in the crowded elevator. They would probably all die if the terrorists decided to shoot.

He smiled at her apologetically before pulling her into a hug against his chest and burying his face in her hair next to her ear. "Sorry. I'll think of something to get us out of this." He breathed quietly, the message covered up by Milly who, at that moment, decided to clear her throat.

"Um, so there's no chance then, that -" Milly began.

"Quiet, Britannian."

Milly clammed up after that, shooting them both a significant look that seemed to say that she wouldn't be covering for them again. But that was okay because hopefully she wouldn't need to. And despite the situation, somehow she felt safe. Here, carefully ensconced between Lukas' arms, she felt protected. It was like that day at Nunnally's grave when he had shielded her from the rest of the world. Here, no one ele could see that she was trembling just a little bit.

The elevator came to a halt mid-way up the building – the twenty third floor, she noted just in case – and they were herded out into the corridor and down the hall through a door into what looked like a conference room. She wondered if this was the room they'd been having the Sakuradite summit in, but it was impossible to tell.

In the center of the large, U-shaped arrangement of tables cowered over a hundred people under the guard of a dozen or so armed terrorists. For the most part, they were men and women in business suits, though she also saw the hotel employees and a few other tourists thrown in with the mix. There was no one younger than they were, and she felt thankful for that. At least the terrorists weren't involving children.

"On the floor with the others." One of the Eleven's barked, shoving Shirley forward.

"We're going. You don't have to push." Shirley protested indignantly before kneeling down next to a middle aged woman in a horrific maroon business suit.

"Mouthy little bitch." The terrorist grumbled before saying something in Japanese to the guards and turning away.

Euphy let out a long, slow breath as the man and his two cronies left. They were, by no means, safe, but there were now at least three less guards in the room.

This had never happened to her before. She'd never been kidnapped or taken hostage or threatened by any real danger in her life. She had always been protectively sheltered away in the embrace of high society with body guards and security systems all around her. She wasn't quite sure how to react.

Part of her was telling her that she had to be brave. That she was a princess of an Empire that scorned weakness and that she had to set the example. But that was the only part of her that wasn't trembling in fear. Her hands were shaking and she hated it.

She clenched them into fists, trying to get them to stop. But they only ceased their shaking when Lukas reached over and enveloped them in his. "I will protect you." He whispered quietly.

That was all well and good, but who was going to protect everyone else? Even if she was scared, she refused to sacrifice anyone else for the sake of her safety. Even Lukas, who was there only to protect her.

* * *

Jeremiah tried to hide the small, amused smile that was slowly creeping across his lips as he watched Lelouch deal with Earl Asplund. The man was aggravating to say the least, though his prince was trying his very hardest to keep his composure in the face of this absurdity.

"Please put it back together, Lord Asplund. The way it was when you found it." Prince Lelouch said calmly.

The engineer had taken the liberty of upgrading the Royal Guard's Sutherlands in von Hoffman's absence, starting with Zimmerman's. Apparently it was supposed to be a surprise. Though the process was still in the deconstruction phase when the prince had found out about it.

"It will only take a day or two at most." Asplund pleaded.

"I don't have a day or two. The trap I set will be sprung tonight and it's possible that I will need Hector in the field." Lelouch argued.

"There are other Sutherlands on the base. He doesn't _have_ to be in this one, does he?"

Jeremiah winced. It was something an engineer probably wouldn't understand. But as a soldier, you liked to know the machine you were piloting. It didn't matter if they all came off the same assembly line and were all designed exactly the same way, they each had a slightly different feel to them. As a Knight, knowing your machine was paramount. Other frames would do in a pinch, but ultimately all soldiers preferred to pilot their own Knightmares.

Lelouch took a deep breath. On the one hand, Jeremiah could see why he was letting the A.S.E.E.C. engineer off without a tongue lashing. He was, in a way, indebted to the A.S.E.E.C.. The prince had no doubt begun to think of the Lancelot as his own. If Asplund chose to withdraw from his agreement with the prince, there was probably more than one plan that Lelouch had in the works that would suffer.

On the other hand, Jeremiah very much wanted to make the annoying man pay for his blatant impudence. He couldn't believe the man had the gall to actually argue with the prince. Nor could he believe that he'd begun tinkering on the Royal Guard's Knightmares without approval.

His gaze traveled worriedly to where his own Sutherland was parked in the same hangar. From here, it looked more or less intact, though whether that meant it was untouched or not was anyone's guess. Asplund insisted that Zimmerman's was the only Knightmare he'd touched so far.

He never thought he'd be happy to see a Number, but he was very glad that von Hoffman had returned so quickly. Prince Lelouch had been willing to wait weeks for the new Sutherlands from Kyoto to be modified. Instead, von Hoffman had shambled off the plane a couple hours ago looking more or less dead on his feet before Lelouch ordered him to go get some rest.

"Lord Asplund -" The prince began seethingly.

"Oh, please just call me Lloyd, your highness." The man expertly diverted. "All of this formality makes me a big jumpy after a while."

"_Lord Asplund_." The prince said again more firmly.

"Your highness!" Another voice called, earning a withering glare from the prince. The lower ranking engineer cowered under the prince's glare for a moment before recovering some courage. "Th-there's an urgent call for you in the command center."

The prince's glare narrowed for a moment. "Put it back together, Lloyd." He growled before turning on his heel and storming out of the hangar.

Jeremiah followed, tensing slightly when their path crossed a group of Honorary Britannians. But nothing happened and they quickly formed up and saluted their commanding officer as if it were natural. The prince scarcely acknowledged it in his hurry to answer the call, sweeping into his office a few moments later and flicking the phone on to speakerphone without even taking the time to sit down at his desk.

It was a small reminder that Jeremiah had at least earned this much trust from the Prince. Though the boy could be eloquent to the extreme, when it came to expressing more personal things such as trust, he lost that trait and tended to express it through actions rather than words. Or at least that was how the prince treated him. And so he'd recently taken to accepting most of his calls via speakerphone when he was alone in his office with only his Knight.

"Speak." Prince Lelouch ordered.

"Lelouch, it's Edith."

Jeremiah felt a little trickle of dread well up in him. Whatever it was, if the woman was calling the prince on urgent business, it couldn't be a good thing. She wasn't the type to request assistance unless she absolutely had to, so this obviously wasn't something she could solve on her own.

"What happened?" The prince demanded.

"The delegates of the Sakuradite Allocation Conference at Lake Kawaguchi have been taken hostage by a group of terrorists. Princess Euphemia and the Ashford Academy Student Council have also been taken." The woman answered nervously

Prince Lelouch paled, the blood draining from his face with remarkable speed before he slightly recovered. "And Lukas?"

"Also among the hostages. I received word of it from him. It seems like he secretly dialed my number when he was ordered to surrender his cellphone and I was able to catch some of their conversation." Edith explained.

The prince closed his eyes for a moment and slowly let out a deep breath. "Thank you for alerting me, Edith. Apprise Cornelia of the situation. She should get there first and should be able to contain the situation and cut off any additional support they might have. I'll meet her there." The prince said finally before hanging up and snatching up the receiver, fingers already dancing over the numbers. He drummed his fingers anxiously on the desk as the phone rang. "Jeremiah, have them load the Royal Guard's Knightmares into an air transport. I want it ready to go in ten minutes at the latest. Use a spare for Hector." The prince ordered as the phone rang in his ear. Jeremiah hurried to comply, turning away out of the office to relay the orders. He only just caught the prince address the recipient of the new call before the door closed behind him. "Suzaku . . ."

* * *

It was uncannily warm today, so C.C. was sunning herself on the parade grounds. While no one had told her that she wasn't allowed to, since half of the people that had walked by had scowled at her, it seemed that her efforts at getting a tan (in vain, since her Code repaired her cells almost before any coloration could occur) were unappreciated.

Of course, the other half of the people who had gone by had been checking her out. So she figured she still had it. She'd made sure she was in the skimpiest swim suit she could find in hope that she'd be able to get a reaction out of Lelouch if he came this way. He should be coming this way. She was just off of a main thoroughfare of the base and she happened to know that Lelouch didn't have any plans for today outside of the scheme he'd cooked up with those new Sutherlands. But they weren't scheduled for delivery until tonight.

So if he wanted to get to the barracks or the mess hall, he would have to walk right past her.

She'd never thought that the middle of a war zone could be this boring. Lelouch had been sure to keep out out of the way and away from anything that might be dangerous (or remotely interesting). She wondered if he expected her to just wait quietly in the barracks for him all day? He was going to be sorely disappointed if that was the case.

And things had been going so well between them before his damnable wife had showed up, too. He'd been beginning to trust her and she'd been diligently worming her way in ever closer to him. But now because of Abigail, she'd been forced to press her stance rather than leaving it all to gossip and rumor. It had caused a rift between them that made her wonder if it had been worth it.

It would have been all too easy to slip away into the servants quarters and present herself as a maid. At least then she would have continued holding Lelouch's trust. And it would only have been a matter of time before Abigail had heard about her anyway. There were too many rumors circulating around the house about them for his wife to miss them.

If she was honest with herself, she'd panicked. She'd been expecting some warning from Lelouch that his wife would be coming to Area Eleven. She hadn't expected the woman to just show up one morning. Though, to be fair, Lelouch had probably been more surprised than she had.

She drew her attention back from her musings when she saw Suzaku run by at full tilt. He didn't even glance at her, which was strange since she'd expected him to join the ranks of those who scowled at her. She'd thought he'd even try to lecture her into putting her clothes back on.

She frowned and followed him with her eyes. Something must have happened. Now that she was paying attention, there seemed to be a bit of activity on the runway. A carrier was rapidly being loaded with Knightmares. Suzaku arrived just as the A.S.E.E.C.'s Lancelot was rolled onto the plane and the turbines started.

A moment later, as the plane began trundling down the runway, the Knight of Three ran past, cursing loudly as he did so. She chuckled slightly to herself. So Lelouch had pulled one over on the Rounds and finally gotten Suzaku out from under their gaze for a few hours. Though what he planned to do in those couple hours was beyond her.

She leaned back in her lounger and readjusted her sunglasses. Lelouch had made it abundantly clear that he wanted her kept out of his military affairs. That was fine with her for now. Though it did mean that she was probably going to have to give up on this whole suntanning scheme. Lelouch was probably on that plane. And knowing him, he probably wouldn't be back until after sundown.

She sighed, absorbing a few more minutes of the sun's rays. It was a comfortable feeling, despite it being well past summer's peak.

She smirked inwardly when Anya Alstreim sauntered casually into view a few minutes later, significantly less panicked than Weinberg had been about losing sight of their charge. In fact, the girl stopped altogether when she caught sight of C.C. and came to join her instead of joining the pursuit.

"C.C." Marianne said, glancing skeptically at C.C.'s attire. "I'm not sure that it's quite that warm out."

"Marianne." C.C. greeted. "Shouldn't you be chasing after your m charge like Sir Weinberg?"

Marianne shrugged, whatever reply she'd been about to give cut off by the loud roar of the Tristan's jet engines as it took off after the air carrier Kururugi had left on. When the noise finally lessened to a reasonable level, Marianne smiled. "Gino will take care of it."

C.C. snorted in amusement. "So what's going on anyway?"

"Don't know. Sneaky little bastard excused himself to the washroom a few minutes after getting a phone call from Lelouch. Next thing we know he's running away. He must have gone out through the bathroom window." Marianne answered. "I think I like him. He's very devoted to Lelouch, isn't he?"

"Mhmm." C.C. answered lazily. Suzaku at least had that much going for him. He may not like her and may have repeatedly tried to get her expelled from Lelouch's house, but she had to admit that he was good for the prince. "How much longer are you going to be snooping around over here now that you've decided you like him?"

Marianne's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why? Is there something you don't want me to find out?"

C.C. kept her expression neutral. There were plenty of things she didn't want Marianne to find out about. The majority of them were about her son. Marianne had bragged about how much they were alike and it worried her. If they were so much alike, then what would Marianne have done if she'd been repeatedly betrayed by the same people? What would Marianne have done if she'd been exiled and sent through hell with no protection and no safe haven in sight?

C.C. knew very well what Marianne would have done. She would have razed all of her enemies to the ground. She wouldn't have stopped until she was satisfied and avenged. This was how Marianne had gained such a bloody reputation for herself. She was more than just a war hero and ace pilot. She was the one who had disposed of the former royal family. She was the one who had systematically removed any other claim to the throne in order to expedite Charles' rise to power.

However much C.C. wanted to deny it, there were parts of Lelouch that were very much like Marianne. Not all of him, but there was definitely a similarity. Knowing that and knowing the intimate flavor of his mind - her latest connection to him with her Code had given her the opportunity to spend hours perusing the contents of his mind - Marianne and Gino's presence here presented a viable threat.

C.C. wasn't sure who Marianne would choose if she knew the truth. She wasn't sure if she would side with her son or her husband when the time finally came for them to clash. This doubt was what prevented her from growing closer to her old friend.

C.C. at least knew where her loyalty lay.

She had no use for her ex-contractors. Marianne had made it abundantly clear that she'd had no intention of taking the Code. Which meant that, however much Marianne had entertained her, she had

to move on. The advent of Marianne's 'death' had been just the opportunity for her to break ties and leave. All of her interests now rested with Lelouch instead.

"Hardly. I just find you annoying." She said calmly.

Marianne smirked. "Well, we'll be here until Charles recalls us." The girl said triumphantly. "So you'd better get used to us. No other child of the Imperial family has caught this much of Charles' attention. Not even Schneizel. He has high hopes for Lelouch. He won't leave him vulnerable. I expect we'll be around for a while."

"Wonderful." CC. sighed sarcastically.

* * *

Loath as she was to admit it, Kallen was getting used to wearing dresses. Where, a few months ago the idea of the pastel blue cocktail dress she was wearing to the Princess' fundraiser was a foreign concept, she now almost felt comfortable in it. Almost. Not quite.

She couldn't move how she wanted to in it, but then again she wasn't going to be moving how she wanted to anyway. If she struck down the princess, she had no doubt that Lelouch would raze everything she cared about to the ground. And so, for today, she had no ulterior motive behind her attendance to the princess' charity event.

She was simply here because she'd said she would be and she couldn't figure out a way to get out of it. However, her begrudging attendance shouldn't be interpreted as her having a good time. Because she was most emphatically not.

There were only a handful of people around her age attending the event and none of them were people she'd choose to associate with if given the choice. Since her other option was following Lady Stadtfeld around, she found herself hanging out near bannister of the Viceroy Palace's rooftop garden, overlooking downtown Tokyo. It was a beautiful vista, but it was a shame to think that it was all Britannian. The buildings that had once made up Tokyo's downtown had all been mercilessly stripped away after the invasion to be replaced with Britannia's towering megaliths of steel and concrete.

She sighed and turned away from it, silently slipping inside under the pretense of looking for a bathroom. She was a little curious about the Viceroy's Palace. And while she was here, there was no reason for her not to gain a bit of intel about the place. This place had been built by Prince Clovis and put the words opulent and lavish to good use. There wasn't a room she'd seen so far that wasn't excessively expensively decorated.

She poked around a bit, hiding from the servants that passed by as she snooped. This was where the Viceroy lived. This was the place Prince Lelouch called home. She wondered if she could find his bedroom. That would be a handy little piece of information for any assassin after his head. Or better yet, his home office. Since he was L.L., he probably had one or two other shady deals in the works too. If she could get more info on those, she could probably sell it to one of the other terrorist groups. Since she was more or less neutralized by the prince's watchdogs at the moment and probably wouldn't have the chance to make use of it herself.

Actually, she was a little surprised that they hadn't prevented her from attending this fundraiser. Or from meeting with Abigail. She still wasn't quite sure what to make of that. But she counted her blessings that she was still alive. Even with her movements restricted in this way, she could still gather information about the Viceroy's Palace as Kallen Stadtfeld.

She slipped into a room as she heard footsteps coming down the corridor towards her, then felt a moment of panic as she realized they were headed straight for the room she'd just hidden herself in. There was an armoire desk against the wall of what looked like a small den. It was really the only hiding spot the room presented and she jumped on the chance, flinging the pale oak door open and shoving the compact computer monitor out of the way before climbing up onto the desk and closing the door behind her.

Only a handful of seconds after hiding herself, the intruders entered the room and she realized in surprise that it was the princess and one of the house's servants. "Look, your highness." The staff woman said, clicking on the television.

_"We're standing outside the Convention Center Hotel at Lake Kawaguchi where we've received word that the delegates of the Sakuradite distribution talks have been taken hostage. It seems that all of the hotel's other patrons and employees have also been taken by the terrorists. Now, at this time, it's unknown just what group is behind this attack or what their motivations are. Presumably, they hope to negotiate with the Viceroy, though to what end we can't be sure yet._

_ "The hostages - along with our own reporter Richard Perry, who was covering the conference - have been in the terrorist's custody for over an hour now, but so far no demands have been made. Richard managed to get a call out only moments before his cellphone was confiscated by the terrorists to alert us of the situation, but we haven't been able to contact him since._

_ "Now, this attack marks a striking resemblance to an attack perpetrated by the Kenshiki Faction a few weeks ago when fifty four patients and doctors were indiscriminately slaughtered without the terrorists voicing their demands at Tokyo's General Hospital. Though I repeat again, that we don't know who the terrorists behind this attack are.. . . - Oh, I've just received word that the terrorists are broadcasting a message. We're going to show it now."_

There was a moment of pause as Kallen felt dread well up inside of her. Wasn't that where Milly and the others were going? Had they been caught up in all of this? Wasn't it funny that she hadn't realized until now that she actually kind of cared about the prince's merry band of friends. She'd rather not see them shot down by terrorists, even if they were Britannian and blindly on Prince Lelouch's side. They were still her classmates and the people she'd been spending the majority of her time with lately.

"_I am Lieutenant Colonel Kusakabe of the Japan Liberation Front. We have taken the hotel's patrons, employees and the delegates of the Sakuradite talks all hostage, including Chairman James, as you can see behind me. We will return them to you when you return to us our comrades you've keeping captive."_

Kallen felt like she'd been punched in the gut. This was being done by the JLF? If there as one group that all of the resistances respected, it was the Japan Liberation Front. They were true enemies of Britannia. True freedom fighters – Japan's military that had just never stopped fighting. They were better trained and better equipped than any other group in Japan and had the backing of the Six Houses of Kyoto.

And now they were resorting to petty terrorism?

There was a difference. There was a very fine line between terrorism and armed resistance. It was one that Ohgi and Naoto had always been careful not to cross with their group. It was a stance the JLF had taken up until this point as well.

Why? Why had they suddenly resorted to this? Surely it wasn't because the Kenshiki's actions had been garnering more attention lately, was it?

"They've got Euphy." Princess Abigail breathed in anguish.

"She looks unharmed for the time being." The staff woman said.

"For now, yes. If anything happens to her . . . Lelouch knows about this, right?"

"Yes, your highness. Miss Cardston told me she'd already alerted him of the situation. He will probably have something planned already by now. Please don't worry about Princess Euphemia. Prince Lelouch and Princess Cornelia won't let her be harmed. And she has her bodyguard with her inside the hotel."

Princess Euphemia? Euphy? That sickeningly nice pink-haired girl Milly had introduced her to? She was a _princess?_ Well, at least that explained why Milly had taken her under her wing so quickly and why she'd been so curious about Kallen's connection to the vi Britannias. It didn't explain, however, just why she was going to school at Ashford incognito.

"Yes. You're right, Lindsey. Worrying won't change things one way or the other. I need to focus on what I can do, instead of things outside the realm of my control." The princess said reluctantly, before rallying her charm and charisma. "I'll win my bet with Lelouch. And I'll trust him to keep Euphy safe." She said confidently.

"Very good, your highness. You should take another moment to compose yourself before going back to your guests. You still look a little shaken. I'll go see to it that more wine and horsd'ouvers are brought out to the garden." The servant said politely.

"Alright. Make sure you bring more of the Merlot." The princess ordered as one pair of footsteps left the room.

The room was silent for a moment before Kallen heard the muted sound of a phone ringing. "Lelouch, it's me . . . Yes, I just wanted to make sure. . . I know you'll save her. I trust you. . . I was just worried. . . . Yes, I know you're busy. Make sure you stay safe."

The princess sighed heavily for a moment before she too left the room.

Kallen waited a full five minutes before quietly climbing down from the desk she was hiding on and slipping back into the party. She'd learned a few things from her brief foray into the Viceroy's Palace, but the majority of her mind was focused on worrying over the fate of the rest of the Student Council. She could mull over the rest later.

* * *

"That's enough for now, Katsurou." Tohdoh said as he stepped back and lowered his bokken.

They boy's training was coming along nicely, even though he couldn't see to it himself. Still, between the boy's sharp gasps for breath, he could see that his knees were trembling and about to give out on him any moment now. But that wasn't all that strange. They'd been at this for hours now and he'd pushed the boy hard. To be completely honest, he'd thought Katsurou would give in before he'd have to call their training to a halt

But then again, he should have known better. His son was a stubborn one.

"I can keep going." The boy gasped.

Rather than arguing, Tohdoh moved forward again and sent one swift, sharp strike at the boy's exposed weakness. The flat of the wooden blade collided with the back of the boy's leg with a sharp _whap_, sending him to his knees.

"I said it was enough."

Katsurou glared, mouth twisting into a scowl as he tried to lever himself back up to his feet using the bokken as a crutch. Tohdoh frowned. He was going to get angry if he had to say it again. But still, the boy continued to glare and defiantly put his feet back underneath him.

"You will not beat me." Tohdoh said levelly. "While I commend your determination, you still have to face that fact. Real life isn't like those old manga you and Genbu-kun read where the hero always beats his opponents just because he wants it more. You need to accept that in real life, there are some things you cannot do no matter how determined you are."

"Then what was the point of this?" The boy bellowed. "If it's impossible for me to win your approval, why did we waste all this time? I train with Hiiragi-sensei every day."

Tohdoh's eyebrows raised in surprise before he snorted. "Hold out your hand." He ordered, then watched as the boy tried to hold the trembling limb still. "This is your body. This is the tool you rely on more than anything else in this world. It requires maintenance and care. Unlike so many other things in this world, there is no replacement for it. If you ruin it, you will carry those wounds with you for the rest of your life. Which is why you have to take care of it. You're at your limit."

The boy stared for a long moment at his hand, as though overcoming his muscle fatigue was the path to victory before eventually surrendering and letting the limb fall to his side. "What should I do? What should I do when determination isn't enough but I still want to win?"

He smirked. Leave it to his son to try to find a loophole. "In that kind of situation you must determine just what your honor will allow and resort to either compromise or trickery." Tohdoh answered, watching at the gears began to turn in the Katsurou's head.

"So tricking people is okay?" The boy asked uncertainly.

"Put victory on one scale and pride on the other. If you're willing to let the need to win swallow up your pride, then trickery and whatever other means you can come up with is fine. However, if you want to win and retain that overinflated ego of yours, you'll do things honorably."

"Is that what niisama did? Genbu keeps asking about him. Is he really a traitor?" Katsurou asked. "It's just a trick, right?"

Katsurou had spent his entire life with the Kururugi's and Suzaku had more or less become his older brother figure. Suzaku had become his role model and the sting of the Kururugi boy's betrayal had to have hurt – especially with the way Lady Kururugi tried to shut out any mention of her oldest son. However, the truth wasn't a cheerful reassurance. Still, he refused to coddle the boy.

"We're trying to contact him to figure out if that is what he is planning. But Suzaku and Prince Lelouch were childhood friends. Before the invasion, Prince Lelouch lived with the Kururugis and they went through the invasion together. So it's likely that he really has switched sides now and betrayed Japan."

But even so, Tohdoh wasn't completely convinced that Lelouch was a conventional Britannian prince. A couple of moves the prince had made suggested that he held a soft spot for the Japanese. As such, even if Suzaku was a bona fide traitor, there was still the chance that they could use it to their favor.

Then again, knowing the prince, it could have all been calculated to make them think just this thing.

"Lieutenant Colonel Tohdoh!" A voice called frantically, drawing his attention away from his son. "There's a Senba Ryoga on the phone. He said it was urgent."

The woman who interrupted them was one of the few serving staff the Kururugi's still managed to employ. She rushed over, panting and out of breath with the receiver clasped between her hand.

"He told me to run." She explained breathlessly as she handed over the phone. But he already knew it had to be bad news. Senba wouldn't have called him unless something had happened.

"What happened?" He asked sharply after taking the phone.

"Lieutenant Colonel! Where are you?"

"Where should I be?" Tohdoh asked, already moving away into the house to find his keys.

"You haven't seen the news yet?" Senba asked.

"No. Just tell me." He growled, his patience running thin.

"Kusakabe and his men took the Convention Center Hotel at Lake Kawaguchi hostage. You know, the one where they were doing the Sakuradite Allocation Talks." Senba explained. "We just received a report telling us the Viceroy is already en route along with his Knights and personal guard. Those are the same guys who were with Prince Lelouch in Area Eighteen. On top of that, the Viceroy has ordered the local garrison to mobilize and the hotel is currently surrounded. I heard a whisper that Princess Cornelia's there too, though that hasn't been confirmed. Kusakabe won't be able to get out of this one on his own."

"That idiot."Tohdoh growled, then frowned as a thought hit him. "Why's the Viceroy going all out like this for a couple of hostages? Especially if the rumors about Cornelia being there turn out to be true. One royal would be more than enough to handle this. It doesn't make sense to have the Viceroy come there personally."

"I don't know." Senba answered. "The only reason I can guess is because the demands Kusakabe made would have to have the Viceroy's approval."

"What did he demand?" Tohdoh asked, nonplussed.

"The return of our comrades who were captured by Prince Clovis back in June."

Tohdoh closed his eyes and fought with himself to hold in the groan of frustration that threatened to escape. Those men had been captured five months ago. There wasn't even a guarantee that they were still alive. And if they were alive, it was unlikely that they were still in fighting condition. And yet Kusakabe was in there risking the lives of his men in such a ridiculous and unlikely scheme.

He slowly let out the breath he was holding in, forcing calm. "What has General Katase ordered?"

"He's requested your help."

". . . I'm in Hokkaido." He answered reluctantly. The location of the Kururugi family was a little known secret and he felt no pride in divulging even this much to his subordinate. However, it stressed the fact that there was likely no way for him to get to the scene before the prince used his overwhelming numbers to crush Kusakabe.

There was a long moment of silence before Senba spoke again. "Well, you should probably head back now anyway. Either way, we're going to be on the prince's shit list for this and an attack will likely be pending. And they've already been in a stand off for more than an hour, so who knows how much longer they'll stall. I'll have Chiba, Urabe and Asahina on standby with me outside the Britannian encirclement, along with anyone else General Katase will send with me, in case you get there in time."

"I'll contact you when I get close. Keep an eye on the situation." Tohdoh said gruffly before hanging up the phone.

"You're leaving early." Katsurou accused behind him as he began changing out of his sweaty clothes and into something fresh.

"Yeah." He answered blandly, before snatching up his keys off the dresser and turning to face his son. The boy was visibly upset, though he was trying hard to put up a tough front. Katsurou pressed his lips together and scowled to the point that Tohdoh wasn't sure if the boy wanted to yell or cry, but he did neither and just stood there sullenly in the corner of the room.

"You did well today, Katsurou. You impressed me." He said as he began making his way to the door, before saying the words he knew the boy had been thirsting for all along. "I'm proud of you."

* * *

AN: Another chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. Apologies for the delay, but I've been distracted with school, work and final fantasy 13. Though in other news, I got over my cold ages ago. -.- Thanks for all the tissue donations.

Anyway, thanks for reading Dauntless. Don't forget to review.

Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving to all of my Canadian readers (and I think somewhere else has Thanksgiving the same weekend as us too).

Allora

Edit: Thanks to KnightofHolyLight for pointing out that I still had Kusakabe as a General. I thought I'd changed it, but apparently hadn't. (Woo for half asleep editing) It's fixed now. Lieutenant Colonel Kusakabe, not General.


	68. Chapter 68

Chapter 68

Milly felt a little nauseous. She supposed it was probably from trying to suppress her fear. She was scared and she could admit it. In fact, she didn't think she'd ever been this scared before. Not even when Lelouch's Royal Guards were pointing their guns at her. In that situation, there had at least been the chance to talk her way out of it.

But in this situation, they were expected to just sit there as silent lambs waiting for slaughter.

She knew this wasn't going to end well. These people didn't understand Lelouch at all. Lelouch negotiated on his terms and his terms alone. You couldn't force him to fold without Nunnally. And that particular bartering piece was one the JLF didn't have.

However, they did have Euphemia – and that bitter part of her mind that feared Nunnally was being replaced wondered if that might just be enough. And the even more cynical part of her mind wondered if Lelouch knew she herself had also been captured and if it would really make any difference one way or the other. Really, how much could Lelouch afford to flex for the sake of those he cared about anyway?

Bending to accommodate the JLF's demands in order to save his sister and friends would only make them bigger targets in the future. Above all else, she didn't want to be a liability to Lelouch. So, taking that into account, she wasn't exactly sure what she wanted the outcome of this to be.

Of course, all of her uneasy feelings grew from bad to worse some forty-five minutes after the JLF had sent their demands when one of their guards began speaking in Japanese to the others. More than half of the hostages flinched as the first syllables left his mouth.

She sucked at Japanese. Sayoko had tried to teach her once or twice, but the lessons had never gone over particularly well. However, aside from the few phrases for hello, goodbye, thank you and sorry, the one word she'd remembered was 'burondo'. Blonde. She'd thought it was funny, then. Now, it was less so.

She'd picked that word out of the stream of Japanese leaving the terrorist's mouth and could count on one hand the number of blonde hostages in the room with them. Also it really didn't help that they were looking straight at her, examining her like she was some kind of exhibit.

She stared down at her knees and didn't make eye contact. With any luck, this was as far as it would go. But if they'd recognized her from all of those tabloid magazines that had run right after Lelouch had returned to Pendragon. If they realized who she was . . .

"Oi! Blondy, what's your name?" The nearest terrorist demanded.

"Mildred." She answered meekly. Horrendously, that was what it said on her birth certificate. What her parents had been thinking when they'd named her, she couldn't even begin to fathom. But for the first time in her life it came in handy. Even if they checked the documentation in her purse, all of her legal identification was under Mildred. Milly was just a nickname that she used when introducing herself to people to avoid her birth name.

But her embarrassing revelation was cut off by another of the terrorists who had been speaking into their phone. "They just confirmed downstairs that Milly Ashford booked two rooms." He proclaimed, "I thought she looked familiar."

"Lucky!" The terrorist next to her sing-songed before reaching for her arm. "Alright, come with me, _Mildred._"

No way. No way! Just like that? This couldn't be happening. This was a total worst case scenario. What were they going to do with her? Why separate her from the group? Even Chairman James had been left with the rest of the hostages, and he was supposedly their jackpot. She _couldn't _go with the terrorist. She just couldn't.

On her other side, Rivalz grabbed her hand and glared at the terrorist. "Let her go." He demanded. But all he received for his efforts was a boot to the face.

"Don't interfere." The terrorist barked before tugging on her arm again and half dragging her to her feet. But Rivalz hadn't relinquished his grip yet and pulled back. She felt like she was the rope in a game of tug-of-war and it wasn't a pleasant feeling. However, that didn't mean she wasn't into the game and tugging on Rivalz's side to escape her captor.

"Shit. Euphy!" Lukas hissed behind her, drawing Milly's attention just as the princess shot up to her feet, despite the way Lukas was trying to pull her back down and hush her without hurting her.

"I order you to unhand her _right now_." Euphemia declared loudly.

The terrorist froze and slowly turned to look at the pink-haired girl. "You _order_ me? Who the hell do you think you are, Britannian?"

"What are you doing, Euphy?" Milly hissed, dread bubbling up in her.

"I'm Euphemia li Britannia, Third Princess of the Empire and the sister of Lelouch vi Britannia." Euphy declared boldly.

This wasn't what she'd wanted. Even despite her ambivalent feelings towards the girl, she wouldn't have wished this on Euphy. Euphy was someone Lelouch cared about and she'd been entrusted in ensuring her safety and happiness.

_"I'm counting on you guys to keep her safe and happy here. And to keep her secret."_

She'd failed on all three accounts. Even worse, she'd deliberately left Euphy miserable and at the mercy of the rumor mill for an entire week. And now Euphy was going to sacrifice herself for her sake?

The princess understood that, right? Surely she wasn't so naïve as to think that the terrorists would obey her? She had to know what she was doing, right?

"Oh?" The terrorist drawled before turning to point his gun at the princess.

Lukas was moving almost before she could make sense of the situation. One moment he was kneeling on the floor and trying to drag Euphy back down and the next he was standing in front of her with his gun drawn and pointed at the terrorist's head.

Of course, that only riled the other terrorists in the room up and suddenly their group was under the aim of every one of the terrorist guards. They were going to die.

"Lukas, stop." Euphy ordered, though the command seemed to roll off of him without taking effect. "I will negotiate with my brother for the release of your comrades on your behalf. In return, you will promise not to harm any of the hostages, including my bodyguard."

"Euphy . . ." Lukas growled between grit teeth.

"You're not supposed to talk back, you know?" The terrorist quipped before finally letting go of Milly's arm. She breathed only a momentary sigh of relief before the terrorist was offering his hand to Euphy instead. "Then shall we go see Lieutenant Colonel Kusakabe, princess? Since you're being so cooperative, I won't even restrain you." He said, though it didn't disguise the fact that he was still pointing his gun in her direction.

Euphy unhesitatingly took the man's hand and allowed herself to be dragged forward, though the moment she was out of Lukas' reach two of the terrorists who had crept closer moved in to incapacitate him. Lukas' gun was taken from him and he was violently forced back down to the floor.

"You said you wouldn't hurt him!" Euphy protested.

"I'm sure he's resilient enough to withstand it. And we can't allow one of our hostages to be armed. It kind of defeats the purpose." The terrorist scoffed before holding more tightly to her hand and dragging her towards the door.

Milly felt completely helpless as she watched. She'd let Lelouch down. Lelouch had entrusted her with Euphy and she'd failed. She glanced at Lukas for inspiration – for some way to save her – but he didn't look like he had any ideas and was still under the barrel of his two assailant's guns.

Why had this happened? Why had Euphy chosen to sacrifice herself for her sake. Even if she did manage to convince Lelouch to release the terrorists he had in his custody, it wouldn't guarantee Euphy's safety. It was very possible that the terrorists would attempt to escape with Euphy in order to continue holding her over Lelouch's head. Or it was equally as likely that they would simply kill her once they had gotten what they wanted. After all, she was a Britannian princess.

Milly hated herself right now for all of the uncharitable thoughts she'd had towards Euphy and promised herself she'd be nicer if, by some miracle, they all got out of this alive.

* * *

Suzaku couldn't believe this was happening. Euphy and the others had really been taken hostage by the JLF. The JLF! They weren't supposed to do things like this. This wasn't how his father's Generals had been trained to conduct themselves.

Lelouch was understandably worried. It had been easy to tell from the first time he'd met Princess Euphemia that Lelouch genuinely cared about her. Even in the middle of the stand off between Lelouch and Princess Cornelia, he'd taken the time to spare Euphy a few words that weren't as harsh.

Still, even with Euphemia and the rest of his friends' safety hanging over his head, Lelouch was as sharp-witted as ever. He'd already been on the phone with the architect who had designed the hotel, the construction firm who had built it, and the hotel's manager (who hadn't been on duty at the time the hostages had been taken). They'd managed to narrow down the possibilities and find out the exact location where the hostages were being kept.

The twenty third floor on the lake-view side. It was virtually impossible to approach except by air. Not that the hotel had a plethora of entrances to begin with, but Princess Cornelia had all of those covered.

"Suzaku." Lelouch said tiredly. He'd gone silent some ten minutes ago as he stared at the blueprints to the hotel, thinking about a way to rescue the hostages. "Say you were to jump from the transport in the Lancelot and latch yourself onto the hotel with your harkens. Do you think you'd be able to designate which floor you stopped on?"

"Yes." Suzaku answered immediately. It wouldn't be hard to do since he could set his target destination on the Lancelot's computer before jumping. And attaching himself to building was one of the lessons he'd had to redo repeatedly while he was still injured from Shinjuku. He was fairly confident in his skills now that it didn't feel like his insides were going to fall out into his lap if he moved too roughly.

Lelouch drifted back into silence for a few minutes as his fingers moved over the compute in front of him, pulling up the Lancelot's schematics side by side with the hotel's blueprints. "The conference room in the hotel only has ten foot ceilings. The Lancelot is almost fifteen feet tall. So you'd be at a handicap already. And compromising the roof's structure could collapse the ceiling on the hostages." Lelouch mused quietly before rubbing his hands over his face. "It's too risky."

Suzaku glanced at the blueprints. The conference room where the hostages were being kept boasted floor to ceiling windows. If he could smash through them and enter just far enough to deploy the Blaze Luminous shields, he could protect the hostages. From there, it would be easy enough to leave the cockpit and subdue the terrorists. He hadn't forgotten that the Captain's brother was also among the hostages and was by no means helpless. He wouldn't be alone in there.

"Lelouch," He said firmly, being sure to draw the prince's attention away from whatever thoughts were currently circling around in his head. "Do you trust me?" He asked, receiving a mute nod from Lelouch and a narrow glare from Gottwald. "I'll jump and latch onto the hotel. And I'll protect the hostages. So trust me."

Lelouch stared at him for a long moment. "Euphy is very important to me."

"I know." He assured him. "I'll protect her as if she were you."

Lelouch smirked a little at that, suitably appeased, before glancing back at the blueprints and the IFF readouts of where Princess Cornelia's forces were stationed around the hotel. Not only the hotel, but the entire resort town was crawling with military personnel. There was no way the JLF would be able to get out.

"Okay." Lelouch said at length. "Suzaku will go in through the window and secure the hostages. If you take them by surprise, you should have a handful of seconds during which they will be focused on the Lancelot instead of the hostages. That's your window of opportunity to take them out. You understand, Suzaku? There won't be enough time for your misguided brand of mercy."

Suzaku closed his eyes for a moment and fought down his revulsion. He wouldn't be able to risk only incapacitating them. Lelouch wanted him to kill them. But his hands were so soaked in blood already, and the likelihood of Lelouch letting them live even if he managed to capture them alive was next to zero.

"I understand."

Lelouch stared at him firmly until he seemed finally satisfied with the answer and turned back to the IFF readouts in front of him. "Then, the moment Suzaku has secured the hostages, my Royal Guard will deploy, landing at these three points where the JLF have fortified themselves the most heavily. I don't have any misconceptions about Cornelia staying out of this, so this is when I'll also give her the go ahead. You'll sweep through their defenses and eradicate any of the terrorists you find. We must send a firm message that this kind of action will not be tolerated."

The Royal Guard gave him their various forms of approval before Lelouch turned to a communication console and brought up Gino's face.

"Lord Weinberg, I'm interpreting the way you're following me as your willingness to assist me in this matter." Lelouch said dryly.

Suzaku bit back a chuckle at the surprised expression on the Knight of the Round's face. Lelouch had quite effectively taken the choice away from Gino to the point that he really couldn't do anything but help. This was the olive branch Gino had been waiting for and he couldn't rightly pass it up and not help when Lelouch was so obviously in need. After all, Lelouch wouldn't have asked him if it hadn't been necessary.

"Of course, your highness. I will assist you in any way in which I am able." Gino said quickly.

"Then I'll leave you in charge of containment. I don't want any of them getting away."

"I understand, your highness."

As Lelouch ended his transmission to the Knight of the Round, it was Roy who asked the question the rest of them had all been wondering.

"Alright, so Suzaku's in the building, and we're on the ground. Where are you going to be?" The Lieutenant asked.

"Since there's a marked media presence already around the hotel, I'll be in the King Piece and monitoring the situation from here along with Jeremiah. It will likely take all of my concentration to manage Cornelia." Lelouch answered. "Should something unexpected happen, we will act as your reserve."

"Good to see you finally acting like a prince and letting us do the fighting for you, Lelouch." Roy quipped. It was the first time that Lelouch had agreed to staying off the front line during an operation.

"I had to learn sometime." Lelouch retorted, but the teasing nature of the remark didn't quite reach. Lelouch was worried and trying admirably to hide it. But his thoughts were likely with Euphemia right now instead of his subordinates.

When Cornelia contacted Lelouch a few minutes later, looking for all the world like she wanted to rip someone's throat out with her bare teeth, Suzaku quietly excused himself and went to check on the Lancelot. Lloyd had stayed back in Osaka, apparently working on a project for Lelouch, but even without the engineer, Suzaku had enough of an understanding of the Lancelot by now to do one last preliminary check.

He hadn't heard Hector follow him and startled slightly when he noticed the Captain, before tending a tentative smile in greeting.

"Are you sure you can do this?" The Captain asked with a frown.

"Yes. I'm sure." Suzaku nodded. "Why? Were you offering to replace me, Sir?"

He'd never actually seen Hector fight in a real Knightmare battle. One-sided massacres weren't much of a test of a pilot's skill. But everyone in Lelouch Royal Guard and even Lelouch himself acknowledged the Captain's skill, so he figured it was authentic.

Hector chuckled mirthlessly. "Me? No, I'm not sure I could do it without caving in the ceiling." He said. "Keep in mind that the floors likely aren't graded for the weight of the Lancelot either, so it would probably be best if you supported the majority of your weight on your harkens. Make sure you have a good anchor point."

Suzaku nodded, grateful for the advice even though it was more or less what he'd already planned. "Yeah. According to those blueprints, there's a foundational pillar six meters East of the entry point. I'm going to anchor there, probably a good five floors up from the target."

The Captain nodded. "Don't forget that Princess Euphemia and the Ashford Academy Student Council take precedence over the other hostages. If you have to make the choice, protect them even at the cost of the other hostages."

Suzaku grimaced. He was worried about them too, but he couldn't imagine any of them would be pleased with the outcome if the rest of the hostages were killed so that he could safeguard them. But on the other hand, this was Lelouch's closest friends and family. "I understand."

"Yeah." Hector said before letting out a long sigh. "Don't let Lelouch down, okay?"

"I won't." Suzaku promised.

He'd told Lelouch that he could save the hostages and he intended to keep his word.

* * *

Nina hated conflict. She hated being put under pressure. And she hated being put into dangerous or risky situations. She just didn't cope well with it. And considering that even Milly seemed to be having a tough time with this situation, the fact that Nina was barely keeping it together wasn't surprising. Really, it was only Shirley's comforting hand running up and down her back that was keeping her still and silent at the feet of the terrorist that had taken it upon himself to guard them ever since Milly's identity had been compromised and Euphy had been taken away.

She glanced over to where Lukas was nursing his swollen lip, but it didn't seem like he'd be doing anything to save them any time soon. Lukas seemed nice enough, but she'd been able to tell from the first time she'd met him that most of his interactions were fake. Kind of like he was putting on a performance and slipping into the role of a pre-scripted character. She didn't doubt that he was a good guy, since Lelouch himself had chosen him to protect Euphy, but that didn't mean that he was willing to actually befriend any of them except Euphy. Or risk his life for them.

She glanced down at her lap again and cringed as the terrorist paced close by her. She hated Elevens. When she'd first come to this country after the invasion, she and her parents had taken a detour through the ghettos due to construction. The Elevens that had carjacked them had left her father so badly beaten that he could barely stand. But their dilemma had only gotten worse when they'd been forced to walk back into the Settlement.

They'd been defenseless, but that hadn't stopped the Elevens from harassing them all the way back to the Settlement. It wasn't as if her family had done anything to them, but she'd still had stuff thrown at her and been jeered the entire way out of the ghettos while fearing for her life. She'd only been twelve at the time. Her mother had developed a sickness for a while from the stress of the trauma and her father still had back problems from the attack. And she couldn't look an Eleven in the face without flinching.

Her entire family had been scarred by the Elevens. And now they were doing the same thing to her closest (and only) friends.

She hated them. She hated them all. Why couldn't they just be civilized? Even if they were angry at the Britannian government, that didn't give them an excuse to take it out on ordinary people who hadn't done anything wrong.

The shattering of glass shocked her out of her thoughts and drew a terrified shriek from her lips as she whirled around to see what the commotion was.

"Get down!" Lukas barked and Shirley complied immediately, throwing herself over Nina and dragging her down to the floor even as Lukas tackled the terrorist that was guarding them.

There was a short burst of gunfire from the scuffle as blood splattered across the navy blue carpet before Lukas rolled off of the terrorist with the gun in his hand. Nina took a deep, quick breath, then another. She was hyperventilating. He'd just killed that Eleven right in front of them. He'd just . . . and there was blood everywhere. The crimson stain on the carpet grew bigger as every second passed and it stained part of Lukas' shirt and face as well. Not that the bodyguard seemed to mind. Lukas was already long gone, jumping over the table to use it as cover as he fired at the other terrorists in the room.

Nina slowly turned her face away from the corpse in front of her and looked at what had smashed the window instead. Not that that image was any more calming. There was an oversized torso and an oversized arm wielding an oversized gun hanging outside the window, while the other arm had crawled inside. That oversized gun also happened to be firing into the room and taking out the terrorists one by one.

It was over in a matter of seconds. One moment there were a dozen snarling terrorists in the room, the next there was an uncanny silence as Lukas hurried from corpse to corpse to confirm each kill. It was only then, in the almost deafening silence as Shirley tentatively rolled off of her that she noticed the opaque green energy shield arching over the center of the room where she and the rest of the hostages lay.

Like everyone else in the room, her gaze was drawn immediately to the Knightmare at the sound of the cockpit depressurizing and the pilot coming out.

"The hostages are secured." The pilot said into his headset before coming forward. "Everyone, please stay calm. My name is Suzaku Kururugi and I'm Prince Lelouch vi Britannia's Knight of Honor. I've been sent here to protect you."

Great. Another one. Even if this Eleven called Lelouch his master, he was still one of them.

"Sir Kururugi!" Lukas exclaimed as he limped forward, but the Knight of Honor's gaze was traveling over the hostages instead.

"Where is Princess Euphemia?" He demanded quickly.

Lukas flinched, then grimaced. "She gave herself up to the terrorists to negotiate a peaceful resolution to this conflict almost fifteen minutes ago. She hasn't contacted you guys yet?"

Kururugi's eyes widened and his face went pale for a moment before he snatched off his headset and shoved it into Lukas' hands. "Explain it to Lelouch. Now. And quickly."

But it was already too late for Lelouch to hold off on his assault. Already, Nina could hear the sound of gunfire coming from the ground below. And the terrorists had Euphy. She whimpered at the thought of what they could be doing to her and the sound drew Kururugi's attention.

He hurried over towards them. "Are you alright, Miss Nina?" He asked quickly.

She flinched away from the hand he offered her and felt slightly guilty for the momentary hurt expression that crossed his face. After all, he had just saved them. But he withdrew it quickly and bowed to her instead. "I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner. Did the terrorists assault anyone? Is anyone in need of medical attention?"

"We're fine, Suzaku. The only ones they hurt were Lukas and Rivalz." Milly said, thankfully taking the Eleven's attention off of her. "You should go after Euphy instead of worrying about us. They only took her a few minutes ago."

The Knight looked conflicted for a moment. "I'm awaiting orders from my prince." He said resignedly before glancing back to where Lukas as still explaining the situation to Lelouch and looking like he wanted the floor to swallow him. "If we go after her, there won't be anyone left here to protect you guys."

"That doesn't matter. Just go!" Milly urged, but at that moment Lukas finally turned around and came back to them, handing the earpiece back to Suzaku.

". . . We've been ordered to stay with the hostages and ensure their safety." Lukas said regretfully, looking very much like he wanted to disobey the order.

"Is it already too late then?" Kururugi murmured, his expression horrified.

Against her better judgment, Nina's gaze traveled back to the corpse of the terrorist Lukas had killed beside them. Except, for a moment, she saw long pink hair instead of black transposed over the body. That was it? They'd lost Euphy already?

* * *

Oh, God. Oh, God. This couldn't be happening. He'd just killed Euphy.

And it was all his fault. He should have known. He should have predicted that she wouldn't have sat still and let others suffer when she could do something about it. That wasn't who she was or how she'd been raised.

The royal Britannian children had all been trained to be leaders in some variety or another - every single one of them. Even Euphy, who had yet to put those lessons to good use. Because Britannian princes and princesses were inheritors of the Empire and were the pinnacle of society. They were the top of the hierarchy and humanity's first choice.

And he'd just killed their shining jewel. The most beloved. The kindest. Euphy. . .

But . . . she would be avenged. That much, he could do. He would raze the JLF to the ground. He would kill every last one of them, with his own hands if need be. And then he would turn himself over to Cornelia.

It was his fault. If it had been Nunnally, the one at fault wouldn't have been safe no matter who they were. And Cornelia loved Euphy as much as he loved Nunnally. Therefore, he figured the odds weren't in his favor. So, for now, he'd keep this from her. At the moment, Cornelia was leading the charge through the barricade the JLF had set up around the hotel. He didn't need her changing her target quite yet.

Lelouch swept out of his makeshift command center aboard the air transport, Jeremiah following almost hesitantly in his wake.

"My prince?" Jeremiah asked tentatively.

"I'm going." He snapped, grabbing hold of the tow line to the King Piece.

His Knight nodded in agreement before boarding his own Knightmare, though Lelouch was only paying half attention to the actions of Jeremiah. At the moment, he couldn't care less whether or not the man approved of the actions he was taking. He'd decided he was going to avenge Euphy and he was damn well going to do it.

He launched, letting the King Piece free fall out of the carrier. He wasn't arrogant enough to think that just because Suzaku could do this that he could too, and he'd never done anything remotely similar to this before outside of a simulation, but the basic mechanics were the same. It was fall recovery and that was something that had been drilled into during his training.

Besides, one of the news crews on the ground had zoomed up on the penthouse suite's window, revealing that idiot Kusakabe. He knew exactly where the bastard was, so even if he couldn't have come through the window like Suzaku had, he could always collapse the roof on top of them. However, he fully intended to go through the window. He wanted to see that man die with his own eyes.

The shattering of glass was mildly satisfying, as was the looks of panic on Kusakabe and his officers' faces when the King Piece and Jeremiah's Sutherland came crashing into the room, leaving the floor damaged and the ceiling in precarious condition. However, he stopped short when his gaze landed on pink. Euphy was there. Alive and unharmed and had been negotiating heatedly with Kusakabe.

He froze as one of the officers in the room grabbed her and put a gun to her head in response to their invasion. He didn't know how to proceed. One wrong move and she'd be dead. But even as he sat there helplessly as Kusakabe and the rest of his men escaped out of an emergency stairwell, he could see what would inevitably happen.

The terrorist holding Euphy hostage had already given up his life. He would stall them until Kusakabe and the others got away and then he would kill her and die himself. Lelouch _knew_ that that was what was going to happen, but he still couldn't bring himself to fire on the retreating Lieutenant-Colonel.

The King Piece hadn't been fitted with microbullets. He hadn't foreseen a situation in which he would require such precision and the damage that KMF rounds caused to infantry troops was just the kind of devastation he'd been hoping for. However, there was no way he could miss Euphy if he used a KMF round on the terrorist holding her and he didn't have enough confidence in his skill with a pistol to use his sidearm.

"Euphy." He whispered painfully, the name catching in his throat to strangle him.

She was pale and her eyes were wide. She was visibly scared as she was held at the mercy of the terrorist. He hated that expression. It would haunt him for the rest of his life, seeing her like this. Euphy wasn't meant to be scared. Euphy was meant to always be smiling and cheerful.

He flinched when the gunshot went off and brilliant crimson splattered across Euphy's perfect ivory skin, staining her hair a darker shade as she stared straight at him in wide-eyed horror. And then she was falling. Falling almost slowly and gracefully as she collapsed to the ground.

It took another second or two for his brain to catch up to what he was seeing. Took a moment for him to notice the gaping hole that had opened up in the side of the head of the terrorist who had been holding Euphy, the sprawled corpse of the Eleven and the steadily increasing pool of blood.

He glanced slowly to his left, to where Jeremiah was standing in his opened cockpit with his gun still raised, before he was scrambling out of his harness and out of his own cockpit in order to get to Euphy.

She was kneeling on the floor next to the body, trembling and sobbing as she hunching in on herself. "Euphy!" He exclaiming as he knelt down next to her, bundling her up into his arms. "Oh God, Euphy. I'm so sorry. So sorry, Euphy." He apologized over and over again as he pressed a kiss into her hair, reassuring himself that she was really alive and well.

"Lelouch." She said between gasps for air and frame-wracking sobs. She hugged him as tightly as she could.

"It's okay, Euphy. You're safe now. I won't let anyone hurt you." He promised, glancing over her shoulder back to where Jeremiah had returned to his cockpit, ready to annihilate anyone who dared to intrude. "We're safe. Everyone's safe."

"They were going to take Milly." Euphy explained shakily. "I couldn't. She means so much to you. I didn't know what they were going to do to her. I couldn't let them . . ." She trailed off into a series of hiccups as she buried her face in his chest.

For Milly. Euphy had sacrificed herself for the sake of Milly. Because he cared about Milly, his sister had willingly given herself up to terrorists. She was too selfless. She'd done this for the sake of his feelings without even realizing that whether it was Milly or Euphy, he'd have been equally devastated if he'd lost either one of them.

Lelouch took a deep breath to calm the surge of adrenaline racing through his veins. Euphy was fine and Suzaku was with Milly and the others even as he thought about it. Miraculously, everyone he loved was safe and sound.

He rose to his feet slowly, pulling Euphy up with him before lifting her bridal style and returning to his cockpit. She glanced warily at him as he closed up his cockpit, but before he could ask her what was wrong, the radio cut back in to the middle of a conversation between Jeremiah and the Knight of Three.

"Yes, I shot down one of the two SakuraCore helicopters that took off from the roof a moment ago. I'm pursuing the other one as we speak. Without trying to sound rude, why am I taking orders from you, Sir Gottwald? Where is Prince Lelouch?" Weinberg asked.

"My prince is busy at the moment. We've recovered Princess Euphemia safely." Jeremiah replied.

"Lord Weinberg," Lelouch said, interrupting the discussion. "Pursue the helicopter and destroy it."

"Yes, your highness. I'm firing now." The Knight said before pausing for a moment. "It's down."

"Thank you." Lelouch sighed before switching channels to the one that would connect him with the Captain of his guard. "Hector."

"Lelouch?" The man queried, sounding more or less at ease. Though that wasn't surprising. The JLF had left their Knightmares at home when they'd decided to jack the hotel with the exception of a couple of Glasgows that had been modified into an oversized coil gun in an underground service tunnel – the only viable access point to the hotel for ground troops. Cornelia had lost a handful of men there and collapsing the tunnel on top of the contraption had been one of the first orders he'd given to his Royal Guard once they'd landed.

"I'll be upset if you leave any of them alive." He said darkly.

"I understand. I'll pass along the message." Hector said curtly.

"Good." Lelouch nodded, reaching to change the channel again and connect himself with Cornelia. But his fingers were caught by Euphy instead.

"Lelouch . . . are you . . . are you mad at me?" She asked hesitantly.

He glanced down at her in surprise. "No." He answered immediately. He wasn't angry at her, just a bit frantic about the decisions she had made. He was, however, furious at Kusakabe and his men. "I'm not mad at you at all, Euphy. You were very brave." He reassured her, pulling her close into another hug. "I'm glad that you're okay. For a few minutes there, I thought that we'd lost you."

"I scared you?" She asked, almost childishly.

"What kind of question is that?" He demanded. "Of course you scared me. I was terrified. How would I ever have been able to face Cornelia if something had happened to you?"

She chuckled mirthlessly as she rested her forehead against his shoulder. "I'm glad you're not mad at me." She breathed. She seemed to have calmed down a bit already, which was remarkable considering the ordeal she'd been put through.

"Come on. Cornelia's waiting for you." He said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze before reaching for the controls.

Their descent was uneventful, though Euphy chose not to look at the way they were dangling from a thirty story building by nothing more that a pair of high tensile strength wires. Almost as soon as he crossed the bridge separating the hotel from the road, his Knightmare was surrounded by Gloucester's – Cornelia and her Glaston Knights.

"Are you ready?" He asked as he glanced down at his sister, before wiping away some of the blood smudged on her cheek.

"Yeah." She nodded slightly.

He let them out of the cockpit and the second their feet hit the ground, Euphy was snatched away from him and into Cornelia's suffocating embrace. "Euphy. Euphy. Euphy. I was so worried about you. Don't ever do this to me again." Cornelia repeated over and over again. It was the first time Lelouch had ever seen her composure completely cracked in public. Though, granted, the Glaston Knights were doing a good job of shielding them from the reporters that had swarmed around the area.

Lelouch watched them enviously, a sudden debilitating void opening up in his chest as he watched their sisterly affection. It had been eight months now since he'd last held his own sister. Eight months that he'd been without her cheerful nature and caring smile. Eight months since he'd confirmed with his own eyes that Nunnally was okay – that she was healthy and safe.

It had been . . . too long. Far far too long since he'd been able to touch her and laugh with her and see that gentle smile that she wore so well.

He turned away from Euphy and Cornelia, unable to stomach the sight of Cornelia checking Euphy over for injuries between embracing her and slipped out of the Glaston Knights' encirclement. Instead, he watched as the Lancelot similarly made it's way down the building and came to a halt a few dozen feet away in the center or a writhing crowd of reporters.

If Suzaku had left the hostages, it meant that the men Cornelia had sent in were done with their cleanup of the JLF and that the extraction team had finally reached the conference room. His friends would be down in a few minutes and he'd be able to see for himself that they were unharmed.

He gestured for Suzaku to come out. The pilot of the striking white Knightmare that had saved his life in the assassination attempt a few weeks ago was still a mystery to the general public. Now was as good of a time as any to reveal that it was Suzaku who had saved him then and who had just rescued the Britannian hostages.

Suzaku seemed to understand his reasoning and emerged from the cockpit of the Lancelot a few minutes later with his uniform looking pristine and his hair slightly less unruly than it usually was. Of course, there was pandemonium as soon as his face became visible along with a handful of jeers and significantly more shouted questions. Suzaku cut a path through the crowd to where Lelouch was waiting for him without indulging the press.

Suzaku knelt before him when he arrived, showing his fealty to the cacophony of reporters taking pictures. Lelouch knew that by this time tomorrow, the image would be in every major newspaper in the country.

"Rise." He ordered quietly, to which his Knight complied. "How are the others?"

"They're fine. They're coming down in the elevator now. You don't need to worry. Lukas is with them." Suzaku assured him.

Lelouch grimaced slightly. "How is he? I don't imagine they left him alone after finding out he was a soldier."

"They beat him a bit and his leg was grazed during the firefight, but otherwise he's fine." His friend answered. "But I'm betting he's feeling pretty guilty right now for letting them take Euphy."

". . . yeah." Lelouch sighed. That would be just like Lukas, blaming himself for a situation that was beyond his control. "What about you?"

"I'm unhurt." Suzaku assured him with a smile. Though that wasn't quite what he'd meant. Once again, he'd sicked Suzaku on his own people in a one sided engagement.

"Good." He nodded instead of elaborating before glancing up to the entrance of the hotel where Milly was racing towards him. He allowed himself a moment to make sure that they were all alright, and ordered Suzaku to get Lukas medical attention before he was engulfed in Milly's hug.

Somehow, things had worked out in his favor and he hadn't had to sacrifice anyone he loved. He closed his eyes briefly and let himself sink into Milly's embrace. It seemed crisis had been averted for another day.

* * *

Jeremiah was growing used to his prince's silence. By now he was already well accustomed to merely being in attendance as the boy brooded or schemed or or read alone in his study. So tonight's routine wasn't exactly unique as he sat on the sofa in Lelouch's office and watched the prince stare out of his window into the garden.

They had returned to Tokyo with Princess Euphemia and the prince's friends rather than returning to Osaka that night. Not that Lelouch had been overly social with any of them after ensuring that they were all alive and unharmed. He'd simply sent Lukas and Suzaku (and therefore the Knight of Three as well) with Euphemia to the estate Princess Cornelia had recently purchased to make sure Princess Euphemia felt safe before doing the same for the Ashford group and deploying his Royal Guard around the school.

Since then, he'd withdrawn into his office, foregoing greetings to both his wife and assistant in favor of brooding. Though this particular bout of silent contemplation seemed different from any of the others he'd witnessed.

The prince was slouched back in his seat with his chin resting in his hand as he stared at the garden or, occasionally, the folded paper bird on his desk. Any other time the prince managed to look productive - even if he was only thinking. But right now, there was a definite listlessness to his prince's demeanor that didn't seem to bode well.

It was twenty after nine when the prince cocked his head to the side and finally regained the scheming aura he wore so well. Forty-five minutes later the boy smiled at him.

"I never thanked you for what you did today, my Knight." Lelouch said eventually.

Jeremiah straightened slightly, his breath catching for a moment in his throat. Lelouch regularly acknowledged Suzaku as 'his Knight', but this was the first time outside of the scripted knighting ceremony and the boy had referred to him as such.

"You don't need to thank me, my prince."

He was well aware of his prince's shortcomings and weaknesses. It was his duty as Lelouch's Knight of Honor to make up for those. The boy lacked confidence with a firearm that he could make up for. In fact, if there was one thing he prided himself on outside of his piloting ability, it was his marksmanship.

"Nevertheless, you were the one who saved my sister's life." Lelouch said. "Thank you. If you hadn't been there . . ."

"I will always be a step behind you, my prince."

For a long moment the prince stared at him contemplatively before he finally snorted and glanced away. "It's Lelouch." He said at length. "You may address me by my name if you so choose."

So then, had he earned back his master's trust again? Is that what this meant?

"I'm honored, Lelouch."

"Don't be. It's not a big deal." The prince scoffed, gently poking the paper bird's wing with long, slender finger. "Tomorrow, I'll be needing you again. There's something I want to do, provided I can separate Suzaku from the Knight of Three. Dress inconspicuously."

"I understand." He nodded.

"Then you can go if -"

The prince's dismissal was interrupted when the door to his office flew open and Edith marched in. "I'm sorry for disturbing you, Lelouch." She apologized quickly. "Sir Hopkins is on the phone. He said it was an emergency."

The message brought the spark of purpose back to the boy's eyes. "Thank you, Edith." Lelouch said, waving her away in dismissal before flicking the phone on his desk onto speakerphone. "Adrian?"

"Lelouch, the train with the Sutherland's on it arrived empty." Adrian informed him frantically, "Not the decoy train with the Knights from Kyoto on it, but the real one. The automated log in the conductor's cabin says the train was forced to an unscheduled stop on the tracks for almost fifteen minutes. It's uncertain just who took them, though there's a good chance that it was the Kenshiki."

"What of the train's crew? The conductor and the engineers and the soldiers I had on it to protect the cargo?"

"We haven't found them yet. It's likely they were killed and thrown off the tracks."

The prince sighed heavily. "So then, the Kenshiki have stolen the Knightmares I had made for the Honorary Britannians. This is . . . unfortunate."

"Unfortunate?" Adrian asked in surprise. "They just stole one hundred and thirty-six _million _pounds worth of advanced military weaponry. Please approve of my order to hunt them down."

"No." Lelouch said. "Maintain the status quo and boost our defenses at the garrison. Prepare for the possibility of Knightmare combat. I'll discuss this with you again tomorrow evening when I return to Osaka."

There was a pause as the Commander tried to get past the implied insult – that the prince didn't trust him to carry out the work on his own. Not that that was what the prince had meant.

". . . I understand, your highness." Adrian said stiffly.

The prince hung up with the man a few moments later and silence fell between them. But only now that no one else could bear witness to his true reaction, Lelouch smirked.

Really, it was kind of scary when things went exactly how the prince planned them.

* * *

An: Well, here it is. The much awaited hotel-jacking incident. I hope you enjoyed it. I certainly did. Don't forget to leave a review.

Thanks for reading.

Allora

PS: Last chapter I gave a Thanksgiving greeting to you all since I didn't think I'd get this chapter finished in time. But since today is actually Thanksgiving here in Canada, I'll wish it to you all again. Happy Thanksgiving (for real real, not for play play). I'm so thankful that I'm able to come up with a story that people enjoy. Hopefully I'll finish it sometime in the next year.


	69. Chapter 69

Chapter 69

Jeremiah was reasonably certain that he could count the number of days in the last six months that he'd been out of his uniform on his fingers. He worked and he'd always loved his job, especially now that he was Lelouch's Knight. Clothes that didn't identify him as a soldier or a Colonel or a Knight had always made him feel uncomfortable and today was no exception.

However, Lelouch has asked him to dress inconspicuously and he figured since about a third of the city's population wore business suits every day, he was well and truly inconspicuous. That was, of course, until Lelouch and Kururugi came down the stairs dressed in scuffed jeans, weathered t-shirts and baseball caps. They looked like a pair of delinquents, especially when Lelouch smirked and slipped on a pair of sunglasses.

"We look like a mob boss and a couple of his thugs." The prince chuckled as he made his way to the coat room, rifling around in the closet before coming out with a fedora. "Here." He said, thrusting it at Jeremiah before examining himself in a conveniently placed mirror. "What car did you bring today, Jeremiah? Not the flashy red one?"

"No. You said to be inconspicuous so I brought the Lexus."

Kururugi snickered but turned away quickly to avoid the glare Jeremiah sent his way. The prince merely smirked before holding out his hand. "Keys, please. I'll be driving."

He handed them over without hesitation and followed the boy out of the house towards the vehicle where he and Kururugi were instructed to sit in the back.

For a long time, Lelouch sat in the driver's seat with the motor idling. In fact, it was almost long enough for him to wonder if the boy had his license. But then again, if Lelouch could pilot a Knightmare, there was no reason for him not being able to drive a car.

"Lelouch?" Kururugi asked concernedly. "Are you backing out?"

"I'm debating over whether or not to blindfold you two." The prince said after a moment.

"If you do, you might as well not bother bringing us." Kururugi countered. Obviously he knew what this was all about. It was an explanation that hadn't been given to Jeremiah.

Lelouch sighed before throwing the car into drive and pulling out. "I suppose you're right."

Still, the very fact that the prince had been considering resorting to such a thing meant he had to be uncomfortable with this situation. That in turn made Jeremiah uncomfortable with the situation and made him wonder just what the boy was planning and why.

They drove for a long time, winding through a number of neighborhoods until it became apparent that they were driving aimlessly. Well over an hour later of the prince routinely looking out of his rear view mirror, Lelouch stopped the car on the side of the road in an uncrowded industrial park outside of the gate to a small, unlabeled building.

"We're here." Lelouch said solemnly before getting out of the car. Jeremiah followed, along with Kururgi and joined the prince at the ten foot chain-linked gate. "So. Which one of you wants to see if it's electrified?"

He glanced at Kururugi, who grimaced before reaching out to touch the fence. "It's fine."

Lelouch clucked his tongue and pulled out a pair of wire cutters and a screw driver from his pocket. "I'm not sure whether to be pleased that I didn't have to use these, or disappointed in the security." He sighed. "Oh well. Up and over for now."

"You don't know the code?" Kururugi asked incredulously.

But Lelouch only shrugged in response before putting his hands to the fence and beginning to climb over. Suzaku ran up the fence and was over in a matter of seconds before landing gracefully on the other side and standing guard. Jeremiah tried to shake off his uneasy feeling and followed suit.

That the prince was resorting to breaking and entering couldn't be a good thing. Just what were they doing here?

He followed warily at the prince's shoulder as the crossed the small parking lot and came up to the unlocked front door. In his experience, when you were breaking into a place and the door was unlocked, it was generally a bad sign.

"Lelouch, wait." He protested before pushing his way in front of the prince and entering the building first.

But it was silent and empty and dark inside with all of the machinery powered down. It looked like some kind of lab and the layout of the place made him uncomfortable. There were plenty of bulky objects that would be easy to hide behind. In fact, he couldn't be completely certain that they were alone even now. Something in his gut was warning him of danger and he did _not_ want to let the prince into this building.

However, the choice was taken out of his hands when Lelouch walked in calmly behind him and flicked the lights on. "Figures this is what she'd do with it." He snorted quietly as he moved around the room inspecting this that or the other.

He followed reluctantly, but hadn't made more than two steps towards the prince when he caught a glint of silver racing through the air straight towards Lelouch.

"Lel-" His cry of warning was cut off when he felt the cold, hard edge of a blade press warningly against his throat. Thankfully, Kururugi saw it and pushed the prince out of the way in time, taking the blow himself. The small metal blade bounced off of Kururugi's arm and clattered on the ground at the prince's feet.

"Don't move, Sir." A feminine voice said softly in his ear.

For a moment, no one said anything, then the prince gracefully picked up the weapon that had been thrown at him and examined it. "Shuriken, Sayoko? You must be angry with me."

"It was thrown to deflect, Master Lelouch." The woman holding him hostage replied. Indeed, the growing welt on Kururugi's forearm hadn't even drawn blood.

There was a long moment of silence following the revelation as Lelouch stared at his assailant with his eyes slightly narrowed. "You can let him go now." The prince said eventually.

"Of course, Master. I was only assuring you that the security here is sufficient." The woman said as she withdrew the knife from his throat and stepped away. When he glanced over his shoulder at the woman, he was appalled to find her, not only an Eleven but also dressed as a maid. The blade she'd threatened him with was nowhere in sight.

"Sufficient?" Lelouch asked archly. "We walked in through the front door."

"Unlike yourself, we are working on a limited budget. I disabled most of the more troublesome defenses when I noticed your arrival so that you wouldn't break them. Even so, just myself would have been enough to disable you and your Knights." The woman explained. "I assure you we are well protected here. Though you are more than welcome to review our defenses while you're here."

"Who is this woman?" Jeremiah growled darkly, fingers itching to reach for his gun. Not only had she made an attempt on Lelouch's life, but she'd also assaulted him. She deserved death for her impertinence.

"Ah, right. This is Sayoko Shinozaki, the thirty-seventh successor to the Shinozaki School of martial arts." The prince introduced. Kururugi's eyes widened in surprise, so apparently that meant something to the Eleven.

"Before the invasion the Shinozaki clan were regularly hired out as expert assassins." Lelouch clarified. "She's been serving me since I began living with the Ashfords."

"As an assassin?" Suzaku asked, appalled.

"No." The prince replied easily. "Sayoko, I'm sure introductions aren't strictly necessary, but these are my Knights, Suzaku and Jeremiah."

The woman bowed politely to him and smiled charmingly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Gottwald. And you, Kururugi-sama. It's an honor to meet the heir of the Kururugi house."

Suzaku coughed uncomfortably and glanced away. "Actually, I'm not the heir. I was disowned."

"No one can take away your bloodline." Sayoko returned politely.

Lelouch saved the Eleven any further scrutiny on the subject by abruptly changing the topic. "Did you tell her I was here?" He asked the maid and Jeremiah wondered just what kind of person the prince had come here to meet given the security.

"Yes. I gave her a few minutes to compose herself." Sayoko answered.

". . . How is she?"

"You can see for yourself." The woman said curtly before leading the way towards the back of the building where an industrial elevator stood. "You'll need your key. I'm going to power up the rest of our security again." She said before curtseying politely. "Gentlemen."

Lelouch frowned before pulling a key out of his pocket and sliding it into the slot beneath the call button. He was surprised when they emerged in the basement a moment later to find that it was nothing like he'd expected. Jeremiah found himself in a cozy residential suite rather that an underground storage room.

The prince chuckled and ran his hand along the wall nostalgically. "Nina . . ." He said, shaking his head ruefully. "This looks exactly like my old place at Ashford. It's a convincing copy. I almost feel like I'm there."

Jeremiah took note of their surroundings more carefully after that, sating the curious part of him that had wanted to know how his prince had lived in exile. It was decent. Moderate in every way. But then, when Lelouch had been living at Ashford, he'd been trying to not stand out. At least it wasn't a squalid little hovel like he imagined Kururugi's rumored apartment to be.

Of course all of his musings about the quality of the residence were brought to a halt when they crossed into a sitting room and came face to face with a young teenaged girl in a wheelchair.

"Nunnally. . ." Lelouch said breathlessly.

Jeremiah couldn't believe what his eyes were showing him. Princess Nunnally was alive. No, not only was she alive and well, but she was also carefully hidden away from the Emperor's gaze. It wasn't any wonder why Lelouch had been so paranoid about bringing them along.

* * *

This was awkward.

Gino glanced at Princess Euphemia out of the corner of his eye, still slightly flushed and peeved as she quickly made her way across the campus of Ashford Academy. There had been a major fallout at the li Britannia residence and he and the girl's bodyguard Lukas had had the unfortunate pleasure of witnessing it.

Princess Cornelia had insisted that Euphemia return to the homeland. In contrast, the younger princess had insisted on returning to school. For some reason, he'd never considered the the royal family could be so very normal while in private. He didn't have any siblings himself, but watching the two of them fight had been just like a television drama. There had been screaming, temper tantrums, logical arguments countered with pure stubbornness and, of course, the classic slamming of doors.

Of course, it wasn't like Princess Cornelia didn't have a good reason for wanting her sister to go back to Pendragon. There had been a media leak, a photo taken at _just_the right angle to show Princess Euphemia being embraced by the Chief General. In fact, the picture was so perfectly timed that it looked like both Cornelia and Lelouch were embracing the girl at the same time. And when you put Euphemia right next to Cornelia, it was impossible to deny a slight family resemblance.

The front page of this morning's newspaper had featured the picture along with the caption "Princess Euphemia saved from JLF by the Wolf."

All in all, it couldn't get much worse when it came to maintaining her anonymity. Which had apparently been the deal for letting the princess come to Ashford Academy in the first place.

He wished he hadn't been left with this to deal with. In fact, if it hadn't been for Prince Lelouch specifically asking him to watch over Princess Euphemia and check out the security of the school to see if it was up to snuff as a favor, he would have flat out declined. This wasn't his mission. The only reason he'd accepted was because she was a princess and because this was a viable means of getting back into the prince's good books.

And getting back into the prince's good books was exactly what he needed after finding out that the bodies of Kusakabe and a handful of others hadn't been found in the wreckage of the helicopters he'd shot down. Someone had obviously taken them away before the military had got to them and that could only mean that either Kusakabe was alive or that his body had been taken away by some kind of reserve force. Either way, it meant he hadn't done his job correctly.

Of course, he understood that this was just a way for the prince to separate him from Suzaku, but at this point it didn't really matter. He was about ninety-eight percent certain that Suzaku wasn't manipulating the prince so he trusted the Eleven to spend a day without him while Lelouch used him for whatever secret purpose Gino was being excluded from.

He wasn't suspicious. In his experience, all of the royals were like that. They may respect the Emperor, but that didn't mean they wanted the Emperor's Knights interfering in their private affairs. Princess Guinevere had kindly gifted him with an expensive wine tour to distract him from the fact that she was going to meet her lover. Prince Lelouch sent him on an errand to disguise the fact that he wasn't wanted. Besides, it wasn't his job to interfere in the prince's business anyway.

"Oh my God, it really is her. Look."

"Does that mean Lukas is actually her Knight? He looks in rough shape today. Wonder what he had to do to save her."

"Should we talk to her?"

"Who's that other blonde guy with her?"

"No wonder she was so chummy with that Eleven Lelouch chose."

It was his first time out of uniform since coming to Area Eleven. But the Ashford school uniform he'd put on was hardly more inconspicuous than his Rounds uniform, judging from the chatter around them.

Lukas was glaring darkly at anyone who attempted to approach. Given the current condition of his face, it wasn't surprising that none of the students had come within a ten meter radius of the princess.

Lukas had taken off just past midnight last night saying that he needed to talk to Lelouch. Gino wasn't a fool and knew damned well that he was intending to go there and grovel. He'd been in the same boat just days ago and didn't envy the guy judging from his own experience on the receiving end of Prince Lelouch's anger. He hadn't necessarily been surprised when Lukas had shown up again just over an hour later sporting a new black eye.

They were most of the way across campus when Lukas allowed the first student to approach. She was the blond bombshell he'd seen at the prince's wedding a few months ago. Milly Ashford – Prince Lelouch's foster sister and another one of the hostages who had been taken at Lake Kawaguchi.

"Euphy." Milly breathed in relief, pulling the princess into a hug. "You're okay? Princess Cornelia bustled you away at the lake before any of us could talk to you. They didn't hurt you at all?"

"No. I'm fine. Lelouch saved me." Euphemia answered. Though Gino noted she left out the part when they had all thought that she'd already been killed and the prince had personally initiated a retaliatory strike.

They continued talking about people Gino didn't know so he tuned out of the conversation and focused on their surroundings instead. He figured the chance of an assassin jumping out of the group of gawking teenagers around them was pretty slim, but it was kind of interesting to see how the other ninety-five percent of the Empire's population received their secondary education.

In that way, he could understand why the Third Princess had chosen to come here for her schooling. It was interesting and gave the world more perspective – which was something he figured the princess had been craving. Not that he knew her all that well. In fact, he'd only met her twice before (one of which had been at Prince Lelouch's wedding). But even then as she'd introduced herself as perfectly politely as one would expect from the upper classes, it had been easy for him to tell that she was bored with her life.

The mundane conversation the princess had been having with Milly was interrupted by the sound of a bell and they both blissfully moved on. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy body guarding, but if he was guarding someone it was usually the Emperor and that was usually only in places that there was almost a certainty of an assassination attempt. He wasn't cut out for the boring and mundane like this. He liked action.

He escorted the princess to her first class and bowed politely. "Princess, I'll leave you in Lukas' capable hands for now. Prince Lelouch has asked me to look into a couple things while I'm here. I'll be back in one hour to escort you to your next class."

She looked surprised, but stifled it a moment later. "Of course, Sir Weinberg." She said, looking thoroughly miserable at the current situation. But if she'd come here to escape the status quo of noble life and study anonymously, he could understand why she'd be upset. "I'll see you in one hour."

He waited at the door until she was seated while her teacher stuttered a nervous "P-p-princess Euphemia!" before turning away and heading back towards the main gate. At least the prince had included something interesting in the favor he'd asked. Probing the school's defenses would give him at least a little entertainment.

He wondered how long he could toy with the prince's security team before they got wise.

* * *

Nunnally's heart was pounding somewhere around the vicinity of her throat as Lelouch breathed out her name.

It was really him.

She bowed her head to hide the tears that began forming in her eyes and clenched her fists together in her lap. She . . . had a lot of conflicting emotions when it came to her brother at the moment.

"Lelouch." She said, the sound coming out far more sharply than she'd intended.

". . . you're angry with me?" He asked, voice cracking slightly.

She frowned at the almost frightened tone of his voice. "What are you afraid of, Lelouch? You went to Pendragon and faced our father and then you went to war. And now you're back here in Area Eleven fighting the terrorists. Surely a crippled teenaged girl doesn't scare you."

What was she saying? These weren't the words she wanted to say to him but they just seemed to be slipping out. This was horrible. He was going to hate her. He was going to leave!

"That's where you're wrong, Nunnally. No one else in the world can hurt me as badly as you can. So in a way, you're very terrifying. But you're also the person I love most in the world." Lelouch said softly as he slowly approached her chair.

Nunnally held her breath. Even with the terrible things she'd said, he wasn't angry with her or disappointed. He was still coming closer to her. A second later she felt him kneeling at the side of her chair as he gently lifted her hands out of her lap and kissed them.

"I missed you, Nunnally." He said, forehead resting against her knee.

She took her hand back and let it drift through his hair and across his cheek. It was still the same face, the same eyes and aristocratic cheekbones. The same strait nose and wide lips that had always adorned her beloved brother's face. He hadn't changed there, at least. But as she deliberately slipped her fingers under the loose collar of his t-shirt to run across his shoulder she felt the puckered scar from where he'd been shot.

He grabbed her hand quickly and pulled it away from the evidence of his wound, squeezing it tightly instead. "I'm fine, Nunnally."

"This time." She amended. "They wouldn't even let me sit by you in the hospital, you know. Even after all the time you spent beside me whenever I was in the hospital."

Lelouch had spent days with her at her side when their mother had been shot. And he'd made a point of accompanying her for every doctor's visit up until he'd gone back to Pendragon. He'd always been with her when she'd fallen sick – even to the point of skipping his classes to stay with her. And it had really devastated her when she hadn't been able to be with him in his time of need. That she'd been stuck outside while Lelouch had been barely hanging on to life.

"I'm sorry. I'm fine now. You don't have to worry." Lelouch said soothingly.

"But they killed Clovis." She muttered miserably, feeling him tense slightly under her fingers. "I get so scared when I think it could have been you. The same when you just disappeared for months on end and no one could find you after your wedding. I didn't know what had happened to you."

"I'm sorry." He apologized again.

"And you never even -" She cut off when she heard someone else shift in the room. It wasn't Sayoko. She was intimately familiar with the way her caretaker moved by now. She could automatically distinguish between the almost featherlight footsteps of Sayoko and the presence in the room now.

She was surprised that Lelouch would behave like this in front of someone else. Even when they'd been at school together, there had been a marked difference to how he'd doted on her when they were alone and when they were with other people. And now that he had rejoined their family, she imagined he was even more protective of his reputation. Yet here she had him practically grovelling at her feet.

"Who else is here?" She asked with a frown, canting her head to the side to try to hear more clearly.

"Let me introduce you." Lelouch said, before not one but two separate presences approached her chair. The first on the left had long, graceful strides. She imagined the person was fairly tall and poised, though she had no way of knowing if that were actually true or not. The second on the right had shorter strides, but they seemed more firm and somehow solid. Like a soldier, she thought.

She held out her hand as they also knelt and the one on the right took it first, but even as her fingers closed around the hand, tracing over calluses and an old, thin scar running up the back of his hand, she knew who this was.

"Su -Suzaku? Is it really you?" She asked, though she didn't know why it surprised her so much. Suzaku was her brother's Knight now. Of course Lelouch would trust him not to tell anyone about her.

"Nunnally." Suzaku said warmly, kissing the back of her hand like some kind of fairytale knight. "It's wonderful to see you again."

She ignored the proper courtly etiquette and leaned forward in her chair to hug him instead. "Suzaku, I'm so glad you came. It's been so long."

Suzaku chuckled lightly, the same kind of laugh she'd heard in the video only a few days ago and she smiled brightly. "Then," She said as she took her other visitor's hand, tracing over long, firm fingers. These were strong hands, slightly callused but also soft. "Are you Lord Gottwald, my brother's other Knight of Honor?" She asked.

"I am, your highness. It's an honor to meet you." The man answered, his voice low and smooth. It was the same voice that had announced to the nation that Clovis had been killed and that Lelouch had been shot. It was a voice she'd always thought she'd hate for that reason alone. But here in the confines of her little prison, he seemed infinitely more personable.

"I'm glad to meet you too. And I'm glad my brother has such wonderful people to look after him." She said.

"Come now, Nunnally. You make it sound like I need a babysitter." Lelouch teased and this was also something that hadn't changed. Lelouch had always known how to lighten a mood. He'd always known exactly what to say to make her feel better and divert her attention from worrying things.

"Well, if only it weren't true." She teased back, loving the way they still had this rhythm. They could still be like this with each other despite everything that had changed. They could still go back to how things had been . . . or at least she could fool herself into thinking that without too much effort.

"Would you get us some tea please, Sayoko?" Lelouch requested, pushing himself up to his feet to take the back of her chair.

"Of course, Master Lelouch." Sayoko replied immediately.

"Sneaky bitch." Lord Gottwald muttered under his breath, and Lelouch cleared his throat sharply to warn him to watch his language. "My apologies, your highnesses."

"I'm afraid we don't have any lemon for your tea, Lelouch." She apologized to change the subject and pretend she hadn't heard. Lelouch had always been overprotective of what she was exposed to and what she wasn't. She'd let him continue believing her blind to that type of language for the time being. "We stopped buying them."

"That's fine." He said, reaching over the back of her chair to stroke her hair. "Milk and sugar is fine. I see you're wearing the locket."

"Of course," She said with a small smiled as she ran her thumb lovingly over the carved flower petals. "It was a gift from you and mother."

She'd worn it every day since she'd received it. She'd keep wearing it everyday from here on too. It was the only family heirloom they had and likely the only belonging of their mother's that she'd ever get.

"It looks beautiful on you." Lelouch said and she felt it warm her to the core. She'd needed this. She'd needed Lelouch back, even if it was only for a couple hours.

* * *

Lelouch had had a good day.

He'd woken up that morning to find a list of over forty noble families and prominent people sitting on his desk written in Abigail's neat, cursive handwriting along with a note informing him that he'd returned sooner than expected so that she was still working on a fair number of them. Even so, they were far better results than he'd expected and he'd recognized some of the names from The List Schneizel had sent with him. It was worth losing the bet to get her in control of the nobility.

Then he'd spent the better part of six hours with Nunnally. He couldn't believe how much just seeing her healthy and well had relieved him. And he couldn't' believe how much he'd missed her. For months he'd been suppressing every urge to see her, telling himself it was too risky or that visiting her would invalidate the reason for sending her into hiding, but in the end it had been so incredibly easy to go to her.

And so incredibly soothing to his mind. Just visiting her had assuaged him of all of the worries he'd had about her. She was fine. She was probably not very happy and slightly angry with him, but she was still fine. He could stand to have her angry with him so long as she was safe.

Today had been a blessing, the best day he'd had since returning to the royal family. So it was a pity it would have to end on such a sour note. However, he needed to return to Osaka before the Kenshiki decided to press their new advantage. But before he could do that, there was something else he had to deal with first.

Jeremiah walked calmly at his shoulder, each stride matching his own. He realized that he'd become accustomed to the man's presence. Jeremiah was always with him – would always be with him – and he hadn't needed last nights declaration to prove it to him.

He figured his Knight was pleased that he'd decided to reveal his greatest secret to them. Suzaku had already known that Nunnally was alive, but to Jeremiah it had to have come as a surprise. Still, Nunnally's survival wasn't the only secret his Knight was now privy to, which was precisely the reason why he had the man with him at the moment.

He'd sent Suzaku to Ashford Academy to rejoin with the Knight of Three. Under the circumstances, it wasn't good to keep Suzaku out from under the watchful gaze of Weinberg for too long, especially since the Round was already suspicious of Suzaku's intentions. But it was also a convenient way to keep Suzaku away from his Geass. He still wasn't sure how – if ever – he would explain it to his friend.

"How many are there?" He asked as he entered the maximum security prison.

"Nine, your highness." The warden answered quickly, a middle-aged balding man in a tan uniform. "None of them would say anything useful, even under torture."

"Do you have their ranks?" He asked.

"Yes." The man answered, handing him the folding that had been tucked under his arm. "The highest ranking member of the JLF that we've captured is Lieutenant Colonel Dai Chiba."

A Lieutenant Colonel. The same rank as that bastard Kusakabe. "Put him in an interrogation room."

"Right away, your highness." The warden bowed before going off to see to the order personally.

He was only left waiting ten minutes before he was told the interrogation room had been made ready for him and he was led away further into the prison. This wasn't a regular prison. It was a penitentiary specially designed for the hosting of dangerous, high profile criminals where there was a chance of a rescue attempt. In short, it was a prison Clovis had made for those who had opposed him.

Lieutenant Colonel Dai Chiba's eyes widened momentarily when he saw who his interrogator was about to be before he politely bowed his head. "Your highness, it's an honor that you came here personally. I'd stand, but your men have handcuffed me to the chair."

Lelouch quirked an eyebrow before taking the seat opposite of the terrorist. "I see." He said. "You're quite polite for a prisoner."

The man only smiled in response. "I assume you're here to question me about the JLF after the hotel jacking yesterday."

"You seem quite knowledgeable despite being incarcerated." Lelouch countered.

Chiba shrugged. "We were put under a double watch during the incident and your guards talk. One of them told me that I'd either be seeing the light of day or executed, depending on whether or not you were as ruthless as the news made you out to be. Seeing that you're here, I'm guessing that you are."

"Is that why you're being so polite?"

"Would you rather I screamed obscenities at you?" The man asked archly. "Personally, I don't see the point. I have come to terms with the inevitability of my death. My only regret is that I will die by an enemy's hand. If given the choice, I'd rather take my life myself."

Lelouch smiled. "Then, how about you tell me about the JLF and I'll see what I can do?"

Chiba smiled back. "You do prefer the obscenities route, don't you, your highness?"

"I don't know what you've heard about me from within the walls of this place, but I'm not the kind of person to take threats to my loved ones lightly. I will destroy the JLF." Lelouch said firmly.

"And the Kenshiki Faction?" The terrorist asked.

"Them too."

The man chuckled mirthlessly. "I think that you're rather heavy handed, Prince Lelouch. But then, so was your brother."

"You think so?" Lelouch asked.

He should have just skipped ahead to the Geass and gotten the interrogation over with, but this man was interesting. When he thought about it, his only real experience with Area Eleven's terrorists was with the Kenshiki and Kallen Stadtfeld. Both of those parties were hotheaded and rash. Being able to talk civilly to a man who would likely attempt to assassinate him should he let him go was far too fascinating of a conversation to pass up. It was giving him a perspective into the mindset of those who legitimately opposed him.

"Don't you? You will arbitrarily exterminate the entire JLF for the actions of a single commanding officer." Chiba said with a shrug. "How is that different than massacring an entire community for the actions of a few terrorists?"

"You're referring to Shinjuku." Lelouch noted.

"Sometimes the guards will let us have the newspaper when they're done with them. In the case of Shinjuku, some of them thought it was a real hoot. But the slaughter of Japanese civilians isn't anything new to the Britannian military."

"I find it interesting that you knew it was Clovis who ordered the liquidation of Shinjuku rather than myself."

The man's gaze darkened slightly. "We knew Clovis better than any of the newspaper companies. It was easy to know what kind of man he was by seeing the tactics he used."

"So just what is it that you think you know about me?" Lelouch asked with a slight smirk.

"I don't pretend to know anything about you, your highness. I've been incarcerated here since before you even came to this country." Chiba shrugged. Lelouch leaned back in his seat, slightly disappointed. It would have been interesting to see how he was viewed by the enemy. "But I know that man." Chiba continued, nodding towards Jeremiah.

Jeremiah stiffened slightly while Lelouch gave a predatory smirk. "Oh? And what is it you know about my Knight?"

"He's the leader of the Purist Faction and generally deemed more ruthless than even Clovis. He hates the Japanese. He's recruited Honorary Britannians for secret missions only for them to never be heard from again. He's got enough money and power to get away with murder and frequently has. I thought it was interesting that you chose such a man to protect you." Chiba says. "Perhaps that says something about you, your highness."

"Perhaps it does." Lelouch replied. Chiba hadn't told him anything he didn't already know about Jeremiah. His Knight's past, all of his old mission reports, had been thoroughly looked into. He'd been especially interested in the operation that had linked to Code-R. While he hadn't approved of the way Jeremiah had used one of the army's Honorary Britannians, reprimanding him for it again wouldn't change the fact that that young private was dead.

However, it did bring to light the fact that the JLF had spies implanted in the military. They'd used the Honorary Britannian system to infiltrate their armed forces and it was something he would certainly be looking into. Perhaps his suspicions about Kondo weren't so far off the mark.

"It was also interesting because your mother was a commoner, wasn't she? Isn't one of the stances of the Purist Faction that commoners shouldn't be allowed to pilot Knightmares? And wasn't your mother a Knight?" Chiba continued.

Lelouch smiled as he caught onto the man's game. He was trying to lead the conversation, to keep them focused on trivial matters of no real importance to keep his attention away from the JLF. But it wouldn't work.

"I am also a Knight." He answered. "Should Jeremiah wish to, I'm confident he could kill me right now for the imagined transgression of my stepping outside of my social bounds. But then, he could also kill you right now. I suggest you keep that in mind as we begin our talk about the JLF."

"I already told you, I'm prepared to die. Your threats won't work on me." Chiba said confidently.

"Then, if you're resigned to your fate, you might as well tell me everything you know. After all, if won't affect you either way after your dead." Lelouch said slyly. "If you cooperate maybe I'll even let you do it yourself like you wanted."

"See, this is how you Britannians differ from us. You people only think about your own gains while we have to consider the well being of the collective whole." Chiba said leaning back in his chair.

"Your 'collective whole' is suffering because of the continued action of terrorist factions like the JLF. This Area can't be considered stable until you terrorists stop resisting. And until you stop resisting, funds cannot be allotted to benefit Japanese civilians."

"We resist because of the atrocious way you Britannians treat the Japanese." Chiba countered.

"Do you really?" Lelouch asked. "Are you sure it's not just for the sake of your pride?"

Chiba glared. It was the first time Lelouch had sensed hostility from the man, but he quickly took a deep breath and got himself back under control. "If you're trying to provoke me so I'll let something slip, it won't work."

"I'm not trying to provoke you at all." Lelouch replied. "I'm just curious about your opinion."

"This is our country which you Britannians stole from us through an unprovoked act of war. Your Knightmares massacred our people and you expect us to sit still and accept it?" Chiba finally said, his tone clipped with hidden anger.

"That didn't answer the question." Lelouch pointed out. "If you were more concerned for the people, you would surrender to prevent more losses. But if you're concerned about your national pride, then of course you would fight to the bitter end."

"You don't understand what some of our people have been through. The Japanese were systematically slaughtered by Britannians during the invasion and you expect them to put their trust in the Britannian government?"

"Don't tell me I don't understand. I was here during the invasion. On foot walking through a war zone with no one to protect me but another ten year old boy. I perfectly understand what the Japanese have been through and their helplessness." Lelouch said sharply. "But that doesn't give you the excuse to continue their suffering.

"Now," He continued with a sigh. "I loved Japan. Before the invasion, it was a country unlike anything I'd ever experienced before. I'm not a villain despite being the Emperor's son. I would love nothing more than to go back in time to carefree summer days at the Kururugi Shrine, however I am enough of a realist to realize that that will never happen. Even should the JLF miraculously succeed in liberating Japan from Britannia's clutches, it will never be the same. Roughly one third of Area Eleven's population is Britannian, all of your major cities have been rebuilt in Britannian fashion and the economy had not only been stabilized, but is driven by Britannian industry.

"At this point in time, liberating from Britannia would be the death knell for Japan. You would be a crippled, wounded thing that would likely be swallowed up by the Chinese in the first year. Did you know that there are Japanese children in the ghettos who don't even know how to speak their native language? At most you would become a Britannian copy with a provincial flare. A more realistic outlook would be you plunging your country into a standard of living comparable to a third world country. Now tell me, is it really for the Japanese civilians that you continue to resist or is it for national pride? What does being able to call yourself Japanese really give you in the end if you don't even have access to the basic necessities of life?"

It wasn't quite his personal opinion, but it was a good argument and he wanted to see what the terrorist would say. How did you justify bringing suffering to the very people you were trying to protect?

"Many Japanese don't have access to the basic necessities of life even now." Chiba countered angrily.

"Yes. That's a situation I would like to remedy." Lelouch said, but he already knew the Lieutenant Colonel didn't have an adequate answer. This line of conversation had gone as far as it would go. Chiba wouldn't voluntarily betray his comrades, nor was he willing to change his point of view. But that was fine. He'd get the answers he wanted out of him one way or another. He activated his Geass, the bird sigil flaring brightly in his left eye. "Which is why I'd like you to answer all of my questions."

He felt Jeremiah shift nervously beside him and glanced at his Knight mildly. "I know you eavesdropped last time, Jeremiah."

"I'm very sorry, my prince." He apologized, bowing stiffly.

"You will never speak of this." He ordered and smirked slightly when he saw his Knight close his eyes in relief.

"I understand."

He turned back to the man he'd imprisoned with his Geass and began his questioning. He wanted to know everything about the JLF. No, he _needed_ to know everything. He needed to know if it was safe to pursue his plans against the Kenshiki while the JLF were circling around.

Those two were the biggest sharks in the water, but if both of them acted against him, or worse, if they joined forces, it might convince all of the smaller groups to join in. And if that happened, he would be facing a united Japan rather than a rabble of different resistance groups.

If that seemed likely, he would have to scrap his plans for the Kenshiki and focus on taking out the JLF quickly. But if that happened, he was fully aware that he'd just armed the Kenshiki with all the firepower they would need to begin another reign of terror.

He was well aware of the situation he'd just put himself in.

* * *

AN: Another chapter for you all. Hope you enjoyed it. I'm trying to crank out as many chapters as I can before Skyrim comes out on the 11th. Fair warning in advance, you will likely lose me for a few weeks after it's release (I pre-ordered it in August). Anyway, I'll try to get as much done as I can before then, but I do have schooling that I need to catch up on and work as well. Plus there's a new season of Bakuman out now along with a couple other good shows. I know that all makes me sound like a very busy girl but in actuality I still have quite a bit of free time for writing.

Anyway, don't forget to leave a review. Thanks for reading.

Allora


	70. Chapter 70

Chapter 70

He'd used his Geass.

C.C. reclined on Lelouch's bed as she waited for him to return, mulling over her thoughts. She was connected to Lelouch through their contract. In a way, she could always feel his mind. As if it were tied on the other end of a very long piece of string. When he used the power she'd given him, it was like he gave a sharp tug on the string which let her know.

Usually she wasn't this sensitive to it. But then again, usually her contractors were using their Geass' left and right so she became acclimatized to it. When Lelouch used it, it was like a mental shock to her system.

She wondered what kind of situation had made him call on his last resort.

It made her nervous. She shouldn't have let him leave without her. It wasn't until after he'd left that she had found out about the hotel jacking at Lake Kawaguchi. But even after that operation, she'd expected him to return directly to Osaka to oversee his plans with the Kenshiki.

It wasn't like Lelouch to abandon one of his schemes right in the middle of it.

She'd pestered Adrian repeatedly until he'd finally told her that Lelouch would be returning tonight. But what the delay was and why Lelouch could possibly be using his secret weapon she had no idea.

"Here you are." Marianne said, slipping into the room before flopping onto the bed with her head resting on C.C.'s stomach. "You look like some kind of lovesick schoolgirl."

"It's true." She replied in a deadpan. "I'm absolutely lost without my lover."

"You're so much more annoying when you say things like that." Marianne sighed.

"And you're so much more annoying when you come out all the time. Really, you should just let the girl stay in control."

Marianne didn't say anything for a long time so C.C. closed her eyes and let herself sink further into Lelouch's pillow. Somehow, even despite knowing it was just a standard issue, bottom of the line military bed, she felt more comfortable in this one that the one she had been officially assigned when they'd arrived.

". . . I just finished sending my report to Charles." Marianne said eventually, breaking the comfortable silence.

"Good. So I can look forward to you leaving soon." She said with a smile.

Marianne chuckled softly. "Well, I don't know about that. Knowing Charles, he won't even read it for a while. It isn't a matter of much importance, after all."

"I see."

"And even then, he could order us to stay and watch over Lelouch." She continued.

"Is that what you're going to suggest to him?" C.C. asked.

". . . I already did. I included it with my report." She answered after a moment's hesitation.

C.C. let out a long, heavy sigh. This was dangerous, but pushing any harder would likely raise suspicions. She made a non-committal hmm, as though it didn't interest her and refrained from speaking anymore.

"I know you think I'm a terrible mother, but he's still my son." Marianne said, sounding surprisingly vulnerable. She actually lifted her head to look at the young girl laying on top of her. Marianne didn't show weakness to just anyone.

"What part of the last seven years has made you his mother?" C.C. asked. "Simply giving birth to someone doesn't give you the right to call yourself a mother."

"You're hardly in a position to talk." Marianne countered. "Besides, what else could I have done? V.V. betrayed us all. He killed me and deliberately handicapped Nunnally. He hated me from the beginning. It would only have been a matter of time before V.V. assassinated my children as well and there would have been nothing I could do to stop him. The thing you call a curse is something he embraces openly."

"He's still young." C.C. shrugged. "There was a time when I didn't think it was so bad either. But then, he's not really the type to want to be connected with people, so maybe he'll endure it. Still, after Charles dies, I think he'll understand just what an unhappy reality immortality really is."

Marianne glanced at her sharply, but C.C. only stared back impassively. It was an inevitability that had nothing to do with Lelouch. Unless Charles took a Code, he would die. And since V.V. was almost obsessive about his brother – the motivation for Marianne in the first place had been jealousy of the attention he spent on her – the day that Charles died would devastate the little bastard and make him understand the absolute loneliness that immortality brought with it.

"You're probably right. But that probably won't make him any less of a handful to deal with." Marianne sighed.

"That's true."

* * *

Tohdoh watched via video surveillance as the sun began setting behind a custom painted Sutherland, silhouetting the frame in a valley halfway down the mountain. However, though there was an enemy unit dangerously close to their base, it was the truck next to it that his attention was focused on and the two men unloading ebony caskets onto the ground in a straight line.

Nine.

He already knew who they had to belong to.

Still, more worrying than the fact that their comrades were dead was the fact that their bodies were being delivered to the JLF's front doorstep. Prince Lelouch knew where they were.

One of them must have talked and given away the location of their secret base in the Narita mountains. And if they'd given up that much, there was no telling what else the prince knew about them too.

"Then we have no choice now. We have to assassinate Prince Lelouch." Kusakabe said firmly, despite the fact that he was currently in disgrace and that his leg, wrist and clavicle were all broken.

It had been his Four Holy Swords that had raced to the scene of the wreckage to rescue any survivors from the hotel before the Britannians could get there. Personally, Tohdoh wasn't sure if he would have bothered had he been there. Not only had Kusakabe recklessly lost the lives of their men, but he'd also shamelessly run away and left the others to die as he made his escape. He was an embarrassment to the JLF. Kusakabe was currently under review and the likelihood of him being demoted was high.

Tohdoh scowled at the man, but refrained from pointing out that it was because of his foolish actions that they were now having to consider engaging in open hostilities with the Viceroy. It was something they had wanted to avoid if they could until they were more certain of the situation. Jumping in without looking wasn't something the JLF usually tended to do.

No one said anything as they watched the Knightmare and truck start up and trundle back down the mountain road towards the city. And still no one said anything as the sun sank below the horizon and twilight fell of the inky black caskets in the valley. It was a very somber but tense mood that overtook the council room.

There was no movement. No far off explosions or the advancing whir of land spinners and rifle fire. There was just the silent stillness of an early November evening. Which didn't make sense.

By all rights, Prince Lelouch should have been trying his damnedest to annihilate them. They had taken his sister hostage and Tohdoh remembered how fanatical the prince had been as a boy when it came to protecting his sister Nunnally. The fact that the boy had come to the hotel personally suggested that he cared quite a bit for Princess Euphemia too. Therefore, he couldn't understand why there had only been a single Knightmare and why it hadn't initiated any kind of hostile activity.

The recon team that had been sent to observe the retreating truck and Sutherland returned an hour later reporting that the Knightmare had been loaded onto a transport and it, along with the two men from the truck were currently on the road heading towards Osaka.

Was that it? Prince Lelouch was too busy with the Kenshiki Faction to deal with them?

Finally, Katase sighed. "Send a team to go collect the bodies." He said tiredly, rubbing a hand over his face. But that wasn't surprising. Lieutenant Colonel Chiba, one of the deceased, had served directly under the General for many years. It had been a devastating blow to the General when he'd been captured.

"We have to make him pay for this." Kusakabe said again.

"Enough." Katase said. "If I'm not mistaken, one of those Britannians nailed something to one of the coffins. I want to see what was so important before we make any further decisions."

Sure enough, when the recovery team returned forty-five minutes later, there was an expensive paper envelope nailed onto the top of Lieutenant Colonel Chiba's casket. He wanted to take a peek inside to see the condition of the body, but thought it would be disrespectful and refrained.

_"__To __the __esteemed __leaders __of __the __Japan __Liberation __Front,_" Katase read aloud.

_"__As __requested __by __Lt. __Colonel __Kusakabe, __I've __returned __your __captured __comrades __to __you. __It's __unfortunate __that __they __had __to __be __returned __in __this __condition, __but __to __prevent __a __repeat __of __the __Lake __Kawaguchi __incident, __I'm __afraid __your __actions __forced __my __hand._

_ "What's really ironic is that I had no idea my brother had taken members of the JLF prisoner until you made your demands. So you brought this upon yourselves. However, despite this being an act of vengeance on my part, I can assure you I was humane. Eight of the nine prisoners I had in my custody were executed using a painless method of lethal injection. _

_ "Lt. Colonel Dai Chiba, who I interviewed myself, left a great impression on me and requested to take his own life. It was a request I allowed due to the quality of our interview. He was an interesting man. Under other circumstances, it would have been interesting to talk with him more. _

_ "I'm sure you're wondering what this letter is about. I'll be completely honest with you, before Lake Kawaguchi, I had no intention of engaging the JLF in war. There is a man amongst you whom I respect, and for that reason and a number of others all stemming from memories from before the invasion, I hadn't intended to pursue hostile actions against you at this time. _

_ "However, the fact remains that you participated in terrorist activities at Lake Kawaguchi. When I was sent here, I divided the troublemakers in Japan into terrorists and resistances. Until recently, you were a part of the later group. I intend to deal with resistances in an entirely different fashion than the terrorists. Going forward, I hope you keep this in mind. The only reason I am not currently breaking down your front door is because Lt. Colonel Chiba parlayed with me on your behalf. _

_ Regards, _

_ Lelouch vi Britannia, Eleventh Prince of the Empire, Viceroy of Area Eleven."_

Katase cocked his head to the side and sighed, rereading the letter silently to himself. "Tohdoh, you got that address from Lady Kururugi?" He asked a few minutes later.

"Yes, sir." He answered. Although the woman had been reluctant to give it to him, she had eventually relented.

"Go tomorrow. Find a way to contact Suzaku Kururugi. We can't delay this any longer." The General ordered.

"Yes, sir." He answered. He'd been hoping he'd be put in charge of this assignment. It wasn't very glamorous, but he was one of the few members of the JLF that had spent a considerable amount of time with the boy.

"We're just going to ignore the fact that Prince Lelouch knows where we are? He could send an army after us at any moment." Kusakabe protested.

"What do you suggest? That we flee?" Katase asked bitingly. Even the General's patience had to be wearing thin with Kusakabe's brash outbursts. Maybe Kusakabe didn't think he'd actually be punished, or maybe he thought the best way to move forward was to pretend like nothing had happened, but either way the man's remorselessness for his mistake had set everyone else in the room against him.

"We need to take out the Viceroy." Kusakabe insisted. "Before he takes us out."

Tohdoh had had enough of this. "Prince Lelouch is not the same enemy as Prince Clovis. Rushing in blindly is foolish. Furthermore, he is protected by a number of elite Britannian soldiers and Suzaku Kururugi, the only son of Prime Minister Kururugi."

"That boy's nothing but a traitor." Kusakabe retorted.

"Be that as it may," He continued, "the fact remains that he's a dangerous enemy. Especially now that we know he was given special clearance to pilot that prototype Knightmare. It's obvious Lelouch isn't anti-Japanese. He has a Japanese Knight and has chosen Japanese soldiers to fight with him in Osaka. He also organized relief for the victims of the Shinjuku massacre."

"It's just lip service. A publicity stunt to make you think just this. You'll note that he doesn't have any Japanese members of his Royal Guard." The disgraced man argued.

"That's hardly surprising since his Royal Guard are responsible for protecting his life. He has to trust them immensely." General Katase said. "And we're not the only ones with spies in the Britannian army. This is something he must know by now."

"So you're just going to give in to him and let him appease you because he didn't bring his army with him to drop off the bodies of the prisoners he killed. Don't forget that they're dead. Lieutenant Colonel Chiba was killed by that bastard prince and you're going to let it slide? Why are you reluctant to kill him? Are you really working towards the liberation of Japan?"

The silence that met the outburst was deafening and no one moved, frozen to the spot due to such ridiculous accusations. There was no one in the room who loved Japan more than Katase. The General had sacrificed everything for the JLF and their collective cause. He wanted to free Japan, but he wanted Japan to be strong enough to stand on it's own on the day that they could finally call themselves independent.

It wasn't just a rush to throw off the Britannian mantle of control that had been cast over them. First they needed stability and a means of uniting the Japanese. They defied Britannia because they had to, but a large part of their operations was also based around securing the resources they would need to keep Japan running after it had been freed. Strategic fortifications, government owned utilities, armories, they hit them all in an attempt to garner what they would need for the future of Japan. They had stockpiles of resources tucked away for the day they finally liberated Japan.

This was enough. Kusakabe was just digging himself a deeper hole and aggravating everyone else in the room as well. It was one thing to be angry, but to deliberately call the General's intentions into question crossed the line.

"Lieutenant Colonel Kusakabe." He said as he rose to his feet, aware that the movement drew the gaze of everyone present. "You must be in a lot of pain from your injuries. Let me help you back to your quarters."

Predictably, the man glared at him and was about to protest, but the hand he clamped over the man's shoulder to apply pressure to his recently broken clavicle changed his mind. Kusakabe reluctantly allowed himself to be removed from the council room.

At least this way they'd be able to have a productive discussion.

* * *

Adrian was predictably a bit upset with him. Of course he tried to hide it well, but there was a kind of quiet moodiness emanating from the man that tipped Lelouch off.

"You called for me, Lelouch?" The man asked, tone slightly clipped.

"I did." He said, gesturing to the seat across from him. "I wanted to show you something."

He waited until his subordinate was seated before turning the laptop in front of him around to face Adrian. For a moment neither of them spoke as Adrian absorbed the information on the screen.

"Those are. . ."

"The eighty Knightmares that were so recently stolen from us." Lelouch finished for him, turning the screen back to face him before zooming in on the GPS readings.

"Then it was a trap from the beginning." Adrian surmised. "They were supposed to steal the frames on that train instead of going for the decoy."

"Well, either way it would have been beneficial for me. The Knights hidden aboard the other train would have wiped out the prospective thieves. But this was the preferred outcome."

Adrian sighed and leaned back in his seat. "So you never intended to allow the Honorary Britannians to pilot the Knightmares in the end anyway."

"No, not at this particular juncture. Even I have to work more slowly than that. It is a good idea and I will eventually implement it. But doing it now, so close on the heels of Suzaku's knighting, would probably be detrimental to my political position. However, by letting that rumor spread, I confirmed two things. One, that there's a definite interest in such a program. And two, that there is definitely someone on the base feeding information to the Kenshiki.

"I figured there had to be after that stunt they pulled when my plane landed here. Did Kondo make any suspicious moves? He's the first person I told about the prospect of letting the Honorary Britannians pilot." He asked.

"No. Nothing that we saw. The soldier I have spying on him didn't report anything unusual except excited chatter. The rumor was quite sensational and a lot of the soldiers wanted to confirm it from the source. But then, that spy is also an Honorary Britannian. The Britannian I have watching him can't get as close, but he didn't report anything either." Adrian reported.

"The spy you're talking about is Private Higa, right? The younger soldier who's always hanging around Kondo?" Lelouch asked. He recalled meeting the man when he'd joined Suzaku at breakfast a few days ago.

"Yes." Adrian nodded. "I selected him for his background and had him transferred into Kondo's squad. Out of all the Honorary Britannians in the ATTF, he's probably the least likely of having ties to any terrorist cells. His mother was employed by Marquis Hartfield and apparently the man doted on him as a boy. Despite his ethnicity, he's been raised mostly Britannian."

Lelouch smiled, but didn't correct the man. Just because Higa had been raised in a Britannian lord's household, didn't mean he'd been raised in the Britannian style. After all, Lelouch would know since he'd been the one to buy Marquis Hartfield's residence and the villa was anything but conventionally Britannian.

Still, even if Higa had been raised in a place that had respected his native culture, the fact remained that it had been a Britannian who had acted as his patron.

"I see. Then I'll have to believe that Kondo wasn't the leak this time."

"What makes you so certain that Kondo is a spy?" Adrian asked.

Well, that was a good question. And it wasn't one that was easy to answer. Aside from that first impression, Kondo had done nothing to raise his suspicion. He could always chalk that first meeting up to nerves or just being excited to meet Suzaku – and after seeing Sayoko's reaction to meeting him he might have to – but something in him just didn't want to let it rest.

He supposed he could use Geass, but he didn't like using it on the people who willingly served him. Besides, since he could only use it once, if the opportunity ever arose that he had to use his Geass on the ATTF, the command wouldn't register and he'd probably be forced to kill the man.

"Let's call it intuition for lack of a better explanation." He sighed.

"Alright. So when are you planning to send us after those Knightmares?" The man asked.

"Well, to be perfectly honest, I hadn't made plans for that. The GPS transmitters that I had installed on the machines were set to a sleep mode until I activated them since I didn't want to risk the chance of the Kenshiki picking up on the transmission. These GPS transmitters aren't actually my doing. Apparently it's a new policy of the manufacturer to prevent another catastrophe like Shinjuku. They sent me the information and I merely thought it was interesting where they were."

"Where?" Adrian asked, bewildered.

"The very first Kenshiki attack hit four downtown subway stations at rush hour. I'd assumed they'd been chosen for their population density. Four of the five busiest stations in Osaka were hit at the same time. Now I'm having to rework that theory.

"The four stations are on two different lines. They form a rough kind of cross underneath Osaka's downtown area. Well, I'd always thought it was strange that they didn't hit Leighton station, as it's the second busiest in the city. But it's here." He said, pointing to the spot on the map. It was on the opposite side of the city from the others.

"You mean they created their base of operations in the rubble of their first attack?"

"It seems like it. It's the perfect hiding place. The last place I would have looked for them. And so long as they continue their attacks, the likelihood of there being a high demand for the subway is low. People don't want to travel on a train when there's a very real chance of it blowing up. After all, mass transit is the perfect target for a terrorist. Security is low and there's a lot of people. It's easy to lose yourself in the crowd, no one pays attention to who else is on the platform or on the train with them. The subway is a low priority repair for the city.

"There's approximately a kilometer of track between each of the stations that's blocked off by the ruins of the stations. There are a handful of manhole-like service entrances throughout there that were never properly monitored. Furthermore, a number of the Kenshiki's earlier targets were all in the same general area. It would have made it easy to slip away unnoticed if they'd just dropped down into the tunnels. Conveniently, the stolen Knightmares' GPS transmitters are signaling from in the center of that cross."

"Then why aren't we going to attack them?" Adrian asked. "Surround them and smoke them out. They obviously didn't fit the Sutherlands through a manhole. Their possible exits are limited and we have far greater numbers and skill."

"Yes, but there's no guarantee that Kei will be in there. The fact that the terrorist I interrogated knew next to nothing about their leader, suggests that he's the type to lead remotely. I doubt he's camped out next to the stolen Knightmares. Even if I completely annihilate the Kenshiki Faction, if Kei gets away there's nothing to stop him from setting up shop somewhere else and doing the same thing all over again. He has enough support to do so. I need to ensure that I cut off the head."

"So draw them out?" Adrian inquired, turning the screen back to face him so he could see the map.

"Yes." Lelouch nodded. "The only question that remains is where and how. We need to limit them so that Kei will have to show up in person. Once I have the leader, the rest will fall easily. I had von Hoffman install a little present in those Knightmares especially for them."

Adrian chuckled softly. "Here would be ideal." He said, pointing to a man made island on the coast. Aside from Adrian's tactical skill, another reason Lelouch had chosen him to lead the ATTF was the fact that until two years ago the man had served at the garrison base here in Osaka. "There's only one road going onto it. All other access would be restricted to naval units. But I doubt the Kenshiki have the resources necessary to convert those Sutherlands into Portmans. Once we have them where you want them, you could destroy the bridge linking it to the mainland and trap them there to prevent their escape. But how you would entice Kei into going there is beyond me."

The island was one of those expensive residential developments. One of those ones where everyone was capable of having ocean front property due to the bizarre shape of the island. It was a sign of the gross gap between the classes that something like this could exist for the Britannian well-to-do while Japanese ghettos existed only a few kilometers away.

"Well, I think I can come up with something particularly appalling enough to draw the Kenshiki there, but the question remains as to whether or not Kei will accept my invitation."

"Well, you could cut off communication to force him to either come in person or abandon his men." Adrian suggested.

"True, but then our soldiers would be working with a disadvantage as well." Lelouch grumbled, tapping his finger on the arm of his chair.

"You didn't mind a couple days ago." Adrian pointed out.

But this thing they were planning was a significantly larger scale operation than when Gino had ambushed them. He could trust his Knights and his Royal Guard to work without orders. He wasn't so sure about the rest of the ATTF.

But even if he did, for argument's sake, do as Adrian had suggested and cut off their communication there was no guarantee that Kei wouldn't cut his losses and run. How invested was he in the Kenshiki Faction? There was the story about Kei and Saito being old friends, but how true was that? How did a friend stage a coup? And if friendship couldn't prevent a betrayal of that magnitude, then how would Kei feel towards the rest of his subordinates?

Were they pawns or were they allies? That was a question only Kei knew the answer to.

* * *

Euphy grimaced. School was worse now. Suddenly, she'd become the most popular girl in school. Though somehow in this reality popular and unapproachable went hand in hand. Her teachers were afraid of her and her classmates varied between people who avoided her for fear of her position and those who tried to exploit a connection to her.

It was just like back home. Actually, if it hadn't been for Milly and the others, she might have given in to Cornelia's insisting and gone back to Pendragon. But she had friends now. Real friends who didn't care if she was royalty or not. And she'd managed to apologize to Lukas that morning. So things were finally good now. She didn't want to go back and have to leave Lukas and Milly and everyone behind.

Her phone vibrated again and she quickly set the ringer to silent. Her mother had been calling her all day. By now, news of her exposure had no doubt reached the homeland. Her mother would probably order her back home the second she answered the phone.

She realized it was probably only a matter of time now that both Cornelia and her mother were against her. Really, the only person she could count on to shelter her and keep her in Area Eleven was Lelouch. But even then she wasn't sure if he didn't also want her to go back to the homeland and she couldn't exactly ask him either as he'd already gone back to Osaka.

"You should answer. It could be important." Lukas chided as they made their way across campus.

"I don't want to." She pouted. "Besides, we're already late for that meeting with Cornelia as it is."

Her sister had requested a meeting after the nearly epic fallout they'd had the other day. She was sure Cornelia didn't expect her to attend, but avoidance could only get her so far. So she did intend to go meet her sister. But two of her classmates had been rather insistent about chatting with her after class. Apparently they were going to have a bit of a get together in the dorms tonight and she'd been invited along.

She'd politely declined and told them that she already had plans for the evening, but by the time she'd finally managed to get out of the classroom building it was already ten after four. She was supposed to have been at Cornelia's by four o'clock if she was coming at all.

They took a taxi since the car Cornelia had sent to pick them up had already left, no doubt assuming that she'd chosen to ignore the summons. It wouldn't necessarily be the first time.

She loved Cornelia and she respected her. But that didn't mean they didn't fight just like any other siblings. Just because they were royalty didn't mean that they weren't normal when not under the spotlight.

The mansion Cornelia had bought after moving out of the Viceroy's Palace was stately and refined and everything you would expect from a Britannian princess. It was nothing like Lelouch's villa down the street.

"So you did come after all, Euphy." Cornelia said with a frown from where she was reclining on the couch in the library with a laptop humming softly in her lap and piles upon piles of folders and news reports scattered around her.

"I apologize for being late. I was delayed leaving my class." She said formally, since her sister didn't really seem like she was in a very good mood.

Cornelia sighed heavily as she sat up properly. "Have a seat. Lukas, you can go."

She glanced over at her bodyguard, who looked a bit uncertain, but she waved him away. "I'll be fine here. Go wait outside."

She didn't need someone to protect her in Cornelia's house. Even if they were arguing with each other, she knew that Cornelia would move heaven and earth to protect her if she had to.

"As you wish." He said, bowing politely before heading for the door.

Euphy watched him go before taking the seat across from Cornelia. And then she waited. Cornelia was the one who had called this meeting so she assumed her sister had something she wanted to say.

"I understand that you've finally been able to spread your wings a bit, so I know why you're reluctant to return to the homeland. However, I'm not willing to risk your safety for the sake of your happiness." Cornelia said firmly.

Euphy pressed her lips together to hold in the immediate outburst that wanted to escape. That was how their fight had turned so explosive last time. This time she would exhibit her maturity and counter Cornelia's reasoning with poise and logic.

"I propose a compromise." Her sister said. "Select a Knight of Honor and I will allow you to stay. If you refuse, I'll have Guilford take you to the plane now."

"What?" Euphy asked in surprise.

"A Knight, Euphy. Someone who will swear themselves to serving and protecting only you. I have a list of candidates here." Cornelia said, gesturing to a thick binder on the coffee table between them.

"I already have a bodyguard." She protested. Choosing a Knight wasn't something you did carelessly. And it wasn't something she'd wanted to do anyway. She'd never wanted power and, to her, the greatest form of power was that of holding someone's life if your hands. She didn't want it.

She liked having a bodyguard. Furthermore, she liked having Lukas as her bodyguard. But the reason she liked it was because she didn't hold that kind of sway over him. She couldn't order him to die and that was a very relieving thought to her.

And she wasn't important enough to need a Knight of Honor anyway.

"Then Knight him." Cornelia countered. "I'll forgive his failure during the hotel jacking if he forsakes Lelouch and swears himself to you."

Euphy's eyes widened in astonishment. How could Cornelia even suggest that? "I couldn't betray Lelouch like that." She said firmly.

Cornelia rolled her eyes. "I never said to betray him. Lelouch would release him if you asked."

She faltered. That was probably true. Lelouch had brought Lukas here just to protect her. But it would still hurt Lelouch, wouldn't it?

"Does this compromise work for you, Euphy?" Cornelia asked.

She frowned. Choose a Knight or be immediately sent back to the homeland. Select someone to protect her, or be separated from her friends. It was the first time she'd had friends that treated her just like a regular person. Even friends like Abigail kept in mind that she was a princess.

Was it worth it? Was friendship really worth being rushed into something she didn't want? She wasn't even eighteen yet. Cornelia hadn't chosen Guilford until she'd turned eighteen. She would probably be the youngest member of the current royal family to choose a Knight if she did.

She picked up the binder full of candidates and aimlessly flipped through page after page of profiles. Strangers. That's all they were. Unfamiliar names and faces with lauded military careers. They were strangers who she was supposed to entrust her life to. A stranger she would tether herself to for the rest of her life.

She didn't like it. But for the sake of normalcy and friendship, could she do it? She knew that if she didn't agree, Cornelia would hold up to her threat. She probably had a plane waiting on standby to take her back to Pendragon even now. And Guilford was practically family by now, so he wouldn't feel any qualms over taking her there by force.

She sighed and stood up, holding the binder against her chest. "Give me some time to make my selection." She said. At least this way she could stall for a bit.

"Don't drag it out too long." Cornelia warned.

Or not.

"I won't." She promised. Knowing Cornelia, she'd probably have a week or two before Guilford was sent after her to drag her to the plane. "May I go now?"

Cornelia frowned, apparently hurt by her want to escape quickly, but she had a lot to think about. With enough time, she could probably think of a way to get out of this. She hoped. She didn't require a Knight – a person regarded as a possession of their master.

"As you like, Euphy." Cornelia shrugged.

"Then I'll see you later, sister." She said as she made her way to the door.

She wasn't necessarily surprised to find Lukas waiting out in the hall for her. She wondered if he'd overheard? But the walls were thick here and he seemed more concerned for her than eager or ambitious.

"Is everything okay?" He asked, probably thrown off by her serious expression.

"Everything's fine, Lukas." She lied brightly, clutching the binder tighter to her chest. "Let's go back to campus."

"Sure, if you're done here." He said, falling into step beside her.

As they made there way back, she couldn't help but watch him out of the corner of her eye. She was comfortable with him. He made her feel safe unlike any other bodyguard ever had. He just radiated this aura of dependability that she found immensely relieving. She could always take the easy way out and keep him all to herself.

. . . She could make him her Knight.

But what would Lelouch say? Cornelia was probably right that Lelouch would release him from service and he had brought Lukas here specifically for the sake of her protection. But how would Lelouch feel about it? It seemed a bit underhanded. She didn't want Lelouch to hate her.

She sighed quietly to herself and closed her eyes for a moment. The situation bore the need for more thought regardless of who she chose.

* * *

AN: Thanks for reading. Don't forget to review!

Allora

Edit 10/27/2011: I fixed the mistake where there were no spaces at the beginning of Lelouch's letter to the JLF. It was not deliberate and seems to have been a copying glitch since the copy I have on my computer definitely had spaces. Anyway, it should be easier to read now.


	71. Chapter 71

Chapter 71

There she was.

Kallen watched from a distance as Euphemia and Lukas crossed the campus together, vaguely surrounded by a group of admirers too intimidated to actually approach. Well, she supposed she could also be considered a part of that group.

What was with Britannian royalty and coming to her school? Why couldn't they just stay in Pendragon in their hoity toity private schools that catered to the nobility? Why had Euphemia even come here?

It was frustrating. By coming into contact with her they were forcing her to decide how to deal with them. She didn't necessarily have anything against Princess Euphemia. In fact she'd done some research on the net last night about the girl and had come up with surprisingly little. Euphemia hadn't done anything to warrant Kallen's scorn.

But she was still royalty.

And Kallen hated being inactive like this. She was the type of person who liked to act. Having her possible movements curbed like this by the prince was just killing her. She hated it. She wished she'd taken Ohgi up on his offer to help her disappear. But that ship had already long since sailed and she had to live with the consequences of the choices she'd made.

But still, what did she do now?

She glanced surreptitiously around the campus, aware that there were still eyes on her. And was it just her or did it seem like there was a much more tense atmosphere around the campus? Maybe it had always been like this and she was just noticing it now.

Actually, she wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. She'd suddenly been noticing that the security at the school was much greater than she'd previously expected. Just this morning she'd discovered that the janitor that cleaned the hall between the gymnasium and freshmen classrooms was packing heat.

Had he always been and she'd just missed it, or was it a new security upgrade? Whichever was the case, she knew the man had been working there at least since the beginning of term.

If she could work on the assumption that the janitors and maintenance people were all actually school security in addition to the guards Prince Lelouch had placed at the gate months ago, then it meant this place was absolutely crawling with people who would love nothing more to shoot her if she made a single hostile move.

And if all that was true, it meant that once again she was left feeling useless and trapped.

"Kallen!" Someone hailed behind her.

She turned away reluctantly to address the speaker, finding one of the girls who had played the role of fairweather friend to her when she'd first returned to school. They hadn't spoken since the novelty of her return had worn off.

"Laurel." She said blandly, not looking forward to whatever it was that the girl wanted from her.

"How have you been? We haven't talked in a while." The girl said, oblivious to the fact that Kallen had preferred it that way.

"I'm okay." She answered, keeping up her docile facade.

"That's good. Hey, do you know her?" Laurel asked, gesturing towards the princess. "I heard she was in with the Student Council. Do you think you could introduce me?"

. . .

This was annoying.

"I don't think so. . ." She hedged uncertainly. She would be damned if people began using her as a stepping stone to suck up to royalty.

"But you've met her before, right?" Laurel insisted.

"I was introduced." Kallen said with a frown.

"That's all I'm asking for. I just want to be introduced to her."

"Then why don't you just go talk to her?" Kallen suggested. Though of course she knew the answer to that. Lukas' glare was working as an effective buffer between the princess and the rest of the student body. Not that she necessarily blamed him. Last week Euphemia was an embarrassment to the school. This week they were clamoring to get close to her.

"Geez Kallen, and you're supposed to be nobility?" Laurel grumbled. "You know you can't do things that way. You have to be formally introduced if you want to make any kind of impression."

" . . . I don't think Princess Euphemia is like that." She said. It had actually been surprising how very normal she had seemed. The two times that she's spoken to the princess, she hadn't seemed arrogant or conceited at all (unlike a certain prince).

"Please, Kallen." The girl pleaded.

She was quiet for a moment as she considered the possible benefits to going out of her way to do something like this. There were unsurprisingly few. Though she supposed she could always use this opportunity to figure out if the princess knew about her identity as more than just a student. Still, she wasn't running a charity here.

"Sure. If you lend me your phone until tomorrow." She bargained. Depending on how inconspicuously she handed it over, she might be able to get a call out to Ohgi. And if she could do that, she could probably clear the air between them. If she knew she wasn't being eavesdropped on, she could let him know the full extent of her situation.

Laurel frowned. "What happened to your phone?"

"Who knows." She evaded with a shrug.

"You're not going to run up my long distance are you?" Laurel asked suspiciously.

"No, but does that really matter? I thought you wanted to meet Princess Euphemia." She pressed.

"Fine." The girl said with a small huff as she began reaching for her phone.

"You can give it to me after last class." Kallen said quickly, wary of the way she was probably being watched like a hawk right now.

"Okay. So when will you introduce me?"

"Now?" She suggested before turning away and heading across campus towards the princess. "Euphy!" She called out with as enthusiastic of a wave as her sickly facade would allow.

She smirked to herself when Lukas took a protective step to put himself between them. Well then, he knew what she was. But judging from the pleasant smile on the princess' face it wasn't a secret anyone had deemed necessary in sharing with her. She had to wonder why? Was it because Prince Lelouch didn't want his sister to worry? Or was it because he didn't want her to interfere in whatever plans he had for Kallen?

"Hey, Kallen." Euphemia said brightly. "How are you today?"

"I'm fine. And you?" She asked, before glancing at the bodyguard with a much more subdued "Hello, Lukas."

He scowled at her before responding with a clipped. "Kallen Stadtfeld."

"I'm fine as well." The princess replied. "Did you enjoy Abigail's party?"

"Yes, though I am a bit embarrassed now that I know who you are. I apologize for the rude things I said at lunch on Friday." She said. Euphy wasn't a combatant. If she was going to use this situation to her favor, it would have to be by befriending the girl.

"It's fine. I prefer when people speak their minds. Besides, I've thought the same thing once or twice in the past." Euphy said with a slight smile.

"Ah, right." Kallen said suddenly, as though she'd forgotten her reason for approaching the girl. "I suppose I should do introductions. This is my friend Laurel." She said, gesturing to the girl following quietly in her wake.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Laurel."

"Ah, and you, of course, your highness." Her classmate said nervously while slipping into an unpracticed curtsey. But Laurel's family weren't rich or noble, so not knowing the ins and outs of formal etiquette was beyond her. Actually, why Laurel needed to network with the princess in the first place was beyond her, but she didn't really care either. She supposed everyone just wanted to say they were friends with a royal princess.

"Just Euphy is fine." The princess said as she continued walking towards the classroom building, Kallen and Laurel falling into step beside her.

"You weren't hurt at all at the lake, were you?" She asked, feigning concern.

"No. I'm completely alright, thanks to my brother and his soldiers." The princess said. "I suppose that you're lucky you had other plans though or else you would have been with us."

"Yeah, I was shocked when I heard about it on the news. I was hoping it wasn't the same hotel you all had gone to until they showed the video of the hostages." She said. Well, she didn't actually know what that broadcast had looked like since she'd been hidden in an armoire at the time, but judging from Abigail's reaction, at least Euphy had been visible on the screen.

"Unfortunately it was. Actually, if we'd just been a few minutes later coming back from shopping we would have missed being taken hostage." Euphemia explained.

"That's bad luck." Kallen said, tangibly feeling the glare Lukas was boring into the back of her head.

"Euphy, I just remembered. You need to return you research materials for History to the library." The bodyguard cut in.

The princess's eyes widened in surprise as she reached subconsciously for her bag. "I completely forgot!"

Apparently it wasn't a lie, but it was also apparent that the bodyguard was trying to separate them. She briefly considered making up an excuse to accompany the princess to the library but figured she was pushing her luck as it was.

Well, she'd confirmed a couple things and she'd made a decision. In order to protect herself from Lelouch, she'd get as close to the princess as she was able. If there was anyone that was able to give the prince pause, it was probably his sister.

For now, it was as good of a plan as any. And she'd gotten a viable means to contact Ohgi out of the deal too, so it certainly hadn't been a loss.

* * *

"Not the nicest neighborhood." Ryoga said, examining the interior of the apartment building. It was in better condition that those in the ghetto, but probably built with the cheapest materials the builders could find. It was drafty even in the hallway so he was sure the actual suites were no better.

They made their way down the corridor towards the door Lady Kururugi had indicated. Suite 307. This was where her oldest son lived. This was where the only son of Prime Minister Kururugi – the rightful heir of the Kururugi house – lived.

Tohdoh knocked on the off chance that the boy was actually in there at this time of day, but after waiting a few moments without any whispers of sound coming from within he figured the chances of Suzaku being in there at the moment were slim. The rumors that had gone through the magazines had been that the boy had begun living with Prince Lelouch even before he had been knighted. However, research in the landlord's office (they'd broken in while the landlady had gone out for lunch) had indicated that the suite was still rented in his name and that he was up to date on payments.

He looked both ways down the hall before forcing the lock. The door was cheap enough that it actually flexed when he applied a certain amount of pressure to it. It wasn't difficult to gain entry to say the least.

But even as they slipped inside and closed the door behind them to prevent suspicion from the neighbors, he could already tell this was a fruitless venture. The thin layer of dust over the wooden floor and everything else in the room was a good enough indication that Suzaku hadn't been back to his apartment in months.

"This is really it?" Urabe asked, unimpressed.

Tohdoh had to admit that his own thoughts mirrored the statement. This was it? This was where Suzaku had been living since he'd run away from home? Genbu's son lived here?

Calling the apartment spartan would have been an understatement. Aside from the bed, a dresser, a mini fridge and a miniscule television, there was very little furniture in the place. The furniture that there was was all as cheap as the rest of the building. But at least the place was clean (minus the dust that had settled after weeks or months of disuse) and tidy.

"I suppose." Tohdoh answered, looking around the room as Urabe and Ryoga began snooping around the room. He'd brought the two along because he'd wanted to have some back up had Suzaku been here and there been a confrontation. While he was reasonably certain he could still match his former pupil in a fight, the overwhelming numbers would act as a suitable deterrent from any confrontation heading in that direction.

That had been, of course, assuming that Suzaku would be here. It had been a slim chance any way they looked at it. By now, judging from the direction that Royal Guard's Knightmare had traveled, Prince Lelouch was probably back in Osaka. Which meant that Suzaku was probably there as well.

What they were really after was a means to contact him. The required contact number downstairs in the leasing office was jotted down as the landline that connected to this apartment. But that phone line had been canceled in early October and the contact information had never been updated on his record.

"No luck here. All his clothes are gone." Ryoga said from where he'd managed to wiggle the drawers of the dresser open. "Well, all except that." The man said, nodding towards the starched and neatly folded tan uniform hanging on a hook on the wall.

He wasn't sure what to think about that. That the only thing the boy had left behind was his old military uniform suggested that he wasn't particularly attached to it. But that wasn't all that surprising. The JLF's spies in the military had reported extreme cases of racism and discrimination against the Honorary Britannians that had enlisted. It just went to prove that even bowing down to the Britannians wouldn't guarantee safety and fair treatment.

He hardly wanted to think about the kinds of things Suzaku had to have been put through while just another nameless Eleven that had enlisted within the Britannian ranks. It was hardly surprising that the boy had jumped on the chance Prince Lelouch had offered him for a better position. A better life.

He wasn't sure how it had happened, but he figured at some point the prince had asked Suzaku to join him outright. God knew that the prince had never been an easy child to control even at the age of ten. Now, he figured General Katase was playing with fire in thinking he could get the upper hand over the boy.

Tohdoh still wasn't sure what to make of the letter the prince had sent along with the bodies of their comrades. To him, it reeked of mischief. As though the prince were trying to lull them into a false sense of security in order to strike at them more effectively. He didn't believe for a second that Lelouch didn't intend to pursue hostile action against them. Especially not for the sake of nostalgic memories and respect for a rebel he had once known.

Though when he thought about that part, he had to wonder just who the prince had been referring to. He was fairly certain it wasn't him, despite being one of the members that had known the prince personally. He had tanned the boy's hide more times than he could count for refusing to follow proper protocol and misbehaving before the invasion. Just being a prince hadn't excused his misconduct, especially when he had begun influencing Suzaku.

"Swing and a miss." Urabe said from where he was inspecting beneath the single occupancy bed, coming out with nothing.

"Yeah." Tohdoh sighed. "He obviously hasn't been here in a while. And even if he was still living here, he's probably in Osaka right now with the prince."

"General Katase won't be happy with this." Ryoga said, leaning against the dresser which creaked ominously at the thought of bearing any weight. "We only have until the Viceroy is finished with the Kenshiki to find a way to negotiate with Kururugi. After that, regardless of what that letter said, it's fairly obvious that we're next on the hit list."

Ryoga was right about that. Even despite Kusakabe's stupidity at Lake Kawaguchi, they were the only resistance group in Japan able to stand against the Britannians Knightmares. It was unlikely that the prince didn't know that. And it was even more unlikely that Lelouch would leave such a threat intact.

Personally, he was still undecided on how to approach the problem - whether to attempt negotiation with the Britannian prince while the political climate seemed somewhat promising or to initiate a preemptive strike while the boy was busy dealing with the Kenshiki.

The way Kusakabe had gone about it had been stupid, but with enough planning and careful discipline they could trap the Britannians between the Kenshiki's ruthless slaughter and their own precision attack. Still, that would require coordinating with the Kenshiki Faction, which was a step many of them did not want to take. They didn't want to be associated with those heathens.

It made him glad that he was a field commander. He took charge of battles. He left their political stance up to others more adept in such matters. He didn't think Katase was wrong for wanting to negotiate. He was intimately familiar with the resources available to them. Even with the support of the Six Houses of Kyoto, they couldn't guarantee a victory against Britannia's greater resources and more advanced technology. They would sustain massive losses.

On the one hand, that was to be expected. They were soldiers. They lived to fight and die. But on the other, a victory wasn't worth much if there was no one left alive at the end. The people would celebrate, but they'd be left in a vulnerable position. The possibility of being reconquered by Britannia or China would be high. They wouldn't have the strength required to protect their interests.

Bleeding themselves dry for the sake of a momentary victory wasn't any more prudent than allowing the prince to trick themselves into thinking they were safe.

"Did you hear that the Kenshiki petitioned the Six Houses for financial and technological assistance?" Urabe asked.

Tohdoh quirked his eyebrow in surprise. He hadn't heard anything about it.

"They were turned down." His subordinate continued. "My sister works in one of the houses. She lets me in on a few things she finds interesting. She thought it was ballsy of them. They approached the Houses without a summons."

Now that piqued Tohdoh's interest. You didn't just go before the Houses without an invitation. Even he had only been there twice and he knew two of the representatives personally. And on both of those occasions he had only been accompanying General Katase. The General was one of the few who could boast of having close relations with the representatives of the Houses and even he waited to be summoned before approaching them.

The Six Houses' tenuous relationship with the Britannian government had always been fiercely protected. Doing anything to risk the Houses' backdoor dealings with Japan's resistance movements would cripple the JLF.

"Did you hear why they were rejected?" He asked, though the answer wasn't hard to guess. What the Kenshiki were doing wouldn't actually achieve anything in the long run. Sure, they had gripped the hearts of the Britannians with fear, but that was all. It wouldn't actually help Japan and it would only be a matter of time before they were eliminated.

"The Houses won't touch them with a ten foot pole. They're too radical." Urabe shrugged. "But there was some talk about them being worried the Kenshiki would rat them out to get back at them for the snub."

That just proved his point. That they would sabotage the financial foundation of the Japanese resistance movement over a personal slight would only serve to exhibit the fact that they weren't fighting for the sake of Japan.

They most definitely didn't want to be seen in the same light as the Kenshiki.

* * *

_Sir __Albert __J. __Woodsworth_

_ Knight Major of the 8th Western Platoon._

_ Age: 26_

_ Marksmanship: Above average._

_ Martial skill: Average._

_ Knightmare Simulation Average: 84%_

_ Commended for over thirty successful missions and lauded for bravery during the invasion of Area Eighteen. Excellent commander. Charismatic._

_ Sir Jason L. Riley_

_ Knight Private of the 8th Western Platoon._

_ Age: 20_

_ Marksmanship: Average._

_ Martial Skill: Average._

_ Knightmare Simulation Average: 97%_

_ An Ace pilot despite relative inexperience._

_ Sir Louis M. Breton_

_ Knight Corporal of the 8th Western Platoon_

_ Age:24_

_ Marksmanship: Above Average._

_ Martial Skill: Above Average_

_ Knightmare Simulation Average: 79%_

_ Infantry Corps experience. 20 successful missions in the Knightmare Corps. Body guarding experience._

Euphy felt her eyes glaze over as she stared at the page in front of her. She'd managed to sit down and put some serious thought into this whole knighting business and she'd determined to make herself look at the candidates Cornelia had taken the time to compile for her. But it was just so boring. She'd only made it through a dozen pages so far and already they were all beginning to sound the same to her.

How was she supposed to choose a protector out of a book? She didn't know these people at all. She had no idea what their personalities would be like or whether or not they would be able to get along with each other.

For all she knew, Sir Louis M. Breton was a letch and Sir Albert J. Woodsworth had a penchant for slaughter. She couldn't do this.

And yet she had to.

Cornelia would only be kept at bay for so long. Unless she wanted to return to Pendragon and the stifling confines of her previous life, she would have to choose a Knight.

She flipped to the next page, forcing herself to look for a Knight. She had to do this.

_Sir __Elizabeth __L. __Pearson_

_ Knight Private of the 8th Western Platoon_

_ Age: 21_

_ Marksmanship: Average_

_ Martial Skill: Above Average_

_ Knightmare Simulation Average: 95%_

_ An Ace pilot. Extensive martial arts training. _

Well this possibility was at least interesting. It was the first woman she'd come across as a candidate so far. She figured it would be nice to have a woman guarding her. She could avoid that awkwardness when she had to go to the toilet. It was always unnerving knowing that Lukas was waiting just outside the door while she was trying to do her business.

But then, she'd no longer be able to use the washroom as a convenient escape from her protector. It was the one place Lukas wouldn't follow her. So if she needed a minute to herself, that was where she tended to go. Not that she'd been utilizing that escape since she'd made up with Lukas.

She sighed and rested her forehead against the page in front of her. Listlessly sprawled across her bed, she needed to just think about this. If she was completely honest with herself, she wanted Lukas to be her Knight. She knew that much. If she had to make this choice, she wanted to choose someone she trusted. Someone she already knew she got along with. And that was Lukas.

But choosing Lukas would be impossible. He had already sworn himself to Lelouch. He wasn't exactly available. She wished Cornelia could be content with the situation as it was, but she understood why she wasn't. At Lake Kawaguchi, Lelouch had ordered Lukas to stay behind and protect the hostages. If he'd been her Knight and loyal only to her, he would have gone after her.

However, now that she thought about it, wouldn't not choosing Lukas offend her brother? He'd gone through the trouble of procuring a protector for her. By choosing someone else, wouldn't it imply that she didn't trust Lelouch's choice? Or that she'd lost faith in Lukas? Even if she had to choose a different Knight, she didn't want it to ruin her relationships with Lelouch and Lukas.

This was hard. She groaned in frustration and flipped onto her back, flinging the pillow that was uncomfortably squished beneath her shoulder at the wall as she tried to come up with a solution. She winced when it glanced off the side of her desk, sending the stack of textbooks she'd had precariously balanced there to the floor with a loud thump.

She had just sat up to clean up the mess she'd made when the secret entrance in her closet slammed open and Lukas stumbled out with his gun drawn. He'd been hyper aware of her since the hotel jacking. It wasn't a bad thing and she understood that now that her identity had been exposed an attack was more likely, but she thought he was reaching near paranoid levels by now. This was the third time that the previously unused secret entrance had been utilized.

"Are you alright?" He asked, eyes scanning around the room now that he'd verified that she was alone. It didn't take long for him to find the source of the noise he'd heard.

"I'm fine." She said, carefully flipping the binder full of candidates shut. She didn't need him seeing that.

The movement drew his gaze and for a moment he stared at the binder suspiciously before glancing away. It wasn't any of his business and she knew he wouldn't pry, but she still felt like she was lying to him. At the same time, however, this wasn't really something she could confide in him about. Not with how she felt about the situation or with who her preferred candidate was.

He sighed a moment later and knelt down to begin picking up the books that had fallen. "I'm sorry I've been so tense and paranoid lately." He apologized. "I don't mean to keep barging in on you like this. I just don't want anything to happen to you. I can't fail again."

"I don't think you failed in the first place." She said softly as she picked up the scattered research notes for her Literature assignment that had been tucked inside one of the books.

He snorted mirthlessly and rubbed a hand over his face, wincing slightly when he touched the bruise around his eye. The swelling had gone down by now, but the skin was still a sickly greenish purple color. It was the injury he'd received after the hotel jacking. She'd demanded to know who had dared to hurt him, intent on tearing a strip off of his assailant, but he'd refused to tell her. Suzaku and Gino had been just as similarly tight lipped about it, which suggested that they knew.

It also suggested that it was her brother that had attacked him, though she found it hard to imagine that Lelouch would actually physically raise his hand at anyone. Of course he could have ordered one of his men to do it. Still, without being able to confirm her suspicion, she couldn't censure Lelouch for his actions. If it really even had been Lelouch.

"I'll make it up to you." He said.

"Make what up?" She inquired. Did he mean the hotel jacking or barging into her room for the third time uninvited?

"Everything." He said, before looking at her earnestly. "I mean it. Anything you want, Euphy. Anything that's within my power to do for you, I will."

Her heart was beating in her throat and her hands trembled slightly. She clamped them together in her lap and glanced away. He was making it too easy.

She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he neatly stacked the books back onto her desk. She almost said it, but snapped her mouth shut a moment later. She couldn't just do it like this. She would need to talk to Lelouch first. Otherwise, she would risk causing a rift to form between them.

But she had made up her mind. He'd practically just handed himself to her on a silver platter. She would make Lukas her Knight of Honor. He would become loyal and devoted to only her. It would appease her sister and, she realized with some surprise, make herself feel more comfortable. She couldn't imagine any one else in the position.

* * *

Lelouch tried desperately to stop the way his eyebrow was twitching in his frustration, but it seemed impossible. Instead, he stared mutely at the machine in front of him. He'd told the man – he was damned well _certain_ that he'd told him – that he wanted Hector's Knightmare put back together the way it had been.

Part of him was wondering if he could call this insubordination and have Lord Asplund punished. He needed to be obeyed if he was going to accomplish anything. The other part of him was amazed that Lloyd had been able to do so much work in so little time. It wouldn't have been possible if it hadn't been made using spare parts from the Lancelot.

Still, the machine before him wasn't just a copy of the Lancelot. Nor was it a Sutherland. If he had to explain it, he figured it was somewhere in between the two. A Frankensteined amalgamation of a cutting edge prototype and the latest standard production model.

The genius behind this transformation stood at the base of the machine, a wide, proud grin on his face. His assistant Cecile was understandably more nervous. Lloyd may not be able to see the conflict his actions had caused, but his assistant damned well could. He wondered why she hadn't tried to stop him. But then, if his own order to cease and desist hadn't been followed than he doubted her's would have had any more effect.

But still, now he had this Knightmare to deal with. What to do with it? He could be stubborn and refuse to use it on the principle that the engineer had deliberately disobeyed him in order to create it. He needed to be in control of the people under him. He couldn't encourage this kind of behavior in the future.

On the other hand, the Lancelot was an insanely overpowered machine. Lloyd's work was amazing. Brushing this off as something the man had merely cobbled together wasn't appropriate. He was sure that Lloyd demanded an exceptional standard from his work and so this machine too should exceed his expectations.

He heaved a sigh and glanced at Hector, who was still staring at the machine aghast, before mutely gesturing him forward. If Hector approved, he would allow the machine to be piloted by the Captain of his Royal Guard.

The hangar was dead silent as Hector made his way to the tow line and lifted himself into the cockpit, until Cecile cleared her throat. "This is the Z-02 Lionel, your highness." She said nervously, voice trembling slightly. "Before we found Suzaku - Sir Kururugi, pardon - we had a problem finding a pilot who could handle the Lancelot's OS. At Prince Clovis's suggestion we began working on a more standard model based off of the Lancelot's design. This is the result."

Lelouch cocked his head to the side as he stared at the machine. So this was the easy to use version of the Lancelot. "Why didn't you put the Lionel into production before now?"

"The Lancelot is perfect. It's devicers that are the problem." Lloyd declared. "I didn't want to dumb down my masterpiece for the sake of Prince Clovis."

Lelouch raised an eyebrow curiously. So he would dumb down the Lancelot for his sake but not for Clovis'? Interesting.

His attention was drawn back to the Lionel as Hector powered up the machine. It looked intimidating. More so than a Sutherland in any case, though it couldn't quite compare to either the Lancelot or the King Piece in terms of aesthetics. He stepped back as the Lionel made it's first few movements, stepping away from the scaffolding.

"This isn't a standardized OS. This is the same as the Lancelot's." Hector said, voice booming through the external speakers.

"Yes, well I took a peek at your simulation records and thought you'd be able to handle it. Was I wrong?" Lloyd said, rolling his eyes in visible exasperation. "I suppose this is a selling feature of the Lionel, but the OS's are interchangeable. Give me six hours and I can have something as boring as a Sutherland's OS in there. But the Lancelot's OS makes the machine more reactive, faster and an added bit of strength. It's up to you if you want to use it."

Lelouch fought to keep his face neutral, though he was secretly impressed. A machine that could be upgraded dependent on the pilot's skill was a very novel and very effective idea. Aces had always been constrained by the limitations of their machines. Standardized models like the Sutherland were made to be able to be piloted by practically anyone. A model that could cater specifically to the military's Aces would give the Knightmare Corps an even greater edge.

Lloyd could have made millions if he'd sold the Lionel model's design to to the Knightmare Corps' command in Pendragon. That he hadn't for the sake of stubbornness and pride baffled him. He understood having pride in one's work, but going so far for a machine that would have eventually been discarded as unpilotable if Suzaku hadn't come along was insane.

The Lancelot was perfect. He supposed he could agree with Lloyd's sentiments. In terms of strength, speed, and power, the Lancelot was unbeatable. But the Lionel was the one thing the Lancelot was not – dependable. Anyone could pilot it.

He caught Lloyd smirking at him. Obviously he'd let it slip that he was interested. "How many can I put you down for, your highness?"

He snorted, watching as Hector moved the Lionel towards the door, no doubt ready to put the machine through it's paces. "It will need extensive testing before I'm willing to commit to anything."

"Of course. Test all you want. I had Cecile in it most of yesterday to work out all of the bugs." Lloyd shrugged confidently.

"So how much is this experiment you forced on me going to cost me?" He asked.

"You can call this one a gift." The engineer replied. "Any more you want me to make will cost you marginally more than a Sutherland."

Any way he looked at it, he would be an idiot to turn this down. If the Lionel could outclass a Sutherland – which he was reasonably certain it could – he would have to be absolutely stupid to not take advantage of it. Unless, of course, it put him further in Schneizel's debt.

"Are you sure my brother would approve of you being so generous?" It was a question that had to be asked.

"The Prime Minister isn't aware of the Lionel frame at this point in time. It was a commission for Prince Clovis – or rather I'll call it a commission from the Viceroy of Area Eleven. Besides, Schneizel's never been overly interested in my side projects. Every time I try to pitch one to him, he tells me to focus on the work he wants me to do." Lloyd shrugged. "And I never liked the Lionel anyway."

"Then what do you want, aside from the cash this deal would give you?" Lelouch asked. There was no reason for Lloyd to be so generous. He'd already admit that he didn't hold the Lionel in quite the same regard as the Lancelot.

"I want you to continue to use the Lancelot at every available opportunity. It is the single most perfect Knightmare in existence today and I want it to get all of the experience and exposure it can before it becomes obsolete." Lloyd answered.

For a long moment there was silence as Lelouch thought over the deal. In return for giving Suzaku as must exposure as possible, Lloyd would share this unique frame with him.

"This thing's amazing." Hector's voice said, coming from a radio on the desk next to the computers that were remotely monitoring the Lionel's progress.

If Hector was this enthusiastic about it then it was a fair bet that the Lionel was a spectacular machine in it's own right – whether it was a Lancelot knock off or not.

He sighed and gestured at the rest of the Knightmares in the hangar. His Royal Guard would be outfitted with the Lionel frame. "But put them in my colors, Lloyd."

The current coloring scheme was far too much like the Lancelot's. There was only one White Knight (as the media had so aptly dubbed him after the attempt on his life before the knighting ceremony) and that was Suzaku and the Lancelot.

Lloyd beamed maniacally before sweeping into an over dramatic stage bow. "Thank you, your highness."

He'd have von Hoffman check over the work when they were finished just to make sure. Until then, they could all use spares.

* * *

Suzaku was not as uncomfortable in this situation as he would have been a week ago.

Still, it was a little awkward being expected to socialize as a Knight of Honor. Especially with the eyes of Gino and Anya on him. He wasn't sure how much he could relax. Sure, he was off duty at the moment, but Lelouch was still counting on him to be a perfect Knight. His conduct would come under scrutiny whether or not he was on duty at the time.

"Oi, Suzaku, lighten up a bit." Gino reprimanded, tossing a beer at him. It was the second one the Knight of Three had thrown him. And it was the second one he set unopened on the dresser beside him. He couldn't afford to make any mistakes.

Kondo snorted, lounging across the bunk next to Suzaku's. It was his fault Suzaku was in this situation at the moment to begin with. The ATTF was housed by squad, which meant everyone in this barracks had just come off a fifteen day stretch of morning guard duty around the garrison. They would have tomorrow off before switching onto night shifts.

It wasn't like he blamed them for wanting to let loose a little. He'd worked shifts like that before, so he knew how it could drain you. And he understood that with Osaka in the state it was right now, leaving the base at night to go drinking wasn't the smartest idea. So he knew why they had decided to cut loose in the barracks instead.

He just didn't see why they had decided he had to join them. After all, he wasn't off duty tomorrow. He didn't get days off unless Lelouch specifically gave them to him. And thus far he could count the number of times that had happened on one hand. But then again, protecting Lelouch rarely actually seemed like work to him.

"Quit being so hard on him, Gino. You're the one that's making him this way." Kondo chided goodnaturedly.

Gino had wasted no time in befriending their bunk mates when he'd decided to ask Sir Hopkins to place him in a barracks. As a result, most of the people who shared sleeping quarters with them were well at ease with the Knight of Three. As well they should be. They weren't under investigation.

He couldn't stop thinking of worst case scenarios. What would happen if he failed this inspection? If he failed, it would be a mark against Lelouch. What would happen to Lelouch if he lost the favor of the Emperor? Gino had told him that Lelouch was currently the Emperor's favorite. He wasn't sure if he could actually believe it, knowing what that man had done to Lelouch and Nunnally in the past, but he knew that if Lelouch lost that grace, he'd be in a whole lot more danger.

If he fucked up, Lelouch would suffer for it. That was why Lelouch had told him to be perfect. And he must absolutely not let Lelouch down.

"How am I making him this way? I'm the one who keeps throwing beers at him!" Gino protested.

"He's obviously not going to drink them while you're investigating his aptitude as a Knight of Honor." Kondo said, rolling his eyes.

Suzaku stiffened, straightening up from where he was leaning against his bunk. "Who told you that?" He demanded sharply. He liked Kondo well enough, but he had never told anyone why he was being shadowed by the Knights of the Round.

There had always been something about Kondo that had seemed a little off to him. He liked the man. He liked his ideals and his enthusiasm. Kondo believed in the Honorary Britannian system and in a peaceful coexistence with Britannia. But he had never been able to feel completely at ease with the older man. Maybe it was just because Lelouch treated him strangely. Or maybe his intuition was picking up something about the man, but he was finding it hard to trust him.

Kondo arched his eyebrow slowly in surprise. He didn't look panicked or concerned about letting out information he wasn't supposed to. But he could just be a good actor. If he acted calm, he was less likely of drawing suspicion.

"His highness Lelouch told me before he told me about his decision to let us pilot, along with going on about how great you are. What were his exact words, Higa? Something about how you were a superb martial artist and that he'd never seen a better KMF pilot, so he wasn't worried about the investigation."

Suzaku sighed and glanced away, feeling himself flush slightly. It was hard when people praised him. Especially when it was Lelouch. Lelouch didn't know the worst part of him. Despite the fact that Lelouch was his best friend, he doubted he would ever be able to tell the prince that he had killed his own father. He didn't deserve the prince's praise.

Gino snickered before bursting out into full fledged laughter. "Good God, Suzaku, you're blushing. If that makes you embarrassed you should hear some of the things he's said to me. He practically threw it in my face that you were a better pilot and that you could have killed me in an instant if he hadn't been trying to capture the Tristan intact. Going on and on about how great you are and how loyal and how long you've been friends."

He grimaced. "I hope Prince Lelouch didn't offend you."

"Oh, sure he did, just like I offended him. But that part was just the simple truth. The Lancelot outclasses my Tristan prototype. I'm going to have it completely rebuilt when I get back home. Actually, I was already talking to Lloyd about getting access to the MVS technology. Not sure if he'll say yes or not, but he didn't immediately shoot me down."

It would probably also depend on whether or not Prince Schneizel was willing to share this technology with the Emperor's Knights. He didn't know a lot about Prince Schneizel, but he did know that the Prime Minister was the one that seemed to be pulling Lelouch's strings. Lelouch hadn't explicitly told him what was going on between those two, he just knew that Lelouch depended on the Prime Minister's support. It was the same support which had put the Lancelot into Lelouch's hands.

It was unlikely that anything Lelouch was involved in would be for the Emperor's benefit. So it was equally unlikely that Lelouch's allies would be willing to help the Emperor, or his Knights of the Round.

"Man you guys are lucky." Higa sighed. "I guess now that the Kenshiki fucked us over by stealing our Knightmares it will take even longer before we're able to get into one."

"It wasn't right that the prince was going to retest you anyway." Samuel Barker, one of the Britannians in the squad said. "The Britannians weren't given a second chance at making the cut, don't see why you Elevens should be allowed to."

"Because none of us took the KMF training seriously during Basic since we knew there was no chance of being allowed entry into the Knightmare Corps." Kondo replied calmly. "You guys had that chance that we didn't."

This was the face of the ATTF that Lelouch didn't see. In fact, even he hadn't seen it until he'd been staying here for a few days. Lelouch had told them that he wouldn't tolerate a rift between classes or ethnicitys, but it was a hard thing to kill. The racism his fellow Honorary Britannians suffered within the ATTF was markedly more tame than what he'd endured on the Tokyo base as a Private, but it was still there. Just in quieter, more subtle ways.

For example, there wasn't a Britannian in the ATTF who thought they could get away with assaulting a Japanese soldier on the base. They didn't have to endure the kind of 'intense training exercises' he had back in Tokyo. But just because the Britannians weren't putting their thoughts into action, didn't mean that they weren't still thinking the same way. And occasionally, like now, those ideas spilled into words.

"Doesn't matter now anyway." Samuel shrugged. "I doubt the prince will try it again after sustaining a loss like that."

"There are spares on the base." Higa protested.

"But those are for the Knights." Samuel countered. "You know they keep at least two machines for every Knight in case of damages. They're not going to risk losing the real Knights' backups on a bunch of green rookies. It's why the prince was ordering new ones to begin with."

Kondo frowned and glanced at Suzaku. "Did the prince say if he was giving up on the idea entirely?"

"I'm just there to protect him. He doesn't usually explain to me what he's planning." He evaded.

The truth was that he had no idea if Lelouch was going to abandon his plan to allow the Honorary Britannians to pilot Knightmares. But from the way that Gottwald had been acting since the news had come, he had to suppose that it was all part of Lelouch's master plan. He hadn't actually been able to talk with Lelouch privately since Gino and Anya had come.

"But you're still a part of his inner circle. You have to have heard something." Kondo insisted.

Gino snorted. "Even if he is a part of the prince's inner circle, he wouldn't share what he'd overheard with others." The Knight of Three said, surprising him by coming to his defense. "Besides, Prince Lelouch as practically cut him loose to prevent Anya and I from spying on him."

Suzaku bit back a groan of frustration at Gino's uncanny way of saying everything he didn't want put into words. It was the truth, but he didn't like hearing it. In fact, he hated hearing about how easily severed his tie to Lelouch was. He wished Gino could be more like Anya.

He glanced over at the girl as the thought crossed his mind. At first, he'd felt a little bad about making a girl stay in a barracks full of men, but she didn't seem to mind it. She'd picked the bunk between his and the wall and had pegged a spare sheet to the ceiling to create a division.

She hadn't spoken since they'd returned to the barracks that night. Instead she was sitting on her bed with her legs pulled up as she went through her electronic diary. It looked like she was looking for something specific in the device's archives and, judging from the frown on her face, she wasn't finding it.

She caught him watching her and instantly the slightly frantic expression on her face disappeared to be replaced with an expressionless mask. She was good at that. It reminded him a bit of the way Lelouch could govern his facial expressions so easily. He was slightly envious of the skill and figured he was a complete open book when compared to either of them.

"Is that true?" Higa asked in surprise.

"Let's not talk about it." He suggested and, thankfully, the others let it drop.

Lelouch would bring him back into his presence eventually. He knew that. He hoped he knew that. He just had to wait until the Knights of the Round were finished with their investigation and then he would be back to his rightful place at Lelouch's side. He just had to be patient.

* * *

AN: Another chapter. Only 9 more days until the release of Skyrim. We'll see if I can get another chapter out before then.

I hope you all enjoyed it and thanks for reading.

In other, more important news, there are more fanarts for you guys to look at. Just recently L.L. recreated Hector in a pencil sketch. Go check it out on her DA account. The link to it is on my profile.

There's also a piece that I've kind of been sitting on for a couple months that I finally want to share with you. Way back in the summer MKTerra made me a sketch of the Lionel because I asked him to make a KMF for Hector. The Lionel's name and appearance belongs to MKTerra, I just made up the back story to it. I posted the link to this piece on my profile as well, so please go check it out. I didn't share it before since I din't want to give away spoilers, but it's been long overdue now in getting some recognition.

Anyway, don't forget to review. Happy belated Halloween - hope you all got lots of trick or treaters (I didn't get any )X )

Allora


	72. Chapter 72

Chapter 72

"I'm asking you to reconsider."

Kaguya Sumeragi frowned but was careful to keep her hands unclenched in her lap. Outwardly, she remained calm. Inwardly, she seethed. This always happened. If any of their supplicants found out who she was, they always came to her with their appeals. They thought that because of her age, she would be easy to sway.

They were fools.

This one was no exception. But this one was dangerous.

He stood near the door to the room as she sat drinking her tea because she had not invited him to join her. In fact, she hadn't invited him at all. This was the second time that he had presented himself uncalled for and she was already very tired of it.

"The decisions of the Houses are only put forward after we've come to consensus on the issue. All decisions are final and it is beyond the ability of any one member to change the group's opinion." She said dryly.

It was the rule the Six Houses had made when they'd first decided to walk down this path after the invasion and it was the rule that made them such a force to be reckoned with. A single house moving independently was only a single house and easily crushed. But the Six Houses of Kyoto – the six most powerful Japanese industrialist families in the country – moved as one. This was their strength.

Her responsibility in upholding the honor and efficiency of the Six Houses of Kyoto was something she took very seriously. Her father had once sat on this seat and made the very same types of decisions she was making now. She refused to shame his memory by folding under the stress of the demands or from threats from her supplicants.

"Kaguya." The man said firmly, causing her bodyguards to bristle at the informality. He was in his mid-twenties with close cropped black hair and black eyes – very typically Japanese.

"_All_ decisions of the Six Houses are final." She said again. "If we choose to reconsider in the future, you will be summoned, based on the merit of your activities for the good of Japan. Besides, you hardly need our support. Our intelligence tells us that you've recently come into a supply of Knightmare frames."

"The frames, yes. Energy fillers and KMF munitions, no." He said angrily.

"I can refer you to an arms dealer." She said halfheartedly. There was nothing wrong with doing that much, so long as she wasn't paying the bill.

He seethed for a moment before reining himself back under control. "It's because of Kururugi, isn't it? You're siding with him?"

She kept her expression neutral, unwilling to let him see that he'd gotten under her skin. She hadn't seen Suzaku in years. He may be her cousin and her ex-fiance but she didn't let that cloud her judgment when it came to the Six Houses.

Suzaku would be in danger if they supported the Kenshiki Faction, but that wasn't her problem. He had made his choice. He had chosen Lelouch and she didn't necessarily blame him for it. However, she had distanced herself enough from the situation to get a look at the bigger picture.

It was still uncertain just what kind of ruler the prince would make, so even the Six Houses were wary of the decisions they were making at this time. However, the very fact that he had made Suzaku his Knight and that he had Japanese soldiers under his command – especially the rumor that he was going to let them pilot Knightmares – meant that he wasn't necessarily someone they had to dispose of.

Japan held under the yolk of Britannia's rule was bad, but with a governor that wasn't openly hostile towards the Japanese, it was at least bearable. Should that governor be willing to listen to reason and open to negotiation it would be even better. She personally believed that Lelouch was that kind of ruler. Lelouch was cynical and bitter, but when it came to protecting the weak he was as gallant and chivalrous as any fairy tale prince. And any way she looked at it, Japan was weak right now.

However, all of this was neither here nor there and she hadn't allowed her personal feelings to influence her responsibility to the Six Houses at all. Whether Lelouch panned out to be the kind of ruler she thought he would be or not, the fact remained that he was a Britannian prince. And at the moment he was their enemy. And so was Suzaku.

"How so?" She inquired politely.

"You've always preferred him to me. Or to any of your other cousins." He accused. "You'd hate to endanger him by helping me, right? Because he was supposed to be your husband before the Kururugis were ruined."

She sighed, before smiling politely at him. ". . . Kei, stop this. Even if I wanted to indulge in your request, it would be next to impossible for me to change the stance of the other houses. Our power comes from the fact that we move as a collective. None of the other houses will aid you and neither will I. It has nothing to do with my nonexistent personal relationship with Suzaku Kururugi. Nor does it have anything to do with my personal relationship with you. We do not believe that the Kenshiki Faction will better Japan."

It had been years since she'd seen him. Years since she'd had to deal with his particular brand of persuasion. Kei was ruthless and used to getting his own way. He hurt the things that got in his way and destroyed those who wronged him. But despite his temperament, he had also always been fairly smart.

She'd known Kei was involved with the Kenshiki even before the official intelligence report had come in. It had reeked of his influence even if they had slapped a different face on the faction.

She pitied him, she really did. Life had been cruel to him after the invasion. But it wasn't enough to counteract her inherent dislike of him. Especially now that he'd come here like this. He had expected to take advantage of her. He had tried to force his relationship's importance over the mandates of the Six Houses and that was unforgivable.

She would _not_ become a liability to the Houses. She knew that she already had a strike against her with the other representatives due to her age. So she had always been careful to make her decisions and cast her votes with as little regard to her personal emotions as possible.

She felt strongly for Suzaku and, to a lesser degree, Lelouch. It would be a pity if they died and she would feel at least partially responsible and guilty if they were killed by a faction the Houses were funding. But in the grand scheme of things, they were still only two boys. Even if one was a prince and the other was a Kururugi, they weren't worth more to her than her country.

It was her sincere personal hope that Lelouch chose to walk the road less traveled and tried to help Japan, but she wasn't holding her breath for it.

"You really refuse to help?" He demanded one last time.

She refrained from rolling her eyes. "Yes. I refuse." She said calmly.

His eyes narrowed for a moment before he turned on his heel and left. She watched expressionlessly as he went and hoped he wouldn't cause problems for them because of this. She didn't want to think about having to have him silenced. She had lost enough relatives already as it was.

* * *

Kallen tossed the unfamiliar phone up in the air before catching it and considering what she was about to do. Not thinking things through was what had gotten her into this mess in the first place.

So suppose she told Ohgi everything. Absolutely everything, from the discovery of L.L.'s identity to Prince Lelouch admitting to having the Code R bomb to the deal she had struck with him to keep herself and the resistance safe . . . what would the consequence of that be?

Well, she didn't necessarily doubt that the prince wouldn't make good on his threat of annihilating Ohgi and the others. How sure was she that her watchdogs hadn't breached the house? Lady Stadtfeld hadn't said anything about anybody coming in, so the likelihood of there being surveillance devices inside the house would be slim. Unless they had broken in. But there was rarely ever a time when no one was home. Between her step mother and the house staff, there was always someone around.

No, her room was probably secure. But could she really risk her friends and comrades for a probably?

Then . . . what if she didn't tell him anything. What if she didn't call at all? Nothing would change. Ohgi would probably begin to suspect her of something stupid and she'd lose the pseudo-brother she had gained.

Then . . . if she called him but didn't tell him everything? The prince had never said that she couldn't contact them at all. Just that she wasn't to reveal his dirty secret.

And why the hell was she listening to Prince Lelouch anyway? Oh yeah, because she'd made an ass out of herself and tried to assassinate him. Because she knew she ought to be dead for her mistakes but she somehow wasn't. Because the prince held her life in his hands and probably wouldn't hesitate to destroy it if she crossed him again.

But on the other hand, if he was really going to kill her he could have gotten it over with already. Her watchers hadn't done anything but watch her. They could have disposed of her or arrested her at any time and they hadn't.

She sighed and flipped open the phone, dialing the memorized number before she could talk herself out of it. She couldn't keep doing this by herself. And besides, she was almost desperate for news of what had been going on with everyone else there.

After the first few sensational stories about the Shinjuku massacre, the media had gotten tired of it and moved on to something else. Since then, she hadn't really been able to hear anything useful from the news. And since she'd cut contact with Ohgi, she hadn't heard anything at all.

". . . Hello?" Ohgi answered uncertainly, not recognizing the number.

"It's Kallen." She said, hearing him shift in surprise on the other end of the line. "Do you have some time?"

"Yeah." He answered after a second. "Did you get a new phone?"

"No, I borrowed it from a classmate." She said, hating the uncertainty and distance between them.

"Okay. What did you need to talk about?" He asked.

"Ohgi, I would never betray the resistance. I would rather die that put you guys in danger. And I would cut out my own tongue before talking about you guys. You know that, right?" She insisted. He needed to know this much at the very least. Besides, if she'd been the traitor that had ratted them out before Code-R, it would have meant that she'd been the one to kill Naoto, which was simply inconceivable.

"I know, Kallen. That's not what I'm upset about." He grumbled, letting out a long sigh.

"It's not?" She asked in surprise.

"No, it's not. I'm upset because you're an idiot. What made you think you could do everything on your own?" He demanded, his argument slowly gaining more steam. "Why didn't you at least talk to me about it before doing something so stupid as making an attempt of the Viceroy's life? You didn't trust me?"

"No, that's not it. I just . . . didn't want you to tell me not to." She sighed. She sounded like a spoiled child.

"It never occurred to you that I might say no for a good reason?" He asked.

"I know. I know, okay. I know I was stupid and I know I've gotten myself into a big mess."

"So learn from your mistakes. Confide in me." He ordered gruffly.

She opened her mouth to retort, but fell silent instead. Confide in him? That was the one thing she couldn't do right now. How much did Lelouch know about them? They'd been idiots and used their real names on the radio in Shinjuku. He knew Ohgi and Tamaki's names for sure. Who else? Who else was she endangering by just considering this?

". . . Kallen?" He asked uncertainly. "Still there?"

"Yeah." She sighed, flopping back onto her bed.

"You don't want to talk to me, or you can't?"

"The later." She answered quietly.

"Alright. I'm guessing it has something to do with the prince, right? A condition in your agreement? I can't imagine you keeping your mouth shut for any other reason. Am I right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." Ohgi said, as though that solved the matter.

"Okay?" She asked incredulously.

"I'm not going to force it. I'd rather be in the dark and have you alive than the other way around." He said. "Just make sure you keep yourself safe. Don't take any risks. I know you're not going to like it, but right now leading a low profile will probably save you."

Well, not necessarily. The only surefire thing that would save her was if the prince suddenly keeled over tomorrow morning. She could keep hoping, but she somehow doubted it was going to happen.

"Yeah." She agreed halfheartedly.

"Don't make any moves. Don't plan anything. Just go about your life as a regular high school student." He instructed.

She hesitated for a moment without saying anything, but decided to take his earlier advice and confide in him a little. " . . . I met with Princess Euphemia today."

She heard him inhale quickly before letting out a tired, exasperated sigh. "Kallen . . ."

"I didn't touch her." She clarified quickly. "I didn't do anything to her. I was thinking about . . . trying to get close to her. If I become friends with her, Prince Lelouch might think twice about executing me. She might oppose him on my behalf."

"Or she might find out you have ties to a terrorist faction and have you executed herself in order to help him out." He pointed out.

She hadn't considered that. Euphemia seemed like a sweet teenaged girl. It was difficult to imagine her ordering the death of anyone. However, she couldn't let herself forget that she was still a royal. She was still a child of the Emperor and could probably be just as ruthless as Lelouch if she wanted to be.

"And what do you think the Viceroy will do when he finds out about this?"

She hesitated, wondering if she'd made a big mistake. If Lukas knew she was a terrorist, it meant that he'd been in contact with Prince Lelouch. And if that was the case, there was no reason for her to suppose that he wouldn't let the prince in on the fact she'd been getting close to Euphy. Even if Lukas' loyalty did lay with Euphemia, there was nothing stopping him from giving information to the Viceroy.

And if that happened, what was there to make her think that Euphemia would side with her over her own brother?

"I . . . don't know." She said slowly.

"Kallen . . ." He sighed heavily. "Please think before you come up with these kinds of schemes. You're too important for us to lose. You know that, right?"

"I know. I just . . . I'm sick of this. I hate it here. It was bad enough when it was only you enforcing my stay here. But now I've got that bastard's watchers following me too and I have to keep second guessing myself. Everything I do, I wonder what it looks like to them first just to make sure they don't suddenly swoop in on me."

"I know, Kallen. I don't like it either. I want nothing more than to get you out of there." He said. "Tell me what I can do for you."

She frowned and felt bad she'd even called. It hadn't really solved anything. All it was doing was make her long for the ghettos even more. She wanted to be Japanese again. She wanted to eat cheap ramen and sit on Ohgi and Naoto's sagging couch while watching a fuzzy TV set. She wanted flickery lighting and water that occasionally came out of the faucet muddy and paper thin walls.

She was so sick of all of this luxury. She was being smothered by it.

"I want to go home. . ." She said quietly, slipping into Japanese.

It had been weeks since she's spoken this language. This was the language she's learned first. Since her father had rarely been around even before the invasion she'd been primarily raised by her Japanese mother. She'd had a Britannian tutor, of course, but until the invasion she'd rarely spoken Britannian outside of lessons.

Japanese was her native tongue, just as Japan was her home. She would always identify herself more with her Japanese side. She hated the Britannians. She hated her father. And most of all, she hated this charade she was forcing herself into.

"We'll figure something out." Ohgi said sympathetically. "Hang in there a bit longer. Once we figure out how to safely get you out of this mess, we'll bring you back to the ghettos."

"What are you saying?" She asked in surprise.

Ohgi hesitated for a moment before answering. "You probably don't want to hear this, but Prince Lelouch did a pretty good thing for Shinjuku. The military hasn't been allowed back in here since the massacre. And he set up aid stations around the ghetto. They're still here and they'll treat anything, not just injuries from the massacre. It's free health care of the same standard as the Britannians in the Settlement get and it's open to anyone. That's never happened before. Also, most of the police that come through here now are Honorary Britannians or partnered with Honorary Britannians. It's . . . pretty safe here now." He explained.

She didn't want to believe it. Or rather, she didn't' want to acknowledge it, but she'd seen first hand how easy it was for the prince to go from cold to charismatic. He was just buying them off. Bribing them into submission with a few band aids and a bit less corruption. It was Stockholm Syndrome on a massive scale.

"Well, comparatively. Safe enough for you to come back." Ohgi amended.

"You mean . . ."

"Well this is your home, right? You didn't think I was just going to leave you there, did you? Naoto said you were going to move in here. I just want it to be safe for you before we do that. First we've got to figure out a way to get you away from the prince's watchers." Ohgi said. "It would be more helpful if I knew how much shit you were in, but I get that you can't tell me."

"Ohgi . . ." She breathed and, embarrassingly, felt tears begin to form in her eyes.

Even after everything stupid that she'd done, Ohgi was still willing to take her in. She hoped she'd get the opportunity to take him up on his offer. But as of this moment, she wasn't holding her breath.

Prince Lelouch wouldn't make it easy for her to slip his leash.

* * *

When Suzaku had gone to check in on the Lancelot the day after returning to Osaka, he'd been surprised by the sight of the new Knightmare in the bay Hector's should have been. He was even more surprised when Lloyd distractedly waved him away in favor of continuing his conversation with one of the other engineers.

For a moment his heart plummeted into his gut. This had never happened before. Lloyd was _always_ eager for him to be there, for him to be available for testing or instruction. There had never been a day that had gone by since he'd met the engineer that Lloyd hadn't wanted him to do something for the Lancelot.

Was this it then? He was useful to Lloyd because he was close to Lelouch. But Lelouch had practically cut ties with him lately, so was that the end of his usefulness?

Was he being cast aside now?

Gino had wandered off, excitedly looking at the new frame, and Anya had never been much of a conversationalist to begin with. She stood near the entrance to the hangar, leaning against the wall as she updated her diary. And he was standing alone halfway across the room suddenly unsure of himself.

He felt like he didn't belong here. He felt like without Lloyd's eager enthusiasm he was out of place. He didn't belong in a Knightmare hanger because he wasn't a real Knight. Whatever his position was to Lelouch, the fact remained that without the title Lelouch had forced on him, he was nothing. If he lost the A.S.E.E.C., he was just another Honorary Britannian – albeit one who had managed to gain a prince's favor.

"Suzaku." Cecile greeted with a warm smile. She didn't look like she was about to cut him loose – to tell him that he and the Lancelot had been made obsolete by Hector and this new frame – but he could be wrong. It wouldn't be the first time. He'd been wrong about a lot of things in his life and he'd come to accept the fact that he really wasn't very lucky.

That the Lancelot had ever even fallen into his lap in the first place had been a miracle. He should have expected it to all fall apart eventually. Because he was good at that. He was good at watching everything fall apart. First Japan, then his family. Now this windfall with Lelouch.

He'd be next to useless to the prince without the Lancelot. There would be no reason to keep him around if he didn't have the Lancelot. And since he wasn't a part of the Knightmare Corps he wouldn't be allowed to pilot anything else either. Suddenly the argument last night about whether or not Lelouch was going to scrap the plan to let his Honorary Britannians pilot was more important to him.

"Miss Cecile." He said numbly, watching as her smile turned into a concerned frown.

"Are you alright? You look a little pale." She said, leaning close to examine his face.

"I'm fine." He answered, ashamed that he'd given away his discomfort as he leaned away. He couldn't show weakness. He couldn't make mistakes. He was supposed to be perfect. Even if they took everything else from him, he couldn't let Lelouch down.

"If you say so. I still think you should probably go for a lay down or something." She said, reaching to press her hand against his forehead. "Well, you feel okay."

"I'm fine." He said again, this time more confidently, determined not to let her see through the chinks in his armor.

"Okay." She said with a smile. "I'm afraid we don't have anything for you to do today. Lloyd wants to finish this project quickly." She said, gesturing towards the new Knightmare.

"I see."

"You don't seem very excited about it." She noted wryly.

"It's for Hector, right?" He asked, somehow unable to muster any kind of enthusiasm for the new machine.

It was the death knell of the niche he'd carved in Lelouch's shadow. He'd been useful because of the Lancelot. He'd been able to distinguish himself because of the Lancelot. It was only because of the Lancelot – because Lloyd's precious machine was so stellar – that that he'd been able to do anything at all. And it had already been made obsolete. It had already been replaced and he hadn't been chosen as the pilot.

He was _certain_ that he wasn't the pilot. It was in the bay that the Captain used. It had replaced the Captain's Sutherland. And surely Lloyd or Cecile or _someone_would have mentioned the possibility of a new frame to him before now if he had been the chosen pilot.

"Well, that one is. Don't worry. We're not going to make you pilot one." She said with a smile.

He didn't understand what she was saying. Don't worry? How wasn't he supposed to worry? Or had they decided not to waste a new frame on a Number? He was just an Eleven. Before now – before Lelouch – the very thought of choosing an Eleven to pilot a Knightmare had been unheard of. And why would they choose him now that they had a pure blooded Britannian Ace up for grabs?

It shouldn't take him by surprise. They hadn't chosen him for his connection to Lelouch at first, that was a bonus that had come later. Rather, it was because he'd been conveniently dumped in their laps in Shinjuku, had decent scores and because Lloyd was desperate to get the Lancelot into the field. Lloyd would have put anyone in it.

And Cecile had been the one who hadn't wanted him to pilot it in the first place.

"The Lancelot still outclasses the Lionel by a mile." She continued, gazing wistfully back towards the prototype.

"What?" He asked in surprise.

"The Lionel." She said, gesturing towards Hector's machine. "That's what it's called. It's what Lloyd likes to call the dumbed down production model of the Lancelot. Even so, it can't hold a candle to the real thing. It just closes the gap a bit between a standard Sutherland and the Lancelot."

He stared at her incredulously for a moment. Had he really just worked himself up into a frenzy over nothing? Over a simple misconception?

Just how possessive of the Lancelot and Lloyd could he get?

"Are you sure you're okay, Suzaku? You're all flushed now. Are you having hot and cold flashes?" She asked, reaching for his forehead again.

He grabbed her hand before she could discover that it was embarrassment and shame, not a fever. "I'm really fine, Miss Cecile. But thank you for worrying about me." He said, squeezing her hand a little as he tried to squash his guilt over the uncharitable thoughts he'd just had about her.

Cecile had been nothing but kind to him. She was the one who had kept Lloyd from working him to the bone. She was the one who had made him all sorts of baked goods so that he wouldn't have to cook for himself at home, though granted none of them had tasted any good. She mothered him and seemed to genuinely care.

"You've been acting strange." She noted.

"I'm just tired." He confided, letting his shoulders slump a little. "And I hate being apart from Lelouch like this all the time."

It was the truth. Without his friend next to him to validate his importance, he'd found himself plagued by numerous thoughts about how worthless he was on his own. It had never been like this before, but he figured he'd just been too blind to see it.

No, from his current vantage, he could completely see what Lelouch had that first day they'd been reunited. Lelouch had called him a fool and he'd been right. He was at the top – or rather near it – of the military hierarchy now and it was all thanks to Lelouch. Looking down from here at the hundreds and thousands of faceless soldiers lower than him on the chain of command, he could see exactly what Lelouch had that day.

He would have bled himself dry for Britannia and it would never have been noticed, let alone acknowledged by the Emperor.

He needed Lelouch to complete his goals. Japan was already in the hands of his friend, but the terrorists would have to be silenced before Lelouch could keep up to his end of the bargain and begin turning over power back to the people. He couldn't expect Japan to resurface in the middle of a war.

And any way he thought about it, this conflict with the terrorists was a war. It wasn't just an issue of domestic crime or a number of unrelated events. These were acts of war against Lelouch and his regime. They needed to stop.

It didn't matter in the long run if he was the one to do it, it just needed to be done. He trusted that Lelouch wouldn't betray him, so it was in his best interest that the terrorists were brought to an end as quickly as possible by whatever means possible.

He shouldn't care about a new Knightmare frame. No, in fact, he should be overjoyed about it. It was another edge over the terrorists that threatened Japan's future. It was an advantage. Another weapon that would be used to further his goal.

He wasn't in this for glory. This wasn't about him. He was Suzaku Kururugi, the man that had sold his soul for the sake of getting back his country. No one needed to know about how much he'd given up or how much he'd fought. No one needed to remember him at all. That wasn't the important part. It was Japan. It was all for Japan and he was shamed by his earlier thoughts.

"I'm sure his highness is missing you just as much." Cecile comforted, drawing him into a quick squeeze of a hug.

Somehow he wasn't as surprised by the gesture as he should have been. She was a senior officer of the A.S.E.E.C., a brilliant scientist and seven years his senior. But he also realized that he'd almost begun thinking of her like a surrogate mother or an older sister. Though he supposed that designation didn't really fit since his real mother hated him to the point of refusing to speak to him at all and he didn't have any older siblings - just that . . . boy.

Cecile was wonderful. A very good friend and a steadfast support.

"Oh, Cecile, darling. I don't remember giving you a break." Lloyd called, annoyance evident in his tone. "You're supposed to be troubleshooting the Captain's frame so that we actually pass von Hoffman's inspection."

She rolled her eyes at Suzaku before turning to give her response to Lloyd – none of which was polite. "I'd better get back to work, Suzaku." She said after she was finished reaming out her employer. "Prince Lelouch ordered Lionel frames for all of his Royal Guards and Sir Gottwald. We're going to end up upgrading the King Piece too, so we're going to have our hands full for a while.

"I'm not sure how you'll distract those Rounds in the meanwhile, but hang in there. We'll have you back in the Lancelot as soon as we're done. We just don't have the time to monitor your simulations while we're supposed to be constructing five knew frames."

"No, I understand, Miss Cecile. I'll think of something to keep Gino and Anya busy." He said before beginning to back away. "I shouldn't keep you from your work any longer. Good luck on the construction."

"Thanks, Suzaku. We'll need it – as always when it comes to dealing with Lloyd." She replied with a wave before hurrying back into the fray or busy engineers.

He turned on his heel and head for the doors a second later, unwilling to let himself take a closer look at the machine that had spawned so much jealousy in him. He knew that he wouldn't be able to look at it without comparing it to the Lancelot. And now that he knew that it wasn't even a rival for the Lancelot, he'd rather not do that.

He'd gotten an ego, he realized disgustedly. He was proud of the Lancelot and the fact that he was it's pilot. And pride wasn't something he was supposed to feel anymore – not after the crimes he'd commit.

* * *

Lelouch was brooding again, fingers cradled under his chin as he stared a hole in the floor at his feet. Jeremiah had to be pretty sick of just watching him do this by now, but then again, he couldn't really care less at the moment. He needed to think things through carefully.

He knew what he wanted to do – what he needed to do to make this latest plan work to draw Kei and the Kenshiki out of their holes. It was just that it wasn't an easy decision. He'd said he was going to do something appalling enough to draw their attention and the plan he had in mind certainly was that.

It would ruin his reputation as Viceroy. All of the little, benevolent things he'd done would be forgotten in the wake of this new scheme and he would likely be labeled a reincarnation of Nero. The Elevens would hate him. There was even the possibility that this would draw all the other terrorist groups in the country out of the woodwork as well. He was going to become a tyrant and a fool. He was going to show the country the corruption of Britannia and unapologetically take part in it.

He remembered Schneizel telling him that there were few things more useful than his reputation and was finally thankful that he'd been cast as a villain. It would save him time. After all, why would they put this past him when he'd already slaughtered civilians on a massive scale? If it would help him accelerate his plan, he'd even take credit for Shinjuku. Not that he'd be going anywhere near that far this time.

He let out a slow, ragged breath. He would need to prepare for this. He would need accountants, contractors, architects . . the media. He frowned and tried to remember the name of that man Clovis had introduced him to. It seemed like years ago. So much had happened since the day his brother had thrown that welcoming party for him that it was hard to remember. R something. Reid. That was it. He'd get him since he didn't have any other connections in the local media and recruit him to his side for this. The reporter had seemed eager enough to help him back then.

But to do all that, he'd have to go back to Tokyo. It would be safer for him there anyway. He wasn't about to make this move while sitting in the Kenshiki's own backyard. No. He'd much rather make it from the relative safety of Tokyo. He'd come back to Osaka once all the pieces were in place. In the meantime, Adrian and the ATTF would have to address any moves the Kenshiki made.

He let out another slow breath, rubbing his hands over his face as Jeremiah shifted in concern. "Is something wrong, Lelouch?" His Knight asked from the post he'd taken up by the door.

"Yes." He answered, because it was wrong. It wouldn't be as fatal as a number of other things he could have done, so in that regard it was fairly tame, but it was still wrong and there would still, inevitably, be casualties. "I'm about to do a horrible thing."

He chuckled mirthlessly at the confused expression Jeremiah sent his way, as though he weren't quite following along. Because it ought to have been simple. If it was such a terrible thing, and if just thinking about it was already making him feel guilty, then the easy solution was just not to do it.

But he was going to do it.

"How so?" His Knight as tentatively.

"In the very near future I will be putting a plan into motion. This plan may . . . make Suzaku hate me. Well, I'm not exactly sure how he will react, but to save his genuine reaction for the press, I'm going to be keeping him in the dark. He's never been a very good liar." He explained vaguely. The majority of this plan hinged on the fact that no one would really know the truth. There was a possibility of salvaging the situation after everything had come to a close.

"There's a distinct possibility that he'll try to punch me." He continued, because at the moment that was the most likely scenario he was imagining. Even despite the fact that there were Rounds shadowing him, he was pretty sure if he pushed hard enough his friend would snap.

And Suzaku couldn't afford to be seen as entirely on his side on this matter. That would ruin everything else he had planned for this country.

"So if that happens, I want you to let him." He finished.

"What?" Jeremiah asked incredulously. "You want me to let him hit you?"

"In this case, I'll deserve it." He shrugged. "Suzaku would never cause me undue harm. He'd never kill me. But he's always been tactile when he's angry and in this case he'll probably see it as me breaking a promise to him. I'll explain it to him after, but his first reaction has to be raw."

"I won't let him hurt you." Jeremiah said, wincing slightly at the insubordination.

"I'm giving you an order." He said firmly. "It won't be as bad as the last time. I promise."

He'd never said it. He'd never admitted it. It was just something between them that had always remained unsaid – that the reason Lelouch had been shot in Shinjuku was because he'd ordered it so. But he was referring to it now. There was no point in hiding it now that Jeremiah knew about his Geass.

He understood why Jeremiah was reluctant to follow the order. It contradicted his oaths. Especially when only weeks ago Abigail had been prevented from giving him a slap by one of his Knights and set the standard. Allowing one of his Knights to assault him when he hadn't allowed his wife, a civilian woman, would obviously cause some conflict. And especially when Lelouch took into consideration the nauseating guilt the man must have felt when he'd discovered that, not only had he failed to protect Lelouch, but that he'd been the one to injure him in the first place.

Jeremiah had gone stiff and pale, Adam's apple working nervously in his throat as he processed the admission. Then he surprised Lelouch by bowing his head in shame and sinking to his knee. Lelouch didn't demand this kind of obeisance from anyone outside of official ceremony. He hated the kneeling subservience and knew from personal experience just how insincere it could be. After all, he always knelt to the Emperor and it didn't change a thing about how he felt for the man. But Jeremiah was doing this to himself.

"I . . ." Jeremiah said helplessly, unsure of what to say. Obviously he was still carrying a bit of baggage about Shinjuku even despite being made into his Knight of Honor.

"You shot me." Lelouch said, deciding to take pity on him and remedy the situation. "You followed an order I gave you with Geass and shot me so that we could get away with Clovis' murder. You saved me from execution."

It was the blunt, nitty gritty truth that couldn't be denied and Lelouch figured they were probably overdue for coming to a resolution about this. He'd made himself vulnerable, he realized. Jeremiah knew all of his darkest secrets – Clovis, Nunnally, his hatred of the Emperor and now Geass as well. His Knight could destroy him if he so chose, but not before Lelouch destroyed him in kind.

Still, even with the power Jeremiah could have over him, he still found he trusted the man. He'd been almost fanatically loyal thus far.

"Geass?" The man questioned in bewilderment.

"You've seen it." He answered with a shrug to hide the fact that he himself was more or less in the dark about his power. "But the point is that after everything that happened in Shinjuku, I expect you to follow all of my orders unhesitatingly. All of them. Even should I order you to allow Suzaku to assault me. You've set a precedence after all."

Jeremiah looked like he desperately wanted to argue for another moment before he nodded and sank lower in his bow. "Yes, My Lord."

Lelouch sighed and leaned back in his chair, gesturing mutely for the man to rise. Well, at least that was one potential complication taken care of. But there were still dozens of others waiting for him to address them. He swallowed back his uncomfortable guilt and began planning in earnest.

* * *

AN:

A bit shorter than I anticipated, but I had to cut it off here. To be honest, I got a bit overwhelmed by the plot. For the first time since beginning of this behemoth I had to actually write down a plot outline for the next few chapters. So many things are going to be coming together so quickly that it was hard for me to remember what had to come first and in what order. This was the last loose ends/lead up that needed to happen before they go back to Tokyo (again). Whew.

... 4 more days to Skyrim. Since I accidentally spent two of the days that I was supposed to be writing this chapter actually reading over old chapters of Dauntless (I got from chapter 8 to 52 before realizing that I should get my ass in gear and get writing) I'm hoping to be able to get another chapter out before then. o.O we'll see.

Also, there's a new plot for adoption on my profile page. Seriously, someone please write it for me. I'd love to do it, but then I'd have to choose between Dauntless and Succession Games because I doubt I could maintain two stories like this at the same time.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this. Personally I loved writing Suzaku's little panic attack at the thought of being replaced. Don't forget to review.

Allora


	73. Chapter 73

Chapter 73

Truth be told, Lelouch was nervous. And not only because he was currently making a lovely target for any possible snipers. He still didn't really like this plan, but he'd deal with the consequences of it as they cropped up.

He'd already spoken with Schneizel about the full extent of his scheme – his brother had actually laughed at the way he'd begun fully embracing the mask he'd carefully crafted for him – so he shouldn't have to deal with any repercussions from the homeland. Not that it was certain there would have been any. Compared to other Viceroys, this was probably the norm. Corruption was the Britannian way, after all.

They looked impressive as they left the car, his Royal Guard standing by in their Sutherlands as both of his Knights flanked him on either side in their black and silver uniforms, capes flaring as they walked. These uniforms had been designed to look impressive and draw the eye and they were certainly doing their job, platinum and diamond brooches glittering in the morning sun.

No, the real reason he was feeling nervous was because this was the moment of truth and Suzaku was already in a bad mood due to an argument with C.C. (all of which had been C.C.'s fault since apparently she'd decided to sleep in Suzaku's bed for a change and his friend hadn't been able to sleep). He'd spent two days planning this since coming back to Tokyo and for those two days, Suzaku had been deliberately kept out of the way and out of the loop.

Suzaku stood close to him on his left, watching the crowd of reporters between them and the door of the Viceroy's Palace as though they were wild animals that might strike at any moment. Being told that he would be guarding Lelouch today had lightened his friend's mood a bit, though his eyes were still a bit narrowed and there was still a bit of a frown on his lips to suggest he wasn't in completely good spirits again.

Jeremiah, on his other side, practically thrummed with a nervous tension. But he knew what was coming.

They made their way through the gauntlet of reporters each shouting questions at him in the hope that he would actually answer. He would be having a press conference today anyway, but reporters always loved to get the first scoop.

"Prince Lelouch, do you have plans for retaliation against the JLF in return for Lake Kawaguchi?"

"Did you know Princess Euphemia was in the country before the hotel incident?"

"How are things coming along with the Kenshiki Faction, Viceroy?"

"How much longer are you going to take pity on the Elevens in Shinjuku at the expense of Britannian resources?"

He didn't answer. Continuing at the same pace as Suzaku and Jeremiah pushed back any of the reporters that got too close. That is, until one of them actually reached out and grabbed his arm to tug him to a halt.

This was a massive no-no. It was a massive breach of protocol – not just for touching royalty but because any reporter should know better than to actually lay hands on their target.

Jeremiah moved almost before Lelouch was able to jerk his hand out of the man's grasp, grabbing the reporter by a fistful of his jacket and physically pushing him away. "Don't touch the prince." His Knight growled as Suzaku stood closer behind him to cover his back.

But in the momentary lapse that he'd stopped his advance towards the door, the narrow avenue between the reporters ahead of him had closed, effectively surrounding him. Camera shutters clicked rapidly all around them as Jeremiah quickly released the reporter that had grabbed him and leveled a glare at him.

Then a camera was shoved in Lelouch's face and the questions started again. He kept his face neutral and placid, as though he hadn't just been ambushed by the press, as he looked at the face on the other side of the camera that was filming. There was blond hair and a wide smile watching him.

He hadn't expected Ried to come himself and almost let his composure slip. The man was a producer at Hi-TV News and should have left the fieldwork for his underlings, but he supposed that whatever it was that journalists thrived on wouldn't leave the man just because of a promotion.

He'd had the information he wanted the press to have leaked to Ried's office via an anonymous tip. He didn't doubt the man would have verified it all already.

"Your highness, is it true that you're building a new palace in Osaka?" Ried asked.

Lelouch forced a politely surprised expression on his face for all of half a second before pursing his lips and glancing away at the reporters blocking his way. They were all wearing Hi-TV News jackets, which meant they were probably all of Ried's subordinates and wouldn't move until they got their interview.

He actually had to commend the man for the implementation of this plan. The man who had grabbed him probably also worked for Hi-TV News and had probably been instructed to get him to stop – though that particular man had slunk away back into the crowd an disappeared to prevent retaliation.

"Yes. That's right." He answered a second later. He'd thought they'd do this at the press conference, but now worked too.

"Can I ask you a couple questions about it?" Ried asked.

Lelouch looked at the man pointedly before gesturing for him to continue. They both knew that he didn't really have a choice unless he wanted to sic his Knights on the Britannian press. And while it would certainly make a story, it wasn't quite the image he was going for.

"I've heard that your new palace will outdo the Viceroy's Palace in terms of size and luxury. Is that true?"

Lelouch smiled for the camera as though proud and excited about his new project. "Yes. Though I don't know about luxury, it's certainly going to be bigger than my brother's palace in square footage."

"Then, will you be moving the administrative capital of Area Eleven there once the building is complete?" Ried questioned.

"No. It's for my personal use."

"Is it true that you repurposed funds from the Osakan Relief Fund and the Honorary Britannian System's administration budget to help cover the construction costs?"

"Wha-" Suzaku half exclaimed behind him before he reigned himself in. Lelouch was glad he couldn't see his friend's face since he was about ninety percent sure that the initial shock was morphing into either anger or hurt at the betrayal.

"I don't know where you heard such ridiculous -" He began to deny, eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I assure you my sources are quite reliable." Ried interrupted.

Reliable, indeed. They'd come from Lelouch's own office but through an anonymous tip. Though, presumably, the man had had the good sense enough to check into them a bit before approaching him.

"You've practically bankrupted the city's revival process for the sake of exploiting the cheap realty market."

Ah, but that was going just a bit too far. He hadn't meant for all of that to come out at the same time. He'd meant for the hints to come first and the accusations to follow in the coming weeks when it became apparent that the money was actually gone. Ried had obviously done his homework. But the damage was done now and he had no further use of this particular mob of media henchmen.

He signaled mutely to Jeremiah. His Knight had been eagerly awaiting the call and roughly grabbed the camera out of the reporter's grasp, 'confiscating' it. Not that it would really matter. There were probably a dozen different cameras filming this right now. The menacing looming of his Royal Guards' Sutherland's drifting closer had the necessary effect of making the reporters retreat, once again opening the way for them to pass into the Viceroy's Palace.

Lelouch tried not to focus on the overly stiff posture of his best friend, how every step was rigid and almost jerky in what Lelouch knew now had to be anger. It was a marked contrast to Suzaku's usually fluid grace. He figured that punch would be coming for him as soon as they were out of the public eye.

And he'd let it just as soon as this press conference was over. There was worse to come and he might as well get it all over with before letting Suzaku mete out his punishment.

* * *

Ohgi thought that he might have made a mistake. He'd had such high hopes for Prince Lelouch, despite the things the news had said about him. Even despite knowing that he was the one responsible for keeping Kallen away from them.

Actually, the fact that he hadn't killed Kallen when he'd had every right to had kind of made him like the prince more. Or as much as a Japanese resistance leader could like a Britannian prince, in any case. Because Prince Lelouch really _had_ done something good for Shinjuku.

Whether or not he'd been involved in sanctioning the massacre, Shinjuku was safer and more liveable in than he could remember since before the invasion. The free healthcare had been a massive help – especially after the massacre. But there was also the fact that the prince had sent in real relief consisting of food and water as well. And a few enterprising Britannians had scented the shifting of the winds since Kururugi had been knighted and were now hiring Elevens out of the ghettos regardless of their citizenship status. They weren't the best jobs, but they were still legitimate paying jobs.

It was actually due to this changing in the winds that he'd been able to even think about bringing Kallen back to the ghettos. Yoshida had managed to snag one of those lucrative jobs as a gardener for a rich noble family. The kicker was that the employer lived across the street from the Stadtfelds.

It was easy for Yoshida to watch the house while he was working on the hedge (and the front hedge had probably never looked so good in it's life). Ohgi watched the school, or more specifically Kallen's commute to school and back since it was next to impossible to get into the school grounds. The first day he'd gone there, he'd been chased off by a guard before he'd even managed to approach the gate. Though he supposed it _had_been suspicious for an Eleven to be snooping around a Britannian school anyway – especially considering that not only Princess Euphemia, but also the prince's foster sister Milly Ashford attended that particular school.

He'd taken to monitoring her progress from the moment she left her house to the moment she entered the school from the safe confines of his car. That, combined with Yoshida's observations had led them to believe that there were four different stalkers watching Kallen at any given time. One of them was always obviously in the open – a clear message from the prince that he hadn't forgotten about her.

The stalkers changed shifts every eight hours, being replaced with fresh soldiers or cops or whatever they were. Probably cops judging by the almost unionized feeling of their shift changes. He was sure they got coffee breaks and paid lunch breaks too.

Whatever they were, it was obvious they were in cahoots with the prince since the security at the school didn't bother to check them when they went in, so at least they didn't have to worry about a third party having taken an interest in Kallen as well. It wouldn't have surprised him. He was sure there were plenty of resistance groups who would have been only too eager to snap Kallen up if they'd ever found out about her piloting ability. The Kenshiki would have probably been at the top of the list if they could get over her half-Britannian heritage.

He closed his eyes for a moment as his radio crackled. It had been all over the news all morning that Prince Lelouch was going to make a national announcement today. The media was turning it into a circus since it was the first time the prince had done so outside of his joint declaration of war on terrorism with Prince Clovis.

Then it began, a crisp, confident Britannian voice coming out of his speakers as he reluctantly listened to what was so important.

"To the people of Area Eleven, I regret to inform you that four days ago, terrorists whom we believe to have been members of the Kenshiki Faction, stole a shipment of RPI-13 Sutherland Knightmare frames bound for the military's garrison base in Osaka." Prince Lelouch said.

Ohgi raised an eyebrow in surprise. That definitely changed the stakes of the game for the prince. If the Kenshiki were armed well enough to stand against the military now, he could only foresee an even bloodier reign of terror beginning in Osaka.

"For that reason, I am invoking a state of martial law in Osaka. The city has been quarantined to prevent the Kenshiki Faction from escaping. _Citizens_," The prince said, and Ohgi noticed he said the word with particular emphasis. He was referring to Britannians and the Honorary Britannians (if they were lucky) only, "are encouraged to withdraw to one of three special protective zones around the city. These zones will be protected by the military where we will guarantee the citizens' safety and health.

"To those who refuse the offer of sanctuary, keep in mind that if you see Knightmares on the street, they are not necessarily Knights from the Britannian military. Exercise extreme caution. We will be expending every effort to put an end to the Kenshiki Faction's reign of terror and bring them to justice.

"A mandatory curfew will be in effect from nine in the evening to seven in the morning. Anyone found out of their homes during curfew can and will be taken in for questioning. All travel into or out of the city will be restricted.

"To the people of Osaka, I request your patience as we work tirelessly to restore peace to your city. The Kenshiki will fall. It's just a matter of time now. Thank you."

Ohgi sighed heavily and leaned back in his seat as his heart went out to the Japanese in Osaka. The prince had promised to protect the Britannians, but no such offer had been made to the Japanese who hadn't taken advantage of the Honorary Britannian system. Even worse, he was going to be leaving them vulnerable in the middle of a war zone. It would be like the invasion all over again – Knightmares trampling over the innocent in their eagerness to pursue their enemies.

He doubted the Kenshiki cared about the common people any more than the prince did.

He wanted to do something for them, but if the city had been cut off there was no way for him to get in. He could have at least brought aid – food and medicine enough to weather the storm. Naoto would have been able to.

He forced back the grief that rose with the thought of his best friend. It wasn't like he hadn't lost plenty of people he'd loved before and nothing he could do would bring Naoto back. It was enough for him to take care of Naoto's most precious things – Kallen, and his resistance cell. Though he knew he was failing on both accounts.

He was good at managing people, but quite a bit less so at planning missions. That had always been Naoto's job. He'd taken care of the recruits while Naoto had figured out what they were going to do. It had been a team effort and it had worked. Not that Naoto hadn't been charismatic enough to take care of the recruits himself, it was just that he hadn't really been that patient.

And with Kallen . . . well, he had to have messed up somewhere for her to think that he'd suspected her of betraying them. He knew damned well that she'd never do anything to compromise their resistance cell. He also knew that it was in her nature to put herself in danger when she thought it would benefit their group.

Whatever agreement she'd come to with the prince, he didn't like it. Though, he supposed, he liked it a bit more than the alternative of the prince executing her for attempted regicide. Still, every day she spent under Prince Lelouch's surveillance was another day closer to the time when he decided to either get rid of her or interrogate her for information on their cell.

He couldn't even stand the thought of it. After what those bastards had done to Naoto, he got nauseous even thinking about it. It would be too cruel a fate for Kallen to fall the same way – tortured and interrogated for information.

He let out a slow breath. He had to get her out of there. Now that they were able to slip in and out of the Settlement again, and now that Kallen wouldn't be assaulted by a mob of angry Japanese just for the way she looked, he needed to get her out from under the prince's thumb.

* * *

C.C. would have shaken her head at Lelouch's new ploy and teased him a bit about making up his mind on whether he wanted to be a real tyrant or not. She would have. Except right now her heart was hammering somewhere around the vicinity of her throat.

It was rare that her composure was rattled like this. But this was bad.

She'd forged a mental connection with each of her contractors at the advent of their contract and that connection had always allowed her to feel (for lack of a better description) them. She felt Marianne through a single gossamer thread, the signal weak since the Empress had lost her body but still evident if she concentrated on it. Lelouch was a chain, each link solid with resolute determination. It was steady, as though pulled taut, and rarely moved because Lelouch rarely used his Geass.

There was one more – one that she had deliberately drowned out over the years. She'd learned to ignore it. It was loud and constantly throbbing, a constant pressure against her mind as it writhed like an angry snake. It was out of control. The child she had hoped to craft into the perfect contractor. The child she had driven mad with Geass.

And he was close.

Closer than he had been in years. Closer than she was comfortable with. So so close that it was impossible to imagine that he didn't know she was here. She was hidden from the public eye, but there were still people around her – Lelouch's Royal Guard, audio techs, security officers. They could all see her, which meant he could see her.

She peeked out at the mass of assembled cameramen and reporters listening to Lelouch's speech but didn't immediately see a mop of silver hair that was oh so familiar. But then, there was no guarantee that he was in the crowd in the first place. He didn't need direct eye contact. He could be anywhere within half a kilometer of the Viceroy's Palace.

She felt goosebumps rise up the back of her neck. It wasn't fear. No, it really wasn't. It was guilt. Hard as it was to believe that she, C.C., the emotionless witch, could actually feel something like guilt, she really regret what she'd done to him. She'd destroyed a perfectly healthy and sane boy for her own gain.

But as much as she regret it and as much as it made her feel like a monster, she still couldn't allow him to interfere with Lelouch. All of her loyalty now lay with the prince and she refused to allow anyone to mess with him.

Besides, she had promised Lelouch that she wouldn't do anything to hinder him. That included, she supposed, cleaning up after her own messes.

She took another look at her prince, standing proud and tall between his two Knights as he twisted the country to his newest game. This was the boy who would take her Code. This was the boy who would fulfill her greatest wish. This one. She etched the image into her mind before turning away and heading for the exit.

Lelouch probably wouldn't even notice she was missing.

* * *

What the hell was Lelouch doing?

Suzaku's thoughts were racing as he followed the Eleventh Prince through the Viceroy's Palace, up the ornate staircase and onto the second floor where Lelouch's official office was. He was seething and betrayed.

He'd trusted Lelouch. He'd always trusted Lelouch. Even though he knew his friend was a habitual liar, he'd always trusted Lelouch not to lie to him. Why? He wasn't sure. Maybe it was just arrogance. But for Lelouch to lie to him about something like _this_ was so far past acceptable it wasn't funny.

He'd broken his promise. He'd promised – sworn – just as solemnly as Suzaku had pledged himself to accept this Knighthood that he would protect that Japanese.

"_Be __my __Knight __and __I __swear, __Suzaku, __that __I'll __make __this __country __as __much __like __it __used __to __be __as __possible.__"_

_This_ – what Lelouch was doing now – wasn't holding up to his end of the bargain. He was deliberately excluding the Elevens from the safety he was offering everyone else. And it was worse because Lelouch _knew_ how much of a difference it would make. Lelouch categorically _knew_ what it would be like for those left out in the open when the Kenshiki finally decided to make their attack.

It was something they had both experienced – something that had traumatized them both - which is why he couldn't understand why Lelouch was doing this.

And what was it that reporter had been saying earlier this morning? He'd already known about Lelouch's plans to build a new house in Osaka. He hadn't thought much about it. Actually, he'd thought that Lelouch had just gotten tired of living on the base. He still remembered the first time he'd met the Britannian prince. He'd been in a ramshackle out building at the Kururugi Shrine talking excitedly about picture windows and picket fences as though they were to be expected. He doubted the garrison base in Osaka really appealed to Lelouch's sense of aesthetics.

But was it really true what that man had said about Lelouch using public funds to build it? From the Honorary Britannian system's administration funds? (_Suzaku_, his own Knight of Honor, was an Honorary Britannian for Christ's sake! If Lelouch bankrupted the program, what would happen to people like him all over the country?) And from the Osakan Relief Fund? The city was practically in shambles.

No, those accusations couldn't be true. Though if they weren't true, it was was a little surprising how the press had decided to turn on Lelouch before he'd publicly made his announcement about Osaka's new status.

He followed Lelouch into his office, managing to slam the door behind him before Gino and Anya could slip in as well. They probably wouldn't break into Lelouch's office uninvited. He hoped. Because he didn't want them to see this. It had been weeks now since he'd had a real argument with Lelouch and this was bound to be more than a petty squabble over Suzaku's refusal to play chess.

Lelouch was expecting it at least. He'd turned to face Suzaku after entering the office to lean against the front of his desk instead of retreating behind the mahogany piece of furniture.

"What the hell, Lelouch?" He demanded. "What are you doing?"

"Calm down, Suzaku." Lelouch said, folding his arms over his chest. "I'll explain."

"You'd damn well better!" He exclaimed.

"I'm giving the Kenshiki a legitimate target. If they go after the civilians in the protective zones, they'll continue to be viewed as radicals. However, I've given them an alternative target. They already want me dead, and what better way to kill me than to try to take me in a symbol of my corruption. They'll attack the palace once I begin to occupy it and then we'll put a final end to Kenshiki Faction." Lelouch explained calmly.

Suzaku reeled at the revelation. Lelouch didn't care. He didn't care about the people who would die as a result of this stupid plan. No, in fact, he was treating the entire Eleven population like they were all already terrorists. He wasn't even giving them the benefit of the doubt. There were only five game pieces on this board – three for the protective zones, one for the palace and one for the Kenshiki.

Suzaku didn't care about Lelouch's scheme. All he cared about were the casualties that would happen. How many innocent people would have to die just so Lelouch could enjoy a victory? He should have expected this. After all, both in Area Eighteen and in Shinjuku, Lelouch had only won after hundreds of civilians had been slaughtered. And Lelouch didn't care about that anymore. He thought he couldn't get any worse, that he was already drowning in sin – therefore anything was game.

He snapped, hand racing forward to catch the prince by his collar and roughly drag him forward. "God damn it, Lelouch! My people aren't your play things!"

Lelouch's eyes widened in surprise and Suzaku froze. Because that wasn't his idea. The Japanese weren't _his_people. He was Japanese, but he didn't claim any kind of ownership over them. That was Lelouch's idea escaping form his lips, because Lelouch thought of him as a prince of Japan.

And it was only now – when his own outburst shocked him out of his fury – that he realized he shouldn't have been able to get this far in the first place. He glanced over his shoulder at Lord Gottwald, the man watching him closely with his hands clenched into fists and his teeth grit, and came to another sickening realization. After all, Gottwald would have been only too pleased to be given an excuse to put him down.

"You planned this." He said leadenly, the prince's logic slowly becoming more and more apparent. He knew Lelouch better than anyone, after all. "Why, Lelouch? You wanted me to hurt you? To make you feel better about what you're doing? You thought it would be some kind of atonement? Oh, right, because you think I'm an embodiment of Japan, right? You wanted to be punched by Japan to make yourself feel better about what you're doing to her people?"

He laughed bitterly and let his fingers slip out of Lelouch's shirt as he took a deliberate step back. He was so angry his hands were shaking and he knew from experience that that wasn't a good thing.

He did stupid things when he was angry.

He would rather die himself than hurt Lelouch. He didn't want any more regrets plaguing him. He'd already let his anger get the best of him once before and he'd commit an unforgivable sin on that day. He refused to repeat the incident.

He took a deep, unsteady breath to settle himself. But it wasn't enough. He really couldn't do this right now. He turned on his heel and stormed out before he made even bigger of a mistake. He never should have laid hands on Lelouch to begin with. He was past that stage. He had more discipline than that. He wasn't an angry little boy any more.

He caught Gino and Anya's surprised and worried expressions as he passed them, but didn't slow his retreat. Retreat was the best option right now. Retreat and regroup. Once he'd cooled down, once he'd come to terms with all of this, he'd apologize to Lelouch for his misconduct. He hadn't been exhibiting proper knightly behavior and he regret it.

After all, he wasn't Japanese anymore. He was an Honorary Britannian who had sworn himself both to the Empire and to an Imperial prince. He wanted peace. He wanted cohabitation between the Elevens and Britannians – that was all. He didn't need to be Japanese to want that. He could want that as a Britannian.

* * *

Mao grinned broadly. It was just a matter of time now. He'd free C.C. from that stupid prince and then they'd be together again. It would be just like old times. Except that it wouldn't. Because he was older now and he loved C.C.. He loved her so so much and she had to know that. She had to. It was the reason she hadn't changed at all since he'd last seen her. She'd waited for him to get bigger so they could both love each other they way they should.

They were destined for each other. The red string of fate tied them together. They were soul mates. He knew it. He could tell. And he had everything set up for them already. He'd worked hard and he had a house in Australia for them. It was a beautiful house with nothing around it for miles and miles. It was perfect for them. Perfect for a young, loving couple like him and C.C. where no one else would come to bother them.

Yes. Yes. It was just a matter of time now. He just had to make the prince release her. Prince Lelouch had other women anyway and he didn't treat C.C. like the goddess she was. Lelouch vi Britannia didn't deserve her.

Not that that was surprising. No one deserved C.C.. No one but him. She'd told him that he'd be the one to fulfill her greatest wish. And he knew what that wish was. She wanted him to love her.

He did. He loved her so much that sometimes he thought his heart would burst with it.

But it never did. Because he was strong now. Strong enough to take care of C.C. instead of letting her take care of him. Though he would never ever forget the gentle way she had cradled him against her chest as a child, hands clamped over his ears as she whispered sweet comforts to him. She'd treated him like he was everything important in the world and he intended to return the favor.

He still listened to the tape she had left for him. He listened to her voice every day so that he'd never forget her. Not that he'd ever considered that a possibility. C.C. was his queen. His angel. His goddess. She was his savior and lover and was so thoroughly engraved in his mind that he would never, ever be able to forget her.

But he needed to free her from that prince first. Prince Lelouch had to be keeping her prisoner since there was no way C.C. would ever willingly leave him. He must have captured her while they were playing that game of hide-and-seek years ago. They had always played that game when he'd been a boy. C.C. would wander away and he'd have to find her using the Geass she had given him.

It was his favorite game and one of the few times he embraced the multitude of voices that bombarded his mind the moment he lost his concentration. Just one of the few, but this was another one of those times.

Prince Lelouch had so many weaknesses he could exploit. For all his cold image, he was really nothing more than a terrified teenaged boy. He'd be easy to control once he had one of the prince's many vulnerabilities in his hands. After all, the prince barely cared about C.C.. Surely he wouldn't sacrifice his precious little sister just for C.C.?

He grinned again, loving how easy this would be. After all, how hard would it be to take a crippled blind girl hostage? Prince Lelouch would do anything for that girl even if it meant releasing C.C..

He let his Geass go unchecked, turning down the volume of C.C.'s tape as he listened to the voices. There weren't many people in this area so she was pretty easy to find – a wilting little flower locked away by her jealous brother so the rest of the world couldn't see her.

Her mind was already tainted by jealousy and frustration. He could probably even convince her to go with him willingly and he wouldn't have to use the syringe of tranquilizer that he'd acquired for this purpose.

He hummed quietly to himself as he began approaching the building, but noticed the second that someone else took notice of him. It was a bad habit but he always wanted to know what other people thought of him. He supposed that was why his Geass was like this in the first place.

But he'd been noticed, which was surprising since there was no one else on the street around him. It was mid morning after all and anyone who worked around here would have already been at work. He frowned, focusing on the mind that was thinking about him, catching an image of himself on a video feed.

"_Not __a __factory __worker. __He __doesn't __look __like __one __in __any __case. __He's __too __suspicious __and __he's __headed __right __this __way. __I __should __prepare __the __car __just __in __case __we __need __to __make __our __escape. __Or __I __could __kill __him__. __. __. __but __then __there __would __probably __be __an __investigation __and __Lelouch-sama __wouldn't __appreciate __it. __It __would __be __too __much __of __a __risk __to __Nunnally __and __I __don't __know __if __he __has any __allies with him.__"_

Mao furrowed an eyebrow. That was the maid? No, a bodyguard and assassin. He delved further into the woman's mind and found absolute loyalty to the prince despite being a Number, along with years of training as an assassin.

He doubted he could fight her. Besides, even without the maid, the place was booby trapped. In particular was a machine gun turret mounted within the lab. He might have been able to predict that woman's movements enough evade her attacks, but he couldn't dodge bullets. Not even his Geass would allow him that.

He frowned, weighing his options. This was probably too much to handle. Even if he could get to the maid and get her talking enough to expose her mistrust of the Britannian government in general (but not of her precious prince), he doubted it would be enough to stop her. Her secrets weren't really all that devastating. He couldn't break her with them.

Well . . . it wasn't like Princess Nunnally was the only weakness the prince had. If he couldn't get at one sister, he'd just go for the other.

* * *

AN: Kind of a short chapter, but half of this was written this morning. I am officially an hour late for going to get my copy of Skyrim since I wanted to finish this for you all before I began playing. I hope you enjoyed it. I have no idea when the next chapter will be up.

For those of you who wanted to adopt succession games, just go for it. You don't need my explicit permission. There had been four or five people who had said they're going to write it, so I'm looking forward to seeing the first chapter(s).

I'm sure there was a bunch more that I was going to say, but I really want to go to future shop now, so I'll have to pass on it. Happy reading (and happy playing to all my fellow elder scrolls fans). I'll probably be back in a few weeks with a new chapter.

Allora


	74. Chapter 74

Chapter 74

Mao stood across the street from the prestigious Ashford Academy, painfully aware that at least four members of the school's security were watching his every move. It was official now. Prince Lelouch was paranoid. There was _literally_ no way into the school that the guards weren't monitoring. Even that secret entrance through the service tunnel he'd picked up on from the prince's mind had a pair of men guarding it.

And none of these were dumb schmucks who'd fucked up their careers and were left on guard duty. They were all hardened veterans who understood the importance of protecting the Viceroy's precious friends. They were focused and driven with the determination not to let that bastard prince down.

All of which were bad things for Mao.

He tapped his fingers rapidly against his arm, the rhythm frantic and sporadic, as he considered his next move. Princess Euphemia was in there and the prince had already proven to the world that he was willing to go berserk if he thought she was in danger. She was definitely a button he could push to make him give up C.C..

And he wanted to push that button so so badly. But the logistics! Even if he managed to get onto the school grounds without being seen, the likelihood of being able to kidnap the princess and get back off of school grounds with her was slim. Plus she had that Knight hanging around her _all__the__time_.

Now _he_ was an interesting character. Mao would have had so many shady secrets he could have exposed, if not for the fact that the guy was painfully earnest and shameless about his past. It was possible he could turn the princess against Lukas Zimmerman by telling her about his early drug use or the time he'd planned to murder a fellow classmate in high school, but he doubted that would actually achieve much anyway since he got his orders from Prince Lelouch.

Of course, that was assuming he was able to get close enough and not get shot on sight. Mao knew very well that he wasn't a fighter. He never had been. He'd never needed to be either. Words had always been enough for him to get out of practically any altercation. And when words weren't enough, he usually realized they wouldn't be enough before hand and avoided the encounter completely.

He sighed heavily and clenched his fingers into a fist for a moment. Prince Lelouch pissed him off so so badly. He'd make that stupid boy pay for making this so hard – for standing in his way from reuniting with his beloved C.C..

He'd have to move on. The prince had other weaknesses, but these two were the only blood relatives he had in the country. Well, except for Princess Cornelia. But he wasn't anywhere near stupid enough to try to take her hostage. Besides, supposing that he ever managed it, the prince would probably congratulate him for the effort rather than submit in order to save his older sister.

Which was the entire point.

He sighed, grumbling quietly to himself. He supposed Milly Ashford would have been next on the list, but she pretty much fell into the same category as Euphemia. If he couldn't get onto the school grounds his choices were limited. Especially since all of the prince's friends had taken to not leaving campus (and especially not alone) since the JLF had taken them hostage. That knocked out Shirley and Rivalz as well.

He supposed he could go for Nina while she commuted between Princess Nunnally's place and the school, but he'd still have to contend with the guard the prince had secretly assigned to shadow her. In fact, all of the prince's closest friends had their own watcher since the Lake Kawaguchi incident. They watched from a distance and didn't interfere in the students' daily lives, but it practically guaranteed that an incident like Lake Kawaguchi wouldn't happen again.

He massaged back the tension headache that was beginning to form. He hated places like this. He hated schools and malls and festivals. Anywhere with lots of people. All of their stupidly inane thoughts pressed on him, trying to make him hear them and take note of their pathetic existences.

He hated them all.

_"__.__.__.__God, __this __math __is __so __hard. __But __if __I __don't __pass __this __class __I __won't __be __able __to __graduate. __And __then __Mom __will __literally __kill __me. __I __wonder __if __I __should __find __a __tutor.__.__.__"_

_"__.__.__.__If __Eve __says __one __more __thing __about __her __boyfriend, __I __just __might __strangle __her. __It's __fine __that __she __found __someone __she __likes, __but __she __doesn't __have __to __rub __it __in __the __faces __of __all __of __us __who __are __single. __I'm __happy __for __her, __I __just __don't __want __to __hear __about __it__.__.__."_

". . . _Oh __God, __she's __so __hot. __How __did __a __loser __like __him __get __so __lucky? __Life's __not __fair__.__.__.__"_

_ ". . . I hope everything goes well. I hope Lelouch agrees that he's the best choice for my Knight . . ."_

_ ". . . Damned kids don't take anything seriously. When I was their age, I was worried about finding a good university to go to. All these brats care about is the next social event. But what else did I expect from a school founded by the Ashfords?"_

_ ". . . Euphemia will come to our little party, won't she? We even found that Eleven that looks a bit like Sir Kururugi since that seems to be what she's in to. It's the perfect set up for getting closer to her. And after we become friends, I'll ask her to wear some of the clothes I made. After that, everything will be easy. I'll become a prodigy designer who's clothes are worn by royalty . . ."_

_ ". . . What the hell? What the hell? What the hell? How did I fail this assignment? I spent hours on it. This has to be wrong. Who the hell does that teacher think he is? He can't give me this crappy mark just because I disagreed with what he taught in the class. . ."_

_ " . . . What should I have for lunch? The sandwich is healthier, but I had a sandwich yesterday. Besides, it's kind of chilly today. Maybe soup? It could be a healthy soup, not a cream soup . . ."_

Yes, he'd spent too much time here already as it was. He needed to get away and to block the voices out. He needed . . . C.C. and gentle hands over his ears as she let him rest his head against her shoulder. He needed that lullaby she'd used to hum for him and the soothing way her voice had sounded when she'd comforted him. He just needed her. Like he needed air or water.

But for now, he'd have to make do with that recording again. He slipped his headphones over his ears, hating the way they didn't muffle the thoughts at all. But then, he wasn't really hearing those thoughts with his ears. They were transmitting directly into his mind thanks to his Geass. He turned up the volume and pressed the play button.

"Are you awake, Mao? I'm sorry, Mao. You're a good boy. I love you, Mao."

* * *

Lelouch wasn't exactly certain what this meeting was about. Nor was he certain just why Euphy thought she needed her bodyguard with her for a meeting with him, but since she was the once who had called this little get together, he followed her lead. Jeremiah sat at his right around the small table in the lush enclosed patio overlooking his garden, opposite to Lukas who looked very much like he was just about as confused as Lelouch was.

Surely Euphy didn't think she needed protection even here? Or had the hotel jacking scared her enough to make her paranoid? He could admit that he hadn't been the most attentive brother to her after she'd been taken hostage, but his mind had gone on to other things. Besides, Euphy had Cornelia.

He smothered a sigh and his slight irritation that she was taking time out of his schedule for this. So far they'd talked briefly about her schooling and about what the news was saying about him. Originally that was what he'd thought she'd come to talk to him about, but they'd passed that milestone already (from which he'd escaped with only her polite disapproval) and he could tell there was something else she wanted to say.

He nibbled disinterestedly on a scone and wished Suzaku was there. At least if Suzaku had been present she'd have probably been more cheerful. She seemed to genuinely like him.

But Suzaku was not here. He was off ostensibly looking for C.C., who had mysteriously disappeared yesterday afternoon without so much as a 'see you later', and was still predictably angry about his plans. Since their explosive confrontation in his office at the Viceroy's Palace, his friend hadn't said more than two sentences to him. Those two sentences being "Good morning." and "I'm going to look for C.C..".

Neither one of them actually expected him to find her. He wasn't exactly pleased that she was gone, taking enough information to ruin him with her, but he figured that if she wanted to disappear, there was nothing any of them could do to stop her. For whatever reason, she'd abandoned him and he'd have to admit that in a way he'd miss her. She'd been an extra perspective and a level head that had loved nothing more than to critique his plans. There were few people willing to do that, given his current position.

His gaze drifted back to Euphy, watching her surreptitiously from the corner of his eye. She was nervous. He could tell from the way she had her hands wrung together in her lap that she was growing more and more uncertain by the minute. Members of the royal family may have been instructed to keep their emotions veiled, but that had never been a skill Euphy was particularly good at.

"I want to make Lukas my Knight of Honor." She finally said, all in a rush as she raised her gaze to meet his.

Lelouch almost choked on his scone. In any case, he did better than Lukas who actually did choke on the sip of tea he'd just taken and came dangerously close to spitting it back out all over the table.

"What?" Lukas demanded hoarsely after a bit of coughing and spluttering.

Lelouch couldn't help the way his eyes narrowed slightly. But at least this had come as a surprise to Lukas. He hadn't deliberately betrayed his oaths. Yet.

But that wasn't the real problem. Choosing a Knight of Honor wasn't a decision Euphy would have made on her own. She was too young to really need one and she wasn't even socially or politically active yet.

He didn't need three guesses to know who had planted the idea in her head. And if it had come this far, she probably didn't have a way to get out of it.

"Cornelia is insisting you choose a Knight?" He asked, just to confirm.

Euphy nodded mutely, her face gone pale.

"I'm not angry at you." He reassured her. He really wasn't. He was kind of pissed at Cornelia and a bit angry about the situation in general, but what else could he do? If Euphy wanted to Knight Lukas, he wasn't about to stand in the way of her selection. He couldn't, legally. Even if he did claim Lukas' fealty, the selection of a Knight of Honor outranked that. That she'd come here at all was only a courtesy.

Besides, it was a good opportunity for Lukas. A better opportunity that Lelouch could offer him in any case. And just because he'd be serving under Euphy from now on didn't mean they wouldn't still be friends. He wouldn't be selfish and stand in the way of this.

"You're not?" She asked hesitantly.

"No. Of course if you want to Knight Lukas you can. I'll release him from his -"

"Please stop."

Lelouch blinked in surprise and glanced at Lukas. His friend had managed to recover most of his composure, though he still looked nervous and a little frantic. He was staring a hole in the table in front of him.

"Do I get a choice in the matter?" Lukas asked quietly, still refusing to meet either his or Euphy's gazes.

". . . Do you . . . get a choice on whether or not you want to become my Knight?" Euphy asked confusedly. "Of course you do."

"Then I respectfully decline." Lukas said immediately, though he did manage to look apologetic as he said it as he rose from his seat and swept into a courteous bow. "Princess Euphemia," He continued, and Lelouch didn't miss the surprised arching of her eyebrows as he said it. It was probably the first time Lukas had referred to her formally since they'd been introduced. "I'm very flattered that you would consider me for the position as your Knight of Honor, but I've sworn oaths to Lelouch. I can't become your Knight. I'm sorry."

It obviously hadn't occurred to Euphy that he would refuse her. Actually, it hadn't occurred to Lelouch either. No one in their right mind would turn down an offer like this. He was just lucky that Euphy wasn't the vindictive type or there would have been hell to pay for this slight.

"Lukas," Lelouch said, because Euphy didn't seem capable of saying anything at the moment. "I will never Knight you."

Much to his surprise, Lukas actually glared at him. "I don't recall asking you to. I told you the first time I swore myself to you, though it seems you've forgotten. I didn't swear myself to you just because your a prince, Lelouch. It was because you're someone I want to serve under. Please don't cast aside my oaths so easily."

Lelouch sighed heavily, and repressed the urge to roll his eyes. He'd never thought the day would come that Lukas would chastise him, but it had. "I remember." He said, "And for the record it wasn't easy. Now sit down, you idiot."

He did as he was told, and Lelouch still couldn't believe that someone had actually turned down a Knighthood, just to remain in his service.

"I'm sorry. I didn't consider your feelings at all, Lukas. I'm so selfish that I was only thinking about myself." Euphy said as she pushed herself to her feet. She looked like she was on the verge of tears as she turned to flee.

"Sit down, Euphy." Lelouch ordered, his tone firm enough to make her obey.

She plopped back into her seat, lips quivering as she suppressed her urge to cry. He hated seeing her like this but letting her run away now wouldn't actually solve anything.

"What exactly is Cornelia holding hostage in order to make you want to choose a Knight in the first place?" He asked.

". . . She'll force me to go back to Pendragon if I don't. She said it was the only way she'd let me stay in Area Eleven." She answered miserably.

"Did she tell you to choose Lukas?" He asked.

"No. But she said he was a possibility. She gave me this huge binder full of profiles. Just faces and names on paper. How am I supposed to choose a Knight from that? I don't know them at all!" She explained frantically. "Lukas is the only one that I feel really safe around when he's protecting me and I know him and we get along. Well, we get along most of the time."

"May I see the other candidates?" He asked, gesturing towards the book bag sitting on the floor next to her chair. He'd thought it was strange that she'd brought her school work with her when she'd come in with it, but hadn't questioned her on it. Now, he figured she'd brought it along to illustrate her point on how great of a candidate Lukas was.

"Sure." She said, pulling the binder out of her bag before passing it across the table to him. He flipped it open and thumbed through a few pages before snorting disdainfully. "What?" She demanded defensively. "Are they not good?"

"They're good, but they're all from Cornelia's army. These are probably the best of the best and most loyal she had with her in Area Eighteen. No doubt my entire Royal Guard would have been in here if they hadn't deserted." He snickered.

"So?" Euphy asked.

"So, do you want someone to swear themselves to you thinking of you only as the Chief General's adorable little sister?" Lelouch countered.

". . . No." She answered.

"Then I wouldn't suggest you choose any of these." He said, gesturing to the binder.

"Then who am I going to pick?" She demanded. "I don't know any soldiers, Lelouch."

"Did it occur to you that you don't have to play Cornelia's game? That you could bow out with grace and go back to the homeland of your own accord, avoiding this whole conundrum by doing so?"

"But I don't want to go back. I like it here and I have friends that aren't completely two-faced. I don't have to worry about keeping up appearances or whether or not I have to be especially nice to so and so because Father is negotiating something important with their parents." She protested. "I really like it here, Lelouch. I like living like this here."

He sighed, leaning back in his seat as he thought this through. Of course, he could force her to go back to the homeland. In fact, it would make a lot of things a lot easier if she went, but that would be a direct violation of her wishes. He'd rather not do that if he could avoid it.

He tapped a finger idly on the arm of his chair as he stared off into the nearby foliage. "Jeremiah, think carefully for a moment. I'd like you to name one person within the Britannian military that you explicitly trust."

His Knight glanced away uncomfortably for a moment before reluctantly uttering the name. "Villeta Nu."

Lelouch snorted mirthlessly. Nu. The woman who'd arrested Suzaku in an attempt to discredit the Honorary Britannian system. A woman he'd personally seen stripped of her noble titles and exiled to Area Seven. And she was the person Jeremiah trusted the most in the entire military?

It figured.

But Euphy wouldn't have to worry about coming under any of the woman's more discriminatory beliefs. Euphy was a full blooded noble along with being royalty. There was nothing in her pedigree that even a Purist could find fault with. In fact, the only problems they might encounter stemmed from Euphy's non-discriminatory beliefs about the Numbers and Euphy's proximity to him. He imagined Nu was more than a little peeved at him.

Still, his Knight trusted her and that counted enough in her favor to discount her past actions against Suzaku, provided she remained on her best behavior.

"So there is my recommendation. Villetta Nu used to serve under Clovis, but she's now serving in Area Seven. And it's safe to assume that she loathes me, so you don't have to worry about her being one of my agents this time." He explained, "What I would recommend is that you send her a letter asking to meet with her before making your decision one way or the other. If you don't like her, go back through this book and schedule meetings with some of the candidates, or go to the military base yourself to meet some people. Cornelia put you in a tough position, but I'm sure she doesn't expect you to choose a Knight by picking a name out of a hat."

"But she said she wouldn't wait too long." Euphy muttered. "If I take too long, Guilford will come for me and -"

"Euphemia," He said firmly, cutting her off mid rant. "Choosing a Knight of Honor is not something you should rush into. You're going to be stuck with whoever you choose for the rest of your life. Take the time to make a good choice."

Admittedly, he probably wasn't the best one to be giving this advice. He was well aware that this was a case of the pot calling the kettle black, and avoided looking at Jeremiah for the time being. But his sister was obviously frantic about this decision and she obviously wasn't thinking clearly.

She paused, pursing her lips together for a moment before nodding curtly. "You're right. I'm sorry. I'm working myself up into a panic."

Lelouch nodded, before shrugging. "Besides, as long as you're actively looking for a Knight, Cornelia probably won't ship you off. So take your time."

She nodded again before slumping down in her chair in defeat, abandoning every ounce of the posture and etiquette training that had been drilled into her and sighed. "I don't even want a Knight in the first place." She grumbled quietly.

He smiled sympathetically. "I know. I didn't either, but it turned out better than expected in my case. I'll hope the same for you."

* * *

It had been a long time since Suzaku had been able to wander on his own like this through the city. Well, not quite on his own, since Gino and Anya were still shadowing him. But it was without Lelouch's presence, which meant he could relax a bit and not look at everyone he met like they were potential assassins. It was a little bit liberating.

He didn't usually feel shackled by his duty to Lelouch, but since he couldn't agree with the steps the prince was taking to put an end to the Kenshiki Faction, just hanging around the house with Lelouch today would have been a very aggravating experience. Gottwald probably thought he was shirking his duty, but C.C. was important too.

He knew he was being contradictory since he was the one who had petitioned Lelouch time and time again to expel the girl from the house but he couldn't help it at the moment. Yes, he didn't like her and yes, he suspected her of scheming behind Lelouch's back but even so, she knew too much to be allowed to just disappear like this.

He'd already talked to the people who had supposedly seen her last. Hector had noticed her leave during the announcement Lelouch had made yesterday. He said she'd just turned around and walked out after watching for a bit, as casual and blasé as always. So they knew that she hadn't been kidnapped. Not that he'd really considered it after seeing what she'd done to that terrorist that had tried to take her hostage.

It was a pity he didn't really know anything about her. In hindsight, he should have taken a greater interest in her before now. He didn't even know what kind of hobbies she had (other than annoying everyone in sight) or what kind of places she liked, so he didn't even have a lead on where to begin searching for her.

There was a Britannian saying about finding a needle in a haystack that was oddly well suited to this situation. Unless they walked right into each other, he highly doubted he'd actually be able to find her.

But it was still better than the alternative.

"So . . ." Gino said, drawing the word out in along ooh sound. "Why exactly are we searching for a runaway girl?"

Suzaku frowned. "She went missing yesterday."

"She walked out." Gino corrected before his expression turned serious. "Was she not allowed to? Or did she take something with her that you're not telling us about?"

He hesitated for a moment, not sure how to explain it. It was true that he didn't like her, but it was also true that he'd rather have her around and at least know where she was and what she was up to than have her disappear like this.

"She has information that could threaten my prince's life. Not only has she been privy to his plans concerning the Kenshiki Faction, but she's also had access to the security at the prince's villa. If she sold that information to an assassin, Lelouch's life could be in danger." He answered, hoping he sounded serious. He doubted she'd do such a thing.

As much as they'd never seen eye to eye, they'd had a single thing in common: Lelouch's safety was their highest priority.

Gino's eyes narrowed into a scowl before he twisted his head to the side and cracked his neck. "Alright. You've made your point. Where do we start? There's got to be a better method than this."

"Unfortunately, C.C. was never very open about her past or her interests. I doubt even Lelouch knows much about her or where she might be headed." He answered reluctantly.

"What about using the police and the media? We could put it out that she was an escaping criminal and have the general population search for her." The Knight of Three suggested.

"I doubt the prince wants this made into a big deal." Anya said. It was the first suggestion she'd made since he'd met her and he was a little surprised about it. "More than a few people have seen her in his company. Given the current political climate, it would look bad for him if it looked like she'd betrayed him."

Suzaku frowned. It was surprising she'd be so concerned, even if she was right. Besides, he'd noticed C.C. had always been careful to remain off camera whenever Lelouch was in public. He wondered if they even had a photo of her. It was obvious she didn't want to leave a visual footprint behind her, despite being in a prince's inner circle.

"Anya's probably right." He sighed and tried to squash his suspicion. The first time they'd met, Anya had been in C.C.'s company. He was sure he was just being paranoid. If C.C. didn't talk to Lelouch, her supposed 'accomplice', he doubted she'd talk to Anya. But something didn't sit right with him.

* * *

C.C. was exhausted. Completely bone weary with a tiredness that seemed to seep into her very core. She could probably count on one hand how many times she'd felt like this in the past and her frustration was doing nothing to help her mood.

She hadn't slept since the night before she'd left Lelouch and even then it had been restless since Suzaku wasn't a very good bed mate. While her Code protected her from an untimely demise due to sleep exhaustion, it didn't mean she couldn't feel it. In fact, it was because her Code gave her eternal life but didn't spare her from pain and discomfort that she'd first realized what her Code really was. That it was a curse, not a gift.

Because what kind of gift would give her the rest of eternity to suffer without giving her a means of escape except to pass it on to some other unsuspecting victim?

She covered a yawn and allowed herself to drift to a stop, leaning against the building beside her in the shadow of the alley she was in. By now, Lelouch had probably sent someone after her. She understood well enough that she was a liability to him. But she also knew that he wouldn't harbor much hope of actually finding her. He knew what she was like and what she was capable of, at least to some degree. Nevertheless she'd been taking pains not to be seen by anyone. So long as people didn't see her, they wouldn't think about her. And that was where her safety lay. She wanted to find Mao. Not the other way around.

She just hoped she could find Mao before he did something stupid. Mao had been a cute child, but he'd also often been irrational. She knew very well that she was the one thing he thought he had all to himself. After losing so much – his family, his home, his inheritance – he was fiercely possessive of the things he considered his. In a way, she supposed he was a bit like Lelouch. Except Lelouch had been lucky enough to regain at least a bit of what he'd lost.

Mao hadn't been that lucky. And he would never be that lucky because there was nothing left for him to get back.

Mao had once destroyed a young man who had decided he was in love with her. He'd been a baker by trade and had used to give them free bread when she'd taken it upon herself to take care of Mao. It had been hard to stay in populated places due to Mao's condition, and she'd disliked leaving him alone. It had meant that working to support them had been next to impossible. They'd survived primarily by theft and the generosity of the baker.

She'd never given the man's attraction a passing thought. What was the love of a mortal to her but a curse she had long ago endured? Love was a shallow, fickle thing that could be easily manipulated and even more easily confused with lust. It was something she'd manipulated plenty of times for her own gain before, long ago, with the help of her Geass.

She hadn't given the man a passing thought, but Mao had. He'd used his Geass and been able to see exactly what the man had thought of her. He'd been able to see that the baker was thinking of proposing to her and adopting Mao. What would have been a wonderful thing for him had she had the mind to accept and give him a father figure, had been the catalyst that had driven the boy into a possessive rage.

Mao had used the information he'd gleaned from the man's mind to drive him to suicide. He'd confessed to her later that the thought of anyone else possessing her made him angry.

That was only the first of a series of incidents that had led to her decision to abandon him. He was her contractor, but it had become clear to her that he would never be able to actually fulfill his contract. He would never take her Code so that she could die, simply because he wouldn't want her to die.

In fact, he'd even once told her that he liked her Code because she'd never change. She'd always be like this, timeless, unchanging, static. She supposed it had been comforting for him to know that he'd never lose her like he had the rest of his family – that she would never die. Though she had died plenty of times, twice of which had been in front of Mao. In fact it had been one of these incidents that had caused the revelation in the first place.

It had also been the straw that had finally broken the camel's back. She'd been having doubts for a while by then, but that confession had pushed her over the edge. Despite her best efforts, contracting with a child hadn't developed a perfectly malleable contractor. Her plan had backfired and she'd disappeared in the dead of night without another word.

. . . It had been a bitch move. At the time she'd tried to convince herself that it was for his own good. That removing the object of his obsession would put him back on the path towards sanity and stability. But she'd known better and had felt guilty ever since.

She'd run away.

It certainly hadn't been the first time. With a life as long as her's, she'd found herself out of her depth plenty of times before. But it was the first time she'd been ashamed of it. The first time the thought of cutting loose and starting over had really bothered her.

It was probably why she hadn't contracted with Lelouch when she'd finally found him in Japan. She'd already destroyed one child, she'd been unwilling to do it again. And he'd looked happy, then. Or as happy as he could be after burying his mother and being cast out of his home. He'd been smiling at least, and she'd never mistaken the fact that that had been thanks to Suzaku. She hadn't wanted to take the smile yet.

She groaned quietly and rubbed at her temples as she sank down into a fetal position. Mao's connection to her mind was as volatile as ever. It was loud and unsteady, a constant throbbing that was beginning to make her feel weak and nauseous. She'd always tried to block him out, and for the most part, she'd succeeded. But now that she was actively looking for him, she let the throbbing, jerking connection pass into her mind unfiltered.

It was an assault and it was nothing like Marianne's feeble pinpricks when she'd tried to invade her mind. This was loud and shuddering and she just wanted it to stop. But before it could stop, she needed to find Mao.

It wasn't as simple as merely looking into her mind and finding him. Her link to him didn't give her the ability to pinpoint his position. Instead, it was like a perpetual game of hot-cold. Which would have been fine, except that Mao wasn't keeping still. He was all over the city and it was making it hard for her to catch up.

She didn't know what he was planning, but she knew it wouldn't be good for Lelouch. Her prince was too vulnerable to go against Mao. Lelouch had everything Mao didn't in terms of material resources, but they would count for little if Mao found a way to get them to meet. She'd seen his mind for herself and knew that Lelouch had too many weaknesses that her former contractor would be only too eager to exploit.

"Oi." A voice said as someone kicked her foot. "No hobos allowed. You want to sleep on the streets, you go back to your ghettos, you useless Eleven."

She looked up through her eyelashes at the man who'd come to displace her. He was probably in his late twenties and didn't exactly look like a respectable business owner concerned about her making a bad impression of whatever building it was she was leaning again. In fact, he looked like your average, run of the mill thug.

Though she couldn't exactly blame him for mistaking her for an Eleven and homeless. Her hair was tucked up under a hat, which was tucked under the hood of a baggy hoody and worn jeans. The look was what she'd been going for. No one looked at the homeless. It made them feel better about going home to their three bedroom townhouses and making just a tiny bit too much for dinner which would be inevitably scraped into the garbage.

She didn't answer and kept her head down as she pushed herself back up onto her feet, prepared to move on. She didn't have time to rest anyway. But then the bastard had to go get pushy.

"Look at people when they're talking to you." The man growled and grabbed her chin. "Didn't anyone ever teach you any mann-"

He cut off when he realized that she was a) not an Eleven or b) a woman. But he'd already made his last mistake. She couldn't afford for Mao to find out that she was looking for him. She wasn't about to have the freedom she'd just begun to experience again after Clovis' incarceration be taken from her again. Especially not by Mao. She just hoped he wasn't paying attention right now.

Her gun had a silencer on it.

She wasn't about to let herself be given away by some back alley thug. He didn't even see the gun before she had it under his chin. But he did feel it when the muzzle pressed against his skin and his eyes widened in fear. She didn't give him the moment to feel the terror of his imminent demise.

She pulled the trigger with practiced ease and the resolve of a cold-blooded killer. This wasn't anywhere near the the first time she'd killed someone and she didn't flinch when blood splattered across the wall behind him in a violent, gory mess.

She hid the body beneath a pile of accumulated garbage in the alley and continued on her way, relieved that she hadn't gotten any blood on her. That would have just attracted more attention to her.

She'd never tried to pretend that she was actually a nice person and she'd never tried to pretend that she wouldn't do monstrous things to protect her current contractor. If she would die to protect Lelouch, she would certainly kill for him. Even if her victim was nothing more than a random passerby that had said the wrong thing at the wrong time.

* * *

Kallen was packing.

No, she hadn't finally snapped and decided to take fate into her own hands. She was under orders to pack up everything she would ever want from the Stadtfeld residence and get ready to leave for tomorrow. Because she wouldn't be coming back.

This was it. This was finally it. What she'd been waiting for since she'd been fourteen. She was moving out. Not just for a weekend or a few days, but for good.

Ohgi hadn't told her anything else. No doubt he was worried about her meddling in his plans, considering her spectacular track record lately with coming up with reckless schemes.

The message had come for her through the mail, disguised in the subscription of a new magazine. She'd almost chucked it out by accident but had been saved by her boredom and had decided to read it just for kicks. She'd actually slapped her forehead when she'd discovered the thin envelope tucked inside. She was such an idiot sometimes. Naoto had passed her a message like this one time in the past when things had gotten too heated after an operation. She should have known what it was right away.

The letter had been short and sweet, informing her that they would be taking her back tomorrow, that she was supposed to pack up everything she needed, and that she was supposed to be at the house, in her room and ready to go by nine in the evening.

She finished folding the last of her clothes into her oversized duffel bag, glanced surreptitiously at her bedroom door and hid the bag in the bottom of her closet. Lady Stadtfeld was away at some kind of event. Abigail was still going strong when it came to recruiting the nobility and Kallen had only been able to beg out of the number of events she held on week nights by pleading that she had school and homework that she had to see to.

But Lady Stadtfeld had gone, jumping on the chance to make it seem like the Stadtfelds were in close cahoots with the vi Britannias. No doubt Kallen's father would be overjoyed by the news.

Most of the rest of the house staff would have gone home by now or, for the few who stayed at the house, to their own chambers by now. She smirked and thought about how this parting shot was appropriate as she made her way through the door and towards her step-mother's bedroom.

Lady Stadtfeld kept all of her jewelry in a safe behind a watercolor painting of a sea scape since Naoto had cleared her out of her diamonds and precious gems years ago. But what the woman didn't know was that Kallen knew the combination to the safe. She'd been up to no good once and had hidden away in a closet when she'd heard her step-mother coming and had had the good fortune to overhear the woman tell the combination to her most trusted attendant.

Of course this was risky, stealing them now, when she wouldn't be able to make good on her escape until tomorrow, but Lady Stadtfeld hadn't been wearing much jewelry tonight when she'd left. In fact, it had probably been the most modestly bejeweled she'd ever seen the woman when she was going to an event. But the dress had made up for it with the number of sequins.

She stole into her step-mother's room and went straight for the safe, swinging the painting away before inputting the combination and opening it. The woman's jewelry box sat there just like she'd expected, along with a few important family documents. As much fun as it would be to snoop around and see what else Lady Stadtfeld felt was important enough to tuck away in the safe, she was almost painfully exposed here and wanted to be finished with this quickly.

She cleaned the little case out, stuffing strings of pearls and diamond bracelets into her pockets, along with all the gold and silver pieces in the case. The only thing she left – just like Naoto had left – was their father's wedding band. The one he didn't wear.

Sure, he always had a wedding band on, but it was the one from his first marriage (not that anyone would be able to tell the difference since they were almost identical). It was one of the very few things she respected her father for. He'd been willing to throw away his first wife and his marriage, but he hadn't been willing to throw away the ring.

Maybe the bastard had actually loved her mother once. But it hadn't been enough for him to stay married to her.

Lady Stadtfeld knew that she'd been a marriage of political convenience. A marriage so that Earl Stadtfeld could continue his business without stepping on the toes of the anti-Japanese elite. The fact that he didn't acknowledge her as anything more than that was probably his only saving grace.

She closed up the safe again and returned the painting to it's proper place after her pockets were filled. Then she carefully double-checked that everything was exactly how it had been when she'd come in and quietly made her way back into her room.

The sweater she was wearing came off, complete with stolen jewelry in the pockets, was carefully wrapped around itself so it didn't lose any of it's contents, and was stuffed into the bottom of her duffel bag.

_Now_ she was ready to escape for the ghettos. She had everything she'd ever need from this place, and a couple things she didn't. And she'd given that bitch her final parting message too.

* * *

AN: I'm back! :D Skyrim was awesome. For any of you who don't play it, I highly recommend it. In fact, I'm about to make a new character and begin playing it through again . . . :D

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Updates should be getting back to normal-ish now. I think.

Don't forget to leave a review. I really love them.

Allora


	75. Chapter 75

Chapter 75

Ding ding ding ding ding, he had a winner.

Mao had made his decision. Finally. And he was _delighted _that he would be given this absolutely perfect opportunity to prove to that bastard prince that he knew him better than he knew himself.

Lelouch didn't love her. Not really, but what there was was a sense of responsibility. And Mao could twist that to his purpose and use it to get back C.C.. Which was why he was currently sitting in the driver's seat of Prince Lelouch's limo, wearing clothes that were too big for him as he fiddled with a gas mask.

The regular driver, a heavy-set Britannian in his mid-fifties, was currently stuffed in the car's trunk. He'd used the tranquilizer he'd originally obtained for the sake of knocking out Princess Nunnally on him when he'd stepped out of the car for a smoke and Mao was reasonably certain that, even despite the man's size, he wouldn't be waking up again until some time tomorrow.

He'd watched her go about her business yesterday evening and was pretty sure he knew the way this would play out. He wouldn't be expected to open the door for her since her guards would do it for her. And that was the biggest weakness in their defenses that allowed him to get in like this. Because there was no way he would have been able to disguise himself as the real driver.

He grinned broadly as the door to the lavish estate he was parked in front of opened and turned the key in the ignition. His target strode out of the house, surrounded by her guards and went directly to the car, where one of her companions opened the door, did a cursory check of the interior and helped the lady in.

Mao slipped on his gas mask as the last of the guards piled in and the door closed. Then he began releasing the knock out gas he'd acquired into the vent and put the car into gear. They wouldn't even know they'd been kidnapped.

He couldn't help the chuckle that escaped, muffled under the stiff plastic of his respirator. He drove for a long time, making sure his victims were well and truly unconscious before he stopped next to the other car he'd acquired in an empty parking lot not too far away from Princess Nunnally's hiding place and got out. It was sure to send a chill up the prince's spine.

He had a handful of tie straps to keep the guards secured in the off chance that they woke up before they were found. He set to work, quickly binding their wrists and ankles together, before giving his target the same treatment.

Abigail vi Britannia was a tiny little thing. It was easy to make her into a victim.

She was dead weight in his arms as he transferred her to the other vehicle. She didn't even stir when he manhandled her into a sitting position and strapped her in. Even her mind was silent, a pleasant, dreamless buzz, like the static of an old television set.

When she was like this, he could almost like her. A quiet, malleable, porcelain doll. So pretty. So breakable. And _such_ a good hostage.

He'd have C.C. back in no time.

He laughed again, slamming the door shut before finally pulling the gas mask free and tossing it away on the ground next to the limo. Then he calmly and casually made his way to the drivers seat of the car and drove away.

He'd found the perfect place to keep her while he was getting C.C. back from the prince. It was quiet there and no one ever attended anymore. It was the perfect place to hide a missing princess.

Next to skeletons and spiders and forgotten holy relics.

* * *

Euphy had apologized at least a dozen times. Lukas had to have apologized at least twice that many. Still, even with all of the apologies hanging around them, they both still felt guilty and awkward and were just generally not good company.

She'd been able to back out of the party being thrown by Kallen's friend that she'd only halfheartedly said she might attend. Given the way she was feeling, there wasn't much of a chance for her to have a good time there tonight and she didn't want her hostess to feel like that was her fault. She was sure that the little party they were throwing in the dorms was actually very fun for everyone else.

Instead, she'd taken Shirley up on the offer of watching her practice for her upcoming swim meet when the other girl had noticed how reluctant she was to go. Sure, it hadn't been the most exciting way to spend her evening, but there had been something very calming about just watching Shirley and a couple others from the swim team traverse back and forth across the pool and it had given her time to think.

And the thought that she'd come up with was that all of this was all her fault.

She'd been so foolishly confident that Lukas would accept her offer. Of course he'd accept her offer, she was trying to give him Knighthood, not some lowly position in Lelouch's Royal Guard. So stupid. So arrogant. As though Lukas hadn't knelt for Lelouch for a reason.

She'd never been so mortified in her life. Never wanted to flee the scene and go hide her face in her pillow to cry so much in her life. But, of course, Lelouch hadn't allowed it.

Lelouch hadn't been angry. In fact, he'd been downright _helpful._Which probably made it worse. If he'd been justifiably angry at her, she probably would have felt a bit better about the situation. About trying to steal one of Lelouch's most trusted soldiers for her own purposes.

And it had only been now, as she'd been thinking about it after the fact, that she wondered if Cornelia had been hoping that Lelouch would be furious with her. She didn't want to think that Cornelia would use her like that, but she also couldn't forget that Lelouch had 'stolen' subordinates from Cornelia. He'd admit to it himself when he'd been looking at her list of candidates.

It made her feel even worse when she thought that she might have walked – no, willing run – right into a trap meant to hurt Lelouch.

She sighed quietly, drawing her attention back to Shirley. She was explaining some of the rules for the swim meet to Lukas, who was trying very hard to look composed and interested. Like her, his thoughts were probably elsewhere at the moment. Though she gave Shirley full credit for trying so hard to distract them.

"You guys should think about joining the team." Shirley suggested. "You know that according to the rules, all students are supposed to join a club, right? I think the principal's been letting you guys off the hook since your royalty, but it's only a matter of time before someone whines about him giving you guys preferential treatment."

"And because it would probably give the swim team the lion's share of the budget, right?" Lukas teased.

Shirley blushed. "Well . . . probably. But that's not what I was thinking about." She protested.

Euphy smiled at the exchange as Lukas opened the door to the girl's wing of the dormitory for them, ever the gentleman.

And then she was engulfed by heat and light and the nostril-burning smell of things that shouldn't be on fire burning as she was roughly thrown to the floor by Lukas. Her head hit something hard and for half a second there were stars dancing across her vision as her ears rang from a sound she didn't remember hearing, and then she lost consciousness.

When she came to, it was to the sensation of someone lightly slapping her cheek.

"Euphy! Please wake up, Euphy."

"Stop moving, Lukas! You – You're bleeding." Shirley pleaded. "It looks bad."

Her concern for her bodyguard was enough to override the pain building in her head and force herself to crack open her eyes. He was bleeding from a myriad of tiny gashes across his face and neck, and a much more serious looking gash across his left arm, which he had held up against his chest in an attempt to shield the angry pink burn on his hand from being touched.

"Luke. . ." She managed, before coughing.

"Oh, thank God." He sighed in relief, gently brushing the hair away from her face. "Are you hurt?"

"Just my head, I think." She answered, still trying to make sense of the situation.

"I'm sorry." He apologized.

"Stop moving." Shirley protested again, followed by the sound of ripping fabric. "Sit still and let me treat you."

He did as he was told, sitting down beside her as he let Shirley wrap what looked like a piece of her swim towel around his arm in a makeshift tourniquet, before using a different piece of towel to bandage the wound. Shirley looked more or less unharmed, aside from the growing purple bruise across her cheek, though they were both covered in a thin layer of white dust.

She watched in detached numbness for a while as her fingers threaded around Lukas' right hand before she realized none of this made sense. "What happened?"

Lukas sent her a pitying look for half a moment before glancing away. He didn't answer for a long time, not until she was just about to repeat her question.

"Someone bombed the dorms."

Her throat closed and she couldn't breath for a moment because he hadn't had to say that it was her fault. It was only because she was here that someone would resort to such a thing. "What about everyone else? Everyone in the dorms?"

He shrugged awkwardly and gestured around. "I don't know. We're trapped here."

She looked around for the first time and noticed the way the roof had collapsed on either side of the door frame they were huddled around. The first floor of the dormitory was almost completely flattened. It rattled her how close to being crushed they'd come.

How many people were buried beneath the rubble? How many people had died because of her? Because she'd been too stubborn to just go back home when her identity had been exposed?

How many people had lived on the first floor? She thought quickly, and brought the floor plan to mind. The first floor had consisted of the girls only common room and the Resident Assistants' rooms. But it was a Friday night, so hopefully most of them had made plans elsewhere. And hopefully the rest of the building didn't look this bad.

But she didn't know anything about explosions and what the rest of the building was likely to look like. And she was too afraid of finding out the answer to ask Lukas what he thought.

Shirley finished bandaging up Lukas before coming to sit on Euphy's other side. They sat like that in silence for a long while before Shirley suddenly perked up again and reached for her bag.

"I should have thought of this before. I wonder if it's broken." Shirley grumbled to herself while rooting around in the bottom of her bag. She emerged a moment later holding a small, portable television in her hands. "Doesn't look broken, but I wonder if it will be able to pick up a signal?"

She fiddled with the dials on the device for a few minutes before a loud burst of static turned into a news report. "Ha." Shirley said triumphantly before setting the tiny tv in between them where they could all see it.

_"__The __footage __we're __about __to __show __may __be __disturbing __to __some __viewers. __You've __been __forewarned.__" _The news anchor said solemnly before the image on the screen cut to the burning ruins of the Ashford Academy dorms. The boys wing looked like it was still relatively intact, as a plethora of black and gold uniformed students milled around on the lawns outside the building receiving medical aid or watching in anxious horror. There were a few canary yellow uniforms mixed in, so at least a few of the girls had escaped the explosion.

The girls wing looked like some malevolent god had taken a swipe at it. Euphy didn't even know how to make sense of the mismatched angles and broken architecture.

_"__About __half __an __hour __ago __an __explosion __rocked __the __Ashford __Academy __campus __and __nearly __decimated __the __academy's __student __dormitory. __At __this __time, __the __majority __of __the __female __population __of __the __school __is __unaccounted __for __and __believed __to __be __buried __in __the __building. __Emergency __rescue __crews __are __arriving __now __to __begin __searching __the __wreckage __for __survivors._

_ "Ashford Academy is the school of, not only Prince Lelouch's foster sister, Milly Ashford, whose family owns the facility, but also to Princess Euphemia. At this time, neither of the girls have been found, though you can be assured that rescue crews will be doing everything in their power to find them as quickly as possible."_

Milly was out on a date with Rivalz. They'd gone to a movie and had probably shut off both of their cellphones. They probably had no idea what was going on right now. Euphy was just glad that they weren't here. It was two less people she had to worry about. Three, since Nina was working on her research at her lab and also wasn't on campus.

She was still panicking over the number of people that had to have been in the dorms at the time of the explosion, when the news report abruptly cut off to black for a moment before being replaced by the image of an Eleven in his mid-twenties. She didn't know him, but Lukas stiffened beside her, his eyes narrowing into a glare.

_"__I __am __Saito __Tatsuhiro __of __the __Kenshiki __Faction. __Today, __we __planted __explosives __within __the __girls __dormitory __of __Ashford __Academy __to __kill __Princess __Euphemia __li __Britannia. __We __will __continue __our __attacks __on __the __Tokyo __Settlement __until __our __demands __are __met. __Our __demands __are __the __immediate __withdrawal __of __all __Britannian __military __personnel __from __Osaka __and __that __Prince __Lelouch __vi __Britannia __turns __himself __over __to __us. __We __will __not __be __persuaded __away __from __our __goals __and __we __are __not __open __to __negotiation__"_

She felt sick. She felt abominable. It really was all her fault. They really had targeted the school just because she'd been there. People had died – there was no way they hadn't – because of her. She'd never wanted to hold even one person's life in her hands, never mind be responsible for the lives of all of her classmates.

She covered her face, hiding it in her knees as she curled up into herself. She couldn't even look at Shirley right now. Not knowing that some of the girl's friends could be dead because of her. And then she cried – she bawled – not caring that Shirley and Lukas could see her. Britannian royals didn't cry, but right now she was just Euphy and she was miserable.

* * *

Suzaku arrived at Ashford Academy just as they were extracting Princess Euphemia from the rubble, Lelouch directing rescue crews with one hand while talking on his cellphone with Shirley with the other. He looked predictably pale and frantic. Though that was to be expected, since he was pretty sure this was one of Lelouch's worst nightmares.

All around them on the carefully manicured lawns stood students in varying degrees of shock and injury. To his right, around the side of the building and out of immediate view, rested the covered bodies of four girls they'd pulled out of the wreckage. And the body count was only growing higher the more then dug.

It was a disaster.

"Euphy." Lelouch breathed in relief as the pink haired princess was gently helped out of the rubble by a fireman, followed soon after by Shirley and finally Lukas, looking worse for wear.

For half a second it looked like Euphemia would rush across the gap between them and hug Lelouch. But she reined in the urge a moment later and dropped her gaze to the ground, looking lost and out of place and thoroughly ashamed.

Lelouch only sighed, "Suzaku, stay with my sister for a few minutes while they treat Lukas. Weinberg, Alstreim, I have a favor to ask of you."

Suzaku nodded and didn't stick around to see what else Lelouch was planning. Instead, he approached the princess, waving over a medic to get her checked over.

"Your highness." He greeted with a slight bow, which she ignored, turning away from him.

"Don't look at me right now, Suzaku." She said miserably as the paramedic bowed courteously before beginning to treat her.

He'd felt the same kind of shame before. The revolting guilt of knowing that a certain situation was entirely his fault and the pain of having people he respected watching him as though nothing had happened. But in this case it wasn't Euphy's fault. It wasn't her fault that there were unscrupulous people who resorted to hurting innocents because they felt something important had been stolen from them.

No, the fault for that probably rested with him. This country was like this because of a decision he'd made seven years ago – because of a sin he'd commit.

But judging from her mood, she didn't want to hear that.

Euphemia slapped the paramedics hands away. "See to the person that's actually hurt first." She snapped, pointing in Lukas' direction.

Well, even if she didn't want to hear it, she was going to.

"Princess Euphemia . . . Euphy, no one blames you for this. You're a victim here. So please stop blaming yourself." He said firmly. He was probably stepping out of line. After all, he was just an Eleven and even as Lelouch's Knight, he was in no position to lecture another member of the Imperial family.

For a moment her lips pursed and she looked like she was on the verge of either saying something hurtful or crying. Then the moment of defiance passed and she settled on the latter as her shoulders slumped and fat tears began streaming down her face.

"It is my fault though. It was because I was too stubborn to go back home that I put all of these students at risk. People died! God, how can I face their parents? People lost their daughters today because of me and there's no way I can bring them back. How can I even show my face when I'm like this?" She demanded. "I wasn't even hurt!"

He frowned and knew he was about to step over the line again, but she required the uncensored truth. She was innocent here and a victim. She hadn't done anything wrong, she hadn't commit any crime to make her deserve to be hurt.

"Before you go arbitrarily deciding that you're guilty because you weren't hurt when others were, think about the people who care about you first. You are Lelouch's precious sister and one of his greatest fears is losing the people he loves. No one wants to see you hurt, Euphy. Being injured wouldn't change anything anyway. Even if you were hurt, you'd still feel like this. Your compassion is a beautiful quality, but don't take it too far. This is an unfortunate incident, but if you're going to blame someone, blame the correct party. The Kenshiki Faction killed these students, not you."

"Well said, Suzaku." Gino said brightly behind him, before the Knight of the Round bowed to the princess, along with Anya. "Your highness, I'm glad to see you're uninjured. Would you please come with us? We'll take you somewhere safe."

The fight went out of her almost immediately and she obediently nodded, allowing the Knights to begin shepherding her away. Lukas attempted to follow, pushing away the paramedic that was gingerly trying to unwrap the makeshift bandage that had been wrapped around his wound. Gino paused and turned back, looking sympathetic.

"Sir Zimmerman, you did well in protecting the princess this far, but we'll take it from here. You've been relieved of your duties and his highness has instructed you to rest and recuperate." Gino said.

Lukas grimaced, but obediently hung back, slipping into a stiff salute. "I . . . understand, Sir."

"And Suzaku, he wants you back with him." Gino said, before turning back to catch up with Anya and Euphy, who had gone on ahead.

He waited another couple moments until he was sure they were gone, and until Lukas had allowed the paramedic to begin treating him again before he turned to the other soldier and bowed, despite being higher up in the command structure. "Thank you for protecting Princess Euphemia. Lelouch won't forget this."

Even if he was still angry at Lelouch, they were still friends. And he knew that Lelouch would be thankful that both Euphemia and Lukas were still alive when others were not.

For a moment, he didn't think the other knight would say anything, then Lukas snorted disdainfully and glanced away. "She was still hurt. And she was still put in danger. I'm not a very good bodyguard. I don't deserve Lelouch's gratitude."

He wasn't exactly sure what to say to that, so he shrugged. "He'll probably still thank you."

"Probably." Lukas agreed. "You should get back to him instead of worrying about me, Sir Kururugi. I'll bounce back. I always do."

Suzaku nodded, understanding the other man's want to be alone. "Then I'll wish you a speedy recovery from your injuries and go."

He turned his back and easily spotted Lelouch and Lord Gottwald standing halfway across the lawns where he'd left him. He rejoined the group just as one of the paramedics approached with a nervous bow.

"Your highness," The medic said, wiping sweat away from his brow. "One of the girls we pulled out of the wreckage keeps apologizing, saying things like she didn't know this was going to happen. I . . . think she might have had contact with the terrorist. I thought you'd like to know."

Lelouch stiffened. "How badly is she injured?"

The man winced. "Her ulna and radius were shattered, so she's in quite a bit of pain. We've given her localized painkillers for now to keep her cognizant in case you wanted to question her. But if not, we'll put her under and take her to the hospital. She's going to need surgery, though her injuries aren't life threatening."

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I'll speak with her. Please lead the way." Lelouch said calmly, though Suzaku could see how tightly the prince was wound.

They followed the medic back to an ambulance, where a girl sat with her arm tightly wrapped against her chest. Judging from the way Lelouch's eyes widened slightly, he guessed that the prince was at least acquaintance with the girl.

"Laurel." Lelouch said calmly, drawing the girl's wide, tear stained gaze up to his. "Tell me what happened."

"Lelouch." The girl said in surprise, bringing her uninjured hand up to wipe away her tears and straighten her hair. She was preening despite the dire situation.

Lelouch's eyes narrowed into a glare. "People are dead, Laurel." Lelouch said icily, causing the girl to flinch, then hunch back down in on herself. "So tell me what happened here."

"It. . . it wasn't supposed to be like this." The girl whispered. "I thought that if I brought an Eleven, Euphy would like me more. Because of what happened at that party . . and because he looked exactly like . . ." The girl's eyes darted up for a moment and met with his own before glancing away. "him. They really look almost exactly alike, except for his eyes. He had brown eyes."

"Who did?" Lelouch asked dangerously.

"He said his name was Yuusuke. He worked as a janitor at the University across the street. My dad's a professor there. I went to meet him and I met Yuusuke there. I thought it was kind of funny how much they looked alike." The girl explained in a mumble, keeping her gaze averted, unable to look at anyone. "I didn't know he was a terrorist. He seemed nice . . . for an Eleven."

"How did he get past my security?" Lelouch demanded.

If possible, the girl wilted even more and flushed in shame. "We . . . made him pretend he was . . . Sir Kururugi. He had sunglasses on and he told the guards that he had an important message for Princess Euphemia from you . . . Once he was on the school grounds, we put him in a spare uniform and went to the dorms, hiding him in a big group of us."

Suzaku felt sick. Someone impersonating him had done this. Someone wearing his face had planted explosives in a school in an attempt to kill not only a princess, but as many of Lelouch's classmates as possible.

"It wasn't supposed to turn out like this." The girl said again, miserably. "It was just supposed to make Euphy like me. I just wanted to make clothes for her. That's why I got Kallen to introduce me in the first place."

And just like that, the tight rein Lelouch had been holding over his anger snapped, as he straightened. "Kallen _Stadtfeld_?" Lelouch demanded venomously.

"Yes. You know her? She was in our class, but she used to barely come because of her illness." Laurel explained.

"Oh, I know her." Lelouch said darkly before turning away, already reaching for his cellphone.

It was too much to be a coincidence, wasn't it? That a known terrorist was responsible for introducing the girl who would sneak a terrorist onto campus to Princess Euphemia.

Suzaku hung back for a moment as Lord Gottwald and Lelouch stalked off, the prince already issuing orders through his phone. He glanced back at the girl in the ambulance and smiled comfortingly.

"Can you think of anything else that might help us catch the terrorists responsible for this?" He asked kindly.

Laurel shook her head slightly. "Did something happen between Kallen and Lelouch?" She asked quietly.

Suzaku paused, realizing that this girl was probably friends with Stadtfeld. "Nothing important. You don't need to worry." He said reassuringly. "Thank you for telling us what you know. I hope your injuries heal quickly."

She averted her gaze, hiding her face behind the fall of her hair as she nodded mutely, though he thought for a second that he saw her blushing. He shrugged and turned away to rejoin Lelouch, just as Hector approached and saluted.

"I questioned the guards at the gate and around the perimeter. They said the only unusual thing to happen today was when Sir Kururugi arrived at the gate earlier with a message for Princess Euphemia." Hector said, shooting him a suspicious look.

"An impersonator." Lelouch growled. "Suzaku would never do something like this even if he was a terrorist."

He was warmed a little by the faith Lelouch had in him, but that still didn't mean that the prince was forgiven for what he was doing in Osaka.

"Of course. Other than that, they reported a young man observing the school yesterday. But he never approached or tried to gain access to the school." Hector continued.

Lelouch glared. "Probably doing surveillance for the Kenshiki. Bastards. Saito made this personal by deliberately targeting my family. Gather up the rest of my Royal Guard, Hector. I'm sending you all to Osaka. We know the identities of roughly twenty members of Saito's faction of the Kenshiki. Arrest their families. You have my full authority to act as you see fit and to requisition any and all supplies and personnel you require."

Hector was quiet for a moment, barely suppressing a grimace, before he nodded. "Alright. We'll track them down and take them in. But what about Kei? We wont have a hostage for him."

"Kei wasn't behind this. Euphy would have been dead if he was. I firmly believe that Kei is still inside the encirclement at Osaka. But Kei probably has the lion's share of the Kenshiki's resources with him. If Saito wants to regain the leadership of the Kenshiki faction, he'll have to regain the loyalty of those who follow Kei.

"What better way to do that than playing the hero and rescuing them all from the quarantine? That's what he really wants. The demand for me to turn myself over was tacked on as an afterthought or a bonus. Until the palace is finished being built in Osaka, I'm willing to let Kei stew inside the encirclement since I think Saito is right here in Tokyo. If he intends to follow through like he did with the threat to Clovis, he'll make another move soon. And then I'll have him drawn and quartered." The prince finished in a growl.

Suzaku had learned early on in his relationship with Lelouch that attacking his weaknesses didn't actually give him an advantage. When something Lelouch cherished was threatened, he didn't get flustered. He got angry. And for some reason, Lelouch's anger seemed to sharpen his cunning and ruthlessness to a fine point.

He didn't agree with Lelouch ordering his Royal Guard to arrest people just for being related to terrorists, but Lelouch didn't listen to his arguments anyway. And . . . at least they weren't executions. Yet.

* * *

Ohgi yawned. He'd been here for a couple hours already and he didn't intend to move to get Kallen for another hour at least. It was something Naoto had insisted on for his operations. Someone had to watch the place they were about to hit so that there were no nasty, last minute surprises when they finally made their move.

And, unfortunately, he was one of the few members of their cell with enough patience for this kind of work. He certainly couldn't count on Tamaki to do it. Their loudmouthed compatriot had snuck back into Tokyo two days ago after deciding that Kyoto was a little too close to the prince's playground in Osaka for his comfort. And it was better to be in familiar territory if there was trouble anyway.

But even despite Tamaki's promise to lay low and actually listen to him from now on, he knew that this part of the operation wasn't something he could trust his friend with. Tamaki had already loudly criticized his plan to use tranquilizers on the guards watching Kallen. And when Tamaki complained about orders, it was a fairly good indication that he wouldn't follow them.

Ohgi figured the prince would probably take it slightly better if they didn't drop a bunch of bodies in their wake as they helped Kallen disappear. Tamaki had no use for such restraint and figured any Britannian who stood against them was fair game.

For that reason, Tamaki was driving the getaway vehicle. He couldn't afford for Tamaki to get any more bright ideas like he had in Shinjuku. This was a careful job. They would just politely subdue the guards with the tranquilizers he'd stolen from a veterinary clinic last week, take Kallen, and disappear, hoping like hell that the prince didn't get pissed off enough to come after them. They were just small fry after all and he probably had enough on his plate with the Kenshiki and the JLF.

Much as he hated to admit it, that kid kind of scared him. For a while, he'd thought that maybe the prince wasn't so bad. That maybe that ruthless reputation was all media hype. Because anyway he looked at it, he really had helped Shinjuku. But now with all this business in Osaka, and the rumors about the private use of public funds, he really wasn't sure anymore.

News reports had stopped coming out of Osaka at all. All they got were vague reports from the administration about how the Kenshiki were still avoiding capture and how the Britannian military was doing everything in their power to bring the villains to justice. It didn't bode well that the local press in Osaka had been censored and even the net seemed quiet.

His attention was drawn back to the Stadtfeld residence as a pair of police cruisers pulled to a stop in front of the estate, officers in full body armor emerging from the car with their weapons already drawn. They charged up the walk towards the house just as Kallen's secret watchers came out of the woodwork, similarly armed and ready as they covered the exits.

What the hell?

This was bad. What the hell were they doing? Why were they moving now? And what could he do to help? The tranquilizer darts would be useless against the armor the new cops were wearing. The only reason he'd thought they'd work here was because the undercover cops were in their civvies.

"Minami! Get down here." He shouted into his radio.

He was watching the Stadtfeld manor from down the street in the driver's seat of a utility van they'd stolen, while Minami was waiting with a rifle and a dozen tranq darts in the manlift above, ostensibly servicing the power line overhead. So even though he desperately wanted to floor it and rush to Kallen's rescue, he couldn't without the very likely possibility of throwing Minami from the manlift. However much he cared about her, he wasn't willing to kill one of his subordinates on the off chance he could get her out of there.

The manlift's descent was almost agonizingly slow as Ohgi counted the seconds in his head, watching as the police hammered open the front door with one of those mini battering rams he'd seen on tv before. Shit. Shit. Shit.

Why were they moving now? Had they figured it out? Had someone let it slip that they were going to be taking Kallen back today? Had she done something to give them away by accident? He wouldn't have put it past her to give a final parting shot to the life she hated here.

Damn it.

He jammed his keys in the ignition, revving the engine to life just as a jean-clad leg escaped from a second story window, followed a second later by the rest of their red-headed comrade. She dropped down off the trellis into the garden and made it half a dozen steps away from the house before one of the police men from within the house leaned out the window and pointed his gun at her.

She froze, looking like a deer caught in headlights, then two more cops barreled around the corner of the house and tackled her her to the ground. That wasn't to say that she didn't put up a fight. It was in her nature to fight to her last breath.

For a moment, there was nothing but an angry flurry of limbs as Kallen and the two officers scuffled on the ground, but then she was hauled up to her feet in between them, her hands firmly cuffed behind her back. She promptly spit in one of her assailants' faces and earned herself a backhand across the mouth.

"Shit." Ohgi growled under his breath as he reaching for his gun, bypassing the one with tranquilizer darts and going straight for the one with real bullets.

"Oi." Minami said as he jumped into the passenger seat. "Think about what you're doing. We're outnumbered four to one here and they have body armor. I don't feel like dying needlessly."

But he'd promised . . .

_"__You'll __look __after __Kallen __if __anything __happens __to __me, __won't __you? __You __can __promise __me __that __much, __right, __Kaname?__"_

As always, Naoto had put too much faith in him.

"Fuck." He hissed.

Rushing out there to save Kallen was tantamount to pulling the trigger on himself. It was suicide. He knew that, and yet a part of him still wanted to make the attempt. The part that wanted to be worthy of the faith his best friend had always had in him.

They shoved Kallen into the back of one of the squad cars while it looked like she was running her mouth the whole time. Some of the servants from the house had gathered in the front yard and he caught sight of Ms. Kouzuki among them, looking pale and wide-eyed as her only remaining child was dragged away.

How had this gone so wrong? He should have moved earlier instead of waiting for the 'almost the end of shift' exhaustion to set in on the guards. He should have protected her better. He shouldn't have been so useless.

He threw the car into drive when the cruiser with Kallen in it pulled away from the curb and followed a respectable distance behind despite knowing that, on a street as uncrowded as this, the cops had probably already realized they were being followed.

"Call Yoshida and let him know what's happened." He growled, tossing his cellphone to his passenger.

And that was the precise moment that the crappy Britannian song that had been playing on the radio came to an end and a news report came on.

_"__And __we're __back __with __another __update __for __what's __been __happening __at __Ashford __Academy. __It __has __been __confirmed __that __both __Princess __Euphemia __and __Milly __Ashford __are __alive, __though __the __same __can't __be __said __for __many __of __their __schoolmates. __At __the __latest __count, __seventeen __students __have __been __killed, __though __there __are __still __a __number __of __students __that __are __unaccounted __for __and __the __rubble __of __the __dormitory __is __still __being __scoured __for __both __survivors __and __the __deceased._

_ "For those of you just tuning in, the Kenshiki Faction has already claimed credit for the attack which seems to have been an attempt on Princess Euphemia's life. Sources are saying that a terrorist impersonating Sir Suzaku Kururugi, Prince Lelouch's Knight of Honor, managed to breach the school's security and plant the explosives that decimated the student dormitory with the help of a female student. It's not certain where that terrorist is right now, whether it was a suicide attack or if he managed to escape the campus before the bomb went off, but if he is alive we can only hope that he will be brought to justice quickly for this monstrous crime. _

_ "We'll have more on that as more information becomes available. Until that time, enjoy our daily top ten."_

Ohgi was numb. He was _certain_ that Kallen had had nothing to do with that. There was no way in hell that she would have helped the Kenshiki Faction, right? And she wouldn't have helped them blow up her school, even if it was a Britannian institution that she hated. She wouldn't have dragged a bunch of innocents down like this because it would have left Naoto rolling in his grave.

But just because he knew this, didn't mean the Viceroy did. And since the prince already knew that she was a terrorist, she was probably at the top of his suspect list for the female student that had assisted the terrorist.

"Shit." He said again as it seemed the only adequate way to express his helplessness at the moment. He felt so useless.

They followed the squad cars through street after street until it finally turned down a road they couldn't follow. The road into Clovis' maximum security prison, the one that was occasionally referred to as the 'terrorist tank'. The one that had been specially designed for the purpose of holding terrorists and revolutionaries.

A prison that he'd never heard of anyone coming out of alive.

* * *

Kallen was in deep shit. She knew this quite well. In fact, she'd known it from the second she'd heard the front door of the house crash open. And the situation had only gone downhill from there. By now, she had to be waist-deep in it, considering where she'd been taken.

She'd been taken to an interrogation room, instead of directly to a cell inside the prison, but she was undecided on whether or not that was a good thing. Though they called in an interrogation room, it didn't disguise the sterile, uninviting atmosphere of the room. There was no warm oak table with a glass of water waiting on it for her like you saw in those police dramas on television.

The table was metal, the white paint scratched and worn. It was also bolted to the floor, along with the uncomfortable chair she was handcuffed onto. The walls were undecorated concrete painted a neutral brown that did nothing to sooth her because she'd already seen the drain in the floor. The entire place could probably be hosed down and there would be nothing left to show how she'd struggled.

Her gaze was drawn back to the scratches on the table, the only visible reminders of the battles that had been fought in this room. How many people had sat in this chair before her and known that their life was up? How many of them had been willing to fight right to the very end? Was she one of them?

While she had a lot of fire, she wasn't confident that they wouldn't be able to break her if her captors decided to have her tortured. She'd seen what they could do to her, after all. She'd seen the condition they'd left Naoto in after torturing him for information. She'd rather have been tossed straight into a cell with the key thrown away than be tortured and risk endangering Ohgi and the others.

She sighed and let her eyes drift shut. How long had she been in here already? It felt like hours, though there was no clock in the room so she couldn't be certain. In any case, her ass told her it had been well over an hour by now and still no one had come in to question her (why the hell did this chair have to be so hard?).

Maybe they were hoping that if they left her in here long enough she'd cave and just confess. But there was no way in hell she was going to do that. She was innocent – of this crime at least. She'd been watching the news footage on tv in her room when those bastards had come to capture her. There was no way in hell that she was the female student that the news kept saying had helped the Kenshiki guy in. She hadn't even been on campus. She'd gone directly home after lunch, even skipping her afternoon classes because she'd been so excited about Ohgi coming to get her.

Shit. She hoped he didn't get dragged into this. And she hoped he knew better than to try to break into her room when she didn't come out as soon as he honked. Though whether they'd continue watching the Stadtfeld estate now that she wasn't there anymore was debatable.

Unless they'd brought her in because they'd found out she was planning on running? In which case, they might have turned the entire house into a trap for Ohgi.

God, she hated this situation.

She remembered watching in tv shows and movies about how criminals would just start shouting random stuff when faced with an interrogation room and a one-sided mirror – demanding to see a lawyer, repeatedly professing their innocence, uttering threats, that kind of stuff. She didn't feel the urge to do any of those things, though.

She glanced up at the one-sided mirror and cocked her head to the side, wondering if there was actually someone in there. It kind of made her skin crawl, but there had been eyes on her for weeks now and she wasn't sure if it was all in her head or not. Being spied on by the prince's goons for so long had probably killed her sixth sense.

She shifted uncomfortably, trying to bring feeling back into her ass. And that's when the door finally opened and none other than Prince Lelouch and his Knights walked in. The prince had her duffel bag slung over his shoulder, which he promptly dropped on the end of the table.

"So, were you planning on going somewhere, Kallen?" He asked brightly. But though he was smiling and seemed completely composed and unperturbed, she could practically feel the icy steel beneath the expression.

She refused to answer such an obvious question. If he'd found her bag he obviously knew that she'd been planning to leave.

"And with your step-mother's pearls and diamonds too." The prince said sadly, shaking his head before taking the seat across from her as both Kururugi and Gottwald took up position at either shoulder. She stiffened slightly. If he knew that Lady Stadtfeld was only her step-mother, then he knew that she was half Japanese. The Stadtfeld name wouldn't be able to save her. "I bet you were such a troublesome child for her to raise."

She glared at him but remained quiet. He could talk until he went hoarse.

"Don't glare like that, it ruins your features. Besides, did you think that after setting up that attack on Ashford that I'd let you get away?" He prince asked coldly.

"I had nothing to do with that." She hissed.

"You were the one that introduced Laurel to Euphy. And she was the one who let the Kenshiki inside the school. I can't help but think you were involved. And don't bother denying it. I've already confirmed Laurel's confession with Lukas." The prince said. "How long were you in contact with this Yuusuke character from the Kenshiki Faction? How were you keeping in contact with them?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I never met him." She snarled. "I only introduced Laurel to Princess Euphemia because she asked me to. I had no idea this was going to happen."

Lelouch's eyes narrowed into a glare that chilled the marrow in her bones and she figured she was already dead. "You didn't deny having contact with them." He growled.

She glared back, hoping to counter his gaze somehow. "I didn't admit to having contact with them either." She seethed.

For a moment they just glared at each other, then the prince leaned back in his chair, completely at ease, and tilted his head towards his Knight. "Jeremiah, break her fingers."

She jerked back in surprised, instinctively trying to put space between her and this new threat as she curled her hands into fists to hide the digits. That was it? He was just going to jump to torture right away? He wasn't even going to give her the chance to argue or to prove her innocence.

"With pleasure, my prince." The older Knight said, coming around the table behind her.

She couldn't fight back like this. Her hands were locked behind her back, and handcuffed to the chair. She couldn't even move as the man forced her hand to open by painfully digging his thumb into her palm. And all she could think of was the twisted, wrecked condition that Naoto's hands had been left in after he'd been tortured. She'd be useless like that. They'd never heal correctly even if she did survive this. She wouldn't be able to hold a knife and she definitely wouldn't be able to pilot a Knightmare.

"Wait!" She said quickly, hating how panicked she sounded, but she would be damned if she would bleed for that bastard Tatsuhiro Saito.

The prince merely arched his eyebrow at her placidly, completely unaffected by the sight of his Knight about to torture a teenaged girl. Kururugi looked a bit sick, but he wasn't about to move to her aid either.

Gottwald's fingers quested slowly – but unhesitatingly – down her pinky applying more and more pressure as he went, and it was clear that he would really do it. This wasn't a bluff. The sick fuck would really break her finger in a second. He'd probably enjoy it too.

"I only met the bastard once, okay? And I thought he was a douche bag so I hope you kill him. I don't have anything against Princess Euphy. But even if I did, I'd never have tried to take her out at my school where my friends are." She said quickly as Gottwald continued to apply pressure to her little finger (and, fuck, it was really starting to hurt now). "So call off your dog, okay?"

Gottwald added a little extra pressure in return for the jibe and she winced, trying to pull her hand out of his clearly stronger grip. Then the prince shook his head minutely and the pressure disappeared entirely. She breathed half a sigh in relief, well aware that all she'd really managed to do was buy herself some time. She was still probably going to die here.

"So tell me about this douche bag you only met once." The prince ordered and she almost laughed at the absurdity of hearing such vulgar words coming from his mouth. "Who are you referring to?"

But she didn't laugh because the situation was far too grim for that and Gottwald was still lurking outside of her field of vision, likely waiting to strike at the merest gesture from the Viceroy. Instead, she averted her gaze and said the name.

"Tatsuhiro Saito."

She didn't owe any loyalty to the Kenshiki Faction and a part of her had probably been hoping that the prince would catch those bastards quickly because of the way they disregarded innocent civilians. But she still felt a little disgusted that she was ratting them out.

Not that she knew much incriminating about them.

"And?" The prince asked.

"And nothing. We only spoke for a few minutes and we've had no contact since then. I had no idea they were planning to hit Ashford. Is . . . is the rest of the Student Council alright?" She asked, because it had been bothering her. The news had said that Milly was okay, but she had no idea about the others.

"They're fine." He said coldly. "How did you meet Saito? When?"

She pursed her lips in suppressed anger that he hadn't elaborated, but this was an interrogation, she reminded herself. He wasn't required to answer her questions.

"It was the end of August. I was requested to act as protection for . . . a friend who had a deal with them." She said, unwilling to give Jin Nakata up despite the way he aggravated her.

"Your friend requested the protection of a high school girl?" Prince Lelouch asked mockingly.

She glared. "And the Glasgow that Mr. Happy here destroyed in Shinjuku." She said, nodding her head towards where she assumed Gottwald was still standing behind her. If Kururugi was the one she'd fought in the white Knightmare, then it would have had to have been Gottwald in the Sutherland with 'L.L.'.

She felt him shift behind her and tensed, but he didn't touch her.

Lelouch smiled, his grin wide, creeping and somehow sinister. "Alright, so what happened at this meeting?"

"Nothing really." She said, thrown off by his reaction.

"He had to have done something to make you hate him"

"You mean besides wantonly killing innocent people? Even innocent Japanese people?" She asked defensively.

"Yes. That's the stance of their organization. What did Saito do personally?"

She glared. He was . . sharp. She felt somewhat exposed like this, like he was reading as easily as a book. "He went off when he saw me. Because I look Britannian, he pointed a gun at me. He would have killed me just for the way I look. He's like a rabid fucking dog."

"Hm." The prince said, tapping a finger slowly on the arm of his chair. "I want to meet this friend of yours."

"No way." She said immediately.

"He won't come to any harm." Lelouch said calmly.

"I don't trust you." She said flatly. "Besides, I don't even know his number."

"Oh? Some friend you are. So who does know the number? Your leader, right? What was his name again? Ohgi, wasn't it?" The prince asked before nonchalantly reaching into his pocket and coming out with her cellphone. "I wonder if his number is in here?"

She paled and felt nauseous. She'd spent all this time trying to protect them from the prince for nothing. Was it really over like this? What would he do to Ohgi? What about the others? Would he just make them all disappear?

"The expression on your face says it is."

* * *

It was past one in the morning when Lelouch finally managed to return to the house. He was exhausted. The day hadn't started badly, but after diner he'd received a call from Reuben in a panic because he couldn't find Milly and, oh God, he didn't know where Euphemia was either.

Lelouch was pretty sure he'd lost years off his life today.

He'd found Reuben later, after it had been confirmed that both Milly and Euphy were fine, and had apologized profusely for not protecting the students better. Predictably, the old man hadn't been willing to blame him. Reuben had always been like that. It wasn't that he wasn't willing to punish Lelouch (and he had on a number of occasions growing up), but he never made Lelouch feel worse when he was already genuinely agonized by something that had happened.

The house was more or less quiet when they returned, though Edith had stayed up and was waiting with a cup of chamomile tea for both him and Suzaku as they came through the door. Sometimes, he wondered when she slept. It was almost eerie how efficient she was.

He sank onto the sofa, boneless as he sipped at his tea. Suzaku was in much the same condition in the opposing arm chair. His Knight had been keeping close since they'd met up at Ashford. Although they hadn't really spoken about their argument yet, he could already tell that Suzaku's silence wasn't born of anger. He was probably just as shaken by all of this as Lelouch himself was.

At least he hadn't lost anyone. Once again, he'd been lucky. Euphy would probably be landing in Pendragon soon, whether she'd wanted to or not. Cornelia had approved of the precaution when he'd seen her briefly at the Academy. But by that time, Euphy had already been long gone, under the protective escort of the Knights of Three and Six.

He felt a little bad for forcing it on her, but not bad enough to change his mind. He wouldn't put her at risk like that again. He absolutely refused. He hadn't even given her the chance to pack or say her goodbyes. He just wanted her out and back within the relatively safe confines of the Imperial court before another disaster could strike.

"Hey . . ." Suzaku said tiredly, "Sorry about the other day. Even though I'm angry with you, I still shouldn't have touched you."

Lelouch snorted disdainfully. "You don't have to apologize. I knew you'd get angry."

Suzaku sighed. "You know, I haven't forgiven you."

"I know." He nodded.

"But I don't want you to die, either."

So that was it. If what had happened to Euphy had actually scared Suzaku, it explained why his Knight had insisted on keeping close to him for the rest of the day. At first he'd thought his friend had just been taking advantage of the Knights of the Rounds' absence. But this explained it better, considering that Suzaku hadn't even let him interrogate the Stadtfeld girl without him.

That had been an annoyance, forcing him to abstain from using his Geass. But he hadn't been certain he would use it on her anyway. She was still useful to him and he didn't know what the future might hold. If he really needed to give an absolute command later and had wasted his Geass on this interrogation, he would feel like an idiot. Besides, he was pretty sure she was telling the truth, and he'd gotten it without too much trouble.

He'd left her cooling her heels in a cell for the time being, even though it had meant he'd had to deal with an anxious Lady Stadtfelt who was worried about the family's reputation. He'd almost grimaced at the lack of concern for the girl herself. After reassuring the woman that Kallen would be charged under the name Kouzuki to protect the Stadtfeld family's interests, the woman had been appeased and gone on her way.

He could see why she'd become a terrorist.

"Well, thanks for that." Lelouch said wryly, pushing himself back up to his feet after abandoning his now drained tea cup on the coffee table where one of the maids would find it. "I'm going to bed. You should too. I'm sure we'll have another busy day tomorrow."

"Yeah." Suzaku said, following suit as they tiredly trudged up the stairs together.

Lelouch had already loosened his tie and had his cufflinks curled in the palm of his hand by the time he reached the door to his room. He stopped on the threshold, staring at the room by the grace of the hall light.

It was a full half minute before he realized what was wrong. Before it clicked that the bed was empty and untouched though it should have already been occupied. And before he realized he hadn't heard from his wife all day, despite the fact that Euphy had been attacked.

His heart leaped into his throat as he flicked on the light, searching around the room for some kind of clue. Maybe . . . maybe, no he didn't even let himself finish the thought. This was dread coursing through his veins and he knew well enough by now that when he felt this, something bad had happened.

Abigail hadn't left him. Not of her own free will. That wasn't in her character. Besides, he'd done nothing to aggravate her lately and even C.C. had now disappeared. It was an ideal time for her to try to solidify her position next to him. She wouldn't have given up now.

He turned around, cufflinks falling through numb fingers as he raced back out of the room.

"Lelouch?" Suzaku asked in surprise, his shirt half unbuttoned as he came out of his room to see what the commotion was.

Lelouch ignored him, instead racing down the stairs three at a time. "Edith!" He bellowed. If anyone knew what had happened to her, it would be her. His assistant had her fingers on the pulse of this place and almost nothing got past her.

Edith ran out into the hall looking flustered and harried, his and Suzaku's tea cups in her hands, as she rushed to meet him. "What? What's wrong?"

"Where's Abigail?" He demanded.

For a moment she didn't say anything, then her eyes widened and her face paled. "I- I haven't seen her since she left to visit Lady Hamilton this afternoon."

"What about Samson?" Lelouch demanded.

"I haven't seen him either."

"Is the car back?"

"I don't know." Edith said before dropping the teacups on a nearby side table. "I'll check."

"No, I'll check. You call Hamilton and see when they last saw her." He ordered, already making his way for the door, aware that Suzaku was following him.

But the car wasn't in the garage where it was supposed to be. The empty spot in his garage seemed almost taunting.

"Damn it." He cursed under his breath.

Abigail hadn't been alone. She'd had an entire security team with her. He reached for his phone, scrolling through to each number of the security members she'd preferred, but none of them picked up and his bad feeling grew worse.

"Lelouch." Edith interrupted as he hung up his phone. "Lady Hamilton said that Abigail left there around five thirty. She should have been back hours ago."

"I see." He said coldly, before turning away for the guard house at the gate. It was a secondary hub to the security center in the basement of the house and most of the villa's security measures could be accessed from there with correct authorization.

He activated the gps on the limo Abigail had taken, watching with bated breath as the satellite connected and homed in on the device. When it did, he was pretty sure his heart stopped. It was only three blocks away from Nunnally.

Before he could talk himself out of it, he was already dialing Sayoko's number. She answered after the third ring (his heart rate increasing with every second that she didn't answer) with a sleepy "Hello," in Japanese.

"Sayoko." He said firmly, before turning away from the guards on duty and ducking out of the building. "Is everything alright there? Is she okay?" He demanded in Japanese.

"Yes. Everything's fine here. Why? What's happened?" Sayoko asked quickly.

"Nothing." He answered, hoping Sayoko wouldn't wake Nunnally up because of this. If they were okay, it was enough. He didn't want to needlessly worry his sister. "It's fine. Just go back to sleep."

It could just be a coincidence. If someone wanted to hide a car, a low-traffic industrial park was the place to do it. It's not like the limo had been parked right in front of Nina's lab. He didn't need to panic about Nunnally. If Sayoko said she was okay, she was okay. It was better to focus on worrying about his wife.

He went back to the garage, plucking a set of keys out of the desk before turning to his fastest car. Then his requisitioned a team from his house's security in the absence of his Royal Guard and ordered them to follow.

It took him surprisingly little time to reach his intended destination, but even so, the entire way there he'd found himself imagining torched cars and charred corpses, or blood splattered leather and gunshot wounds. Or both.

But the car was intact when he pulled up next to it. It looked almost serene – harmless – as black and chrome reflected the moonlight. He didn't let it fool him, prepared to witness horrors inside.

It couldn't be worse than anything else he'd seen. It couldn't be worse than racing out to see a blinded Nunnally wailing under the weight of their dead mother. It couldn't be worse that trudging through battlefields of slaughtered civilians, or watching the innocent get gunned down in front of him as he sat hidden and terrified of moving. Whatever scene awaited him inside the car, it couldn't be worse than that.

It was with that confidence that he didn't even hesitate as he reached for the handle on the limo's door. He took a final deep breath as he opened the door, preparing himself, and felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. He steadied himself against the door, feeling Suzaku rush to grab him on the other side.

"Lelouch." Suzaku said in concern, then his eyes narrowed and he pointed at something on the ground. "Look."

He followed his Knight's gesture to a dark lump on the ground in the shadow of the car, focusing on it for almost a minute before he realized what it was. A gas mask.

His gaze darted back into the car, lit now by the interior light, and saw the row of neatly bound soldiers seated in the car, all still unconscious. And he noted the conspicuous absence of his wife.

Someone had taken her hostage.

His thoughts raced as he took two stumbling steps away from the car and the remnant of the gas that had been used on it's passengers. Who? Had this been the real objective of the bombing at Ashford? Had the Kenshiki merely used that as a distraction when they'd taken his wife, as they had distracted everyone with the hospital kidnapping when they'd tried to assassinate him?

No. Saito wasn't that good. Had he been mistaken? Was Kei really involved? But why take her alive? Thus far, the Kenshiki – neither Saito or Kei – had shown a penchant for taking hostages with any real meaning. They went for the kill, hoping to rule over their opponents through fear.

Was it someone else then? Or had they just proven him a fool? People were adaptive, after all. It wasn't beyond the realm of possibility that they had changed their modus operandi. And just how far was he willing to go to save her, anyway?

He thought that he disliked her, but she'd been becoming more and more useful over the last couple weeks. And she was still part of his house. He was still responsible for her safety. He obviously wouldn't just leave her to die, but how far would be be willing to go? How much would he let her skew his plans?

"Your highness." One of his guards said from the other side of the car, where he'd opened up the opposite door to help air out the vehicle. "They're alive. And . . . there was this in there." The man said, holding out an envelope over the top of the car.

Suzaku reached for it first, tearing open the envelope to check it's contents first before handing it over to Lelouch. He pulled out the single white page of paper inside and opened it up, half expecting to see the stereotypical ransom note made of cut out magazine letters. Instead, the note was written by hand in pencil, the script blocky and uneven.

_"__How __about __a __trade, __your __highness? __My __princess __for __your __witch.__"_

C.C.

This was about C.C.. Had she known she was being targeted? Is that why she'd disappeared like she had? Either way, she'd fucked him over. Even if he'd been willing to trade her for Abigail. He couldn't now. He had nothing this terrorist would want.

"Fuck." He said, enunciating clearly and with feeling.

* * *

AN: Phew. *wipes brow* I think this one might just be the longest chapter in the history of Dauntless, topping out at an almost even 16 pages. -.- It took so long for me to write it. Anyway, it's finally done and the shit has finally all hit the fan. Now he's got Saito, Kei, the JLF, and Mao all to worry about at the same time.

Anyway, in other news, SoDesuKa has created an absolutely beautiful fanart of Abigail. You should definitely go check it out. And while you're doing that, you should definitely leave her a comment on her work, because it's totally gorgeous and everyone likes to feel like there work is appreciated. Even me too. Don't forget to review! ^.~

Allora


	76. Chapter 76

Chapter 76

Mao was humming to himself quietly when the princess awoke. He'd already slept for a couple hours while the woman was still unconscious and while it was still quiet. He hadn't even needed his headphones. It was that quiet here. That secluded. It suited him perfectly, except for the lack of human comforts. But that was okay. He wouldn't be here long.

In any case, it was the solitude of this place that let him notice the exact moment his captive returned to consciousness. She'd been half dreaming for a while now, fuzzy incoherent thoughts floating by her mind before dissipating like smoke. But it was with the first solid, conscious thoughts he'd heard in hours that he knew the woman was finally awake.

_"__Oh __God, __where __am __I? __What __happened? __I __can't __remember __anything. __Shit! __Someone's __humming? There's __someone __here? __Was __I __captured __by __a __terrorist? __I'll __pretend __to __be __asleep __until __I've __figured __out __what's __going __on.__.__. __I __wonder __if __Lelouch __knows __I'm __missing? __Or __if __he __even __cares __.__.__.__"_

He grinned broadly, a wide, feral expression as he leaned closer to her. "Oh, princess," He said cheerfully in a sing-song tone as he reached out to poke her. "You can stop sleeping now any time. Or not. Actually, it doesn't really matter to me if you never wake up."

She flinched away from his touch, opening pretty blue eyes to glare balefully at him. "Don't touch me." She snapped angrily.

_"__Filthy __Number. __How __dare __he __lay __hands __on __me. __That __bastard. __I'd __claw __out __his __eyes __if__.__.__.__"_

Mao tuned out her internal ranting and instead closed his fingers around her jaw. "Now now, you're not being very polite. And here I thought princesses were all supposed to be charming, graceful women." He said mockingly. "But then, you weren't born a princess, were you? Just a noble sold off by her father for the sake of a legacy she has no interest in, right?"

Her glare narrowed in suspicion and he had to say he loved the look on her face right now. She was all impotent fury and useless rage. It was definitely one of the top ten reactions he'd ever received from using his Geass. Usually it was abject shock or horror.

"I wonder what your darling husband would think of the reason you allowed yourself to be married off? Well, it would only be fair if he knew, right? After all, it does involve him." He prodded.

This girl was a veritable gold mine in terms of secrets he could exploit. Like the prince, she was constructed of mask after mask after mask. And behind each mask lay another dirty secret. She was a perfect play thing for him. It was like Christmas had come early.

"Ah, but then he'd probably send you straight back to Pendragon, right? And that wouldn't be fair since you actually do genuinely like him, right?" He continued to prod.

"What do you want?" She asked, voice calm and composed and still somehow dangerous, despite her current position. Her wrists and ankles were still bound by the tie straps from last night and her jaw was still trapped within his grasp.

"Me? There's only one thing I want." He said. "And you're going to help me get it."

"What do you want me to do?" She asked, and though she seemed calm and collected on the outside, it did nothing to mask her internal monologue of _"__Oh __God, __oh __God. __Bluff! __Bluff __like __your __life __depends __on __it! __Don't __let __this __psychopath __know __that __you're __afraid.__"_

He smiled widely. "Do? No, no, my dear. You're mistaken. You don't have to do anything. You just need to sit here like this until C.C. comes back to me."

Her eyes widened for a moment in fear as her thoughts raced. _"__C.C.? __That __bitch! __She's __the __one __behind __this? __She __set __this __up? __This __is __going __too __far. __Just __to __keep __Lelouch __to __herself __she'd__.__.__.__"_

The thought trailed off and was replaced by a mental image that made Mao's eyes widen this time. The image of that bastard prince flushed and straining over the arched, enraptured form of C.C..

Now, he knew the difference between true memories, and objects of the imagination. Like dreams, objects of the imagination lacked the clarity of conscious thoughts. So he knew this wasn't a true memory. But even still, the image had engraved itself deeply in his mind. It was only compounded by the image – a true memory this time – of C.C. standing at the top of the stairs in nothing but a man's dress shirt.

C.C. would never . . . but if she had? Surely not. He hadn't seen it when he'd looked at the prince's mind, but it had only been a cursory glance and he'd been focused on picking up weaknesses and logistics, not sexual exploits. But if that boy had laid even so much as a single finger on C.C. he'd . . . he'd . . . kill him. Yes, that's what he'd do. He'd kill the little son of a bitch with his own two hands for daring to taint his goddess. Strangle him. Yes, he'd strangle him, hands closing around that scrawny little neck of his until his eyes rolled up and he stopped struggling.

Mao didn't kill people. He didn't care about people enough to want to kill them. And the few times that he did, he preferred to make them do it themselves, or talk someone else into doing for him. That way he could watch from afar without getting his hands dirty while he got the satisfaction of watching their minds wreck themselves.

But for the prince he'd make an exception. For C.C., to protect her from that miserable letch, he'd definitely get his hands dirty. He'd revel in it if he had to. He'd become filthy. That prince had better not have touched her.

He realized belatedly that he was still holding the princess' jaw, and that he was currently holding it tightly enough to make her wince. He jerked his hand away, wiping it on the front of his coat as though she'd contaminated him and backed away to sit back where he'd been before on an old sleeping bag.

He'd probably left bruises on that pretty pale skin of hers. But it served her right for thinking of C.C. like that. His C.C. would never do something like that. She'd never let that bastard defile her. Never.

He hoped.

_"__This __guy's __a __complete __psycho. __He __just __.__.__. __shit, __there __has __to __be __a __way __out __of __this. __Lelouch __won't __be __coming. __He __said __so __himself, __that __if __I __got __kidnapped __by __coming __to __Area __Eleven __that __he'd __just __leave __me __to __rot. __Maybe __I __can __buy __him. __Even __if __Lelouch __won't __cover __the __ransom, __my __father __will.__"_

"Listen," The princess began tentatively.

"Don't bother." He interrupted lazily.

She pursed her lips, eyes narrowing into a glare. "Listen," She said again, more firmly. "I don't know how much C.C. is paying you to do this, but I can double it."

"Don't belittle our love with something like your father's money." He snapped.

_ "Love? Turn him against her then?"_

She sent him a pitying glance. "You poor fool. My husband is having an affair with her. She's leading you on. Using you. She doesn't have any real intention of being with you. Why would she leave him for you? A prince? You should stop this before you get hurt. If you let me go now, I'll make sure that you're allowed to go free."

_"__No, __I __won't. __I'll __see __you __hanged, __you __bastard.__"_

"You're a venomous little bitch, aren't you?" He growled. But he'd had enough and was already rifling through the backpack he'd brought with him. He came out with the dirty shirt he'd worn yesterday and began twisting it into a tightly coiled rope, figuring the cleanliness of the garment would only add insult to injury.

She stared at the process fearfully and flinched when he moved towards her again. But when he slipped the rope over her head, he didn't pull it tight around her throat like she was dreading. Instead, it squished against her lips until he pulled it tight enough to force her to open her mouth. He tied it tightly like that, effectively gagging her.

"I like you better like this." He purred, petting her hair. When he sat back down on his sleeping bag, he was rewarded with the sight of fat, glistening tears dripping off her eyelashes to run down her cheeks.

_"__I'm __so __dead.__"_

* * *

Lelouch had yet to sleep. No doubt it was visible in the bags under his eyes and the way his gait was somewhat shambling. His only saving grace was that both of his Knights were in about the same condition. Suzaku rubbed his neck tiredly while Jeremiah pinched the bridge of his nose to force back a headache from exhaustion as they both stood at attention, ever vigilant, by the door.

Not for the first time, he gestured to the stuffed leather couch against the wall in his office. "Sleep, you two. I'll wake you when I find something useful."

Once again he was met with their staunch refusals. They wouldn't sleep until he did. The security team he'd brought with him from the house had had no such qualms and was currently passed out in a variety of guest rooms here in the Viceroy's Palace.

He sighed in annoyance. His temper was all but shot due to his exhaustion and he didn't feel like having them lurking at the door. It was all well and good for presentation in front of others, but when they were alone, he didn't demand the same kinds of protocol. "Then go make yourselves useful. Start with the CCTVs downtown around the Viceroy's Palace. See if you can't pick her up on one and figure out where she might have gone."

At the moment, his highest priority was finding C.C. to get information out of her about who had taken Abigail. He didn't expect it to be easy. When she'd first left, he'd figured that if she wanted to disappear, she was probably resourceful enough to do a good job of it. But now that he needed her, he hoped she'd made a mistake.

It had occurred to him that he might never find her and so he was also conducting his own investigation. However, C.C. had never been particularly forthcoming about . . . well, anything. The only other people he knew were aware of her existence were the researchers from the Code-R project and the last remnants of Clovis' Royal Guard.

So far, the Royal Guard had each been sought out and found without his wife and General Bartley was still in Pendragon. None of them had made any suspicious moves recently either. All signs pointed to them being innocent. The Code-R researchers were more tricky. His brother had buried the project under more seals of confidentiality than Lelouch had ever seen. It had required the cooperation of Clovis' old assistant Lisa to actually gain access to the records. She'd been reluctant almost to the point that he'd wanted to use his Geass on her. But he'd finally convinced her by pointing out that Clovis was already dead and by appealing to her compassion by explaining Abigail's situation. In retrospect, he should have requested these documents right after C.C. had first arrived at his villa.

She'd eventually agreed to send him everything she had, and the files had just arrived at his office. Judging by how much space the files she'd sent him were taking up on his computer, he wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon and watching his Knights fight their exhaustion was becoming painful.

"Alright." Suzaku grumbled. "Call if you need anything."

Jeremiah hesitated for another minute until Lelouch gestured to the door again. "You too, Jeremiah. And if you come across one of the maids, tell them to send some coffee up for me, please."

"Of course, Lelouch." The man said, giving him a cursory bow before following after Suzaku.

When he was finally, blissfully, alone he loosened his tie and opened the first document. It was a whole lot of blather about the founding of the Rosenberg Institute, their mission statement and their research goals – the understanding of specimen C.C.. It wasn't all that helpful, though it was somewhat interesting that the entire institute was centered around C.C..

The next document was a personnel list. It was everything he needed. There were about forty names on the list. From geneticists to soldiers, the list seemed fairly complete. It even had the custodial staff listed. He sent the list to the police task force he'd created last night to help him search for clues. They were the same officers that had confirmed the locations of Clovis' Royal Guards and were already apprised of the situation.

He clicked on the next file more out of curiosity than anything else. It was a list of research logs dating back to just after the invasion. Everything was in precise, pristine order with a new entry every two to three days. It was all perfectly scientific.

He opened the first log, finding a picture of C.C. staring back at him wearing the same bland, expressionless mask as usual. The picture was followed by full body x-rays, and vital statistics. All of that was finally followed by a journal entry from the lead scientist.

_"__October __13, __2010 __a.t.B._

_ "His highness, Prince Clovis, says he watched the specimen he sent to us get fatally shot, then revive herself only a few minutes later. I was skeptical upon first seeing her. At first glance, the specimen is nothing impressive. It is female, estimated to be in her late teens or early twenties and, by all accounts, very normal looking. _

_ "The Royal Guard has been keeping her in a constant state of unconsciousness or semi-consciousness using a variety of anesthetics and sleep aids since she was brought into their custody right before the end of the invasion. Apparently, there was an incident that broke the minds of three of their comrades. It was suggested that we refrain from touching her except when she's in a state of healing or unconscious. _

_ "I thought they were merely being superstitious until Lucien Arbors, my primary research assistant, was thrown into some kind of waking nightmare when attempting to acquire a blood sample. It took him six hours to stop screaming once we managed to drag him from the room. At the time, one of the Royal Guard was still there and wasted no time in putting a bullet in the specimen._

_ "I was outraged at first, and thought that the oaf had just ruined our research. But just like Prince Clovis had said, the specimen revived somewhere around five minutes later and merely blinked, as though still being alive after being shot in the heart wasn't something uncommon._

_ "For the time being, we will establish her baseline before taking a more in depth look at the leading factors behind her regeneration. We must know what parts of her are normal before we can begin to examine the differences in her physiology and proceed to testing the limits of her ability. _

_ "At the time that I'm writing this, we've once again sedated her and locked her in an isolated holding cell. There's a sliding window on the door that we'll be able to hit her with a tranquilizer dart from for tomorrow, though we'll have to make the construction of a more convenient means of subduing the specimen a priority._

_ Dr. Albert J. Nielsen"_

Lelouch frowned, disgusted by the clinical treatment, like she was something in a petri dish in a lab instead of a person. But he couldn't stop himself from opening the next entry, and the one after that. Months and years of inhumane treatment all revealed under the order of his benevolent, art-loving brother.

He'd felt guilty for killing Clovis. He'd thought it had been like driving a frightened animal into a corner. Even a rat will fight when cornered. He'd thought it had merely been the situation that had brought out his brother's claws. Now, he saw that that wasn't so. Clovis hadn't been like a rat. He'd been like a merciless cat that occasionally takes a swipe at you just for the sake of curiosity.

Lelouch didn't feel as guilty any more.

_"__January __23, __2011 __a.t.B._

_ "It's been three months and the specimen still doesn't speak. The most we've gotten out of her was a gasp when her arm was broken under the x-ray so we could watch how quickly the bone knit itself back together. I think she's mute. Today, when Reena Holten, one of our junior research assistants moved in to sedate the specimen, she wrote the letters 'C.C.' on the examination table in blood. _

_ "It seems to be what she wants to be called. It's the first time the person selected for sedating the subject didn't report experiencing nightmarish images for a brief moment at contact. If it makes her easier to handle, I really don't care what we have to call her. I've already had two assistants quit the project due to 'unsafe working conditions'. Given the amount of secrecy the prince is treating this project with, I doubt that they're happily employed at a new job. I hope their families got the life insurance, at least._

_ "In any case, C.C. (as is her new official designation as of today), produces an astonishing amount of blood. It doesn't matter how much she bleeds, her body never actually runs dry. It's a physical impossibility for her to bleed out. We extracted over twelve liters of blood from her today, more than double that of a regular human, and she showed no sign of of slowing her production rate. _

_ Even when her system was burdened by other stimuli, like bone fractures and organ damage, the rate of blood production remained the same. The only time the blood production stopped was when we stopped the heart. But, as usual, the organ restarted itself within minutes and the damages rapidly healed. The blood production rate was the same after revival as it was before._

_ "The results are fascinating, though we still have no idea what causes the bizarre levels of regeneration to occur. Though one observation we've made is that every time her body begins to regenerate, and every time someone reports experiencing nightmarish hallucinations, a red mark appears on her forehead. _

_ "The symbol is in the shape of something like a squashed 'V' or, to some, like a flying bird. Lucien suggested that the mark might be indicative of abnormal brain activity in the frontal lobe, but so far our scans haven't shown anything unusual._

_ In any case, the mark is of a similar shape to the scar on the specimen's left breast. How she acquired the scar is beyond my comprehension. All dermal damages we've caused to the specimen have healed completely, leaving the skin unblemished. _

_ "We'll be intensifying our testing soon and perhaps then we will see if we can leave a mark on her. _

_ "Dr. Albert J. Nielson"_

Another hour passed, accompanied by full color photo images of the results of the Rosenberg Institute's experiments. He'd witnessed a lot of horrible things in his life, but he thought this probably topped them all. This had nothing on the anti-sensitivity training he'd undergone in Area Eighteen, or the slaughter of innocent civilians he'd seen here in Japan.

This was the repeated, systematic, inescapable torture of a woman who often shared his bed done under the guise of science. This was an atrocity sanctioned by his brother that she had had to endure by herself for seven years. While he'd been bemoaning the wretchedness of his own life, fixating on the death of his mother, crippling of Nunnally and their subsequent exile, C.C. had been going through unimaginable suffering.

_"__March __15, __2013 __a.t.B._

_ "For the first time in three years, the specimen screamed. Up to this point, she's shown a remarkable resistance to pain of all types. Even when she's left in a semi-lucid state for experiments, she's never given more than a gasp or groan. _

_ "It seems taking the flesh off of her right hand overloaded her restraint. It's been suggested that, in the absence of any clues to the origin of her regenerative ability, we turn our focus towards learning more about the human body in general. Her body is normal aside from it's regenerative ability and the ability she has to cause hallucinations in those who come into contact with her._

_ "Vivisection has been outlawed in Britannia for centuries and is more or less condemned by the scientific community even when using Numbers as specimens. But in this case, since death of the specimen is an impossibility, we've been given the go ahead by Prince Clovis. The shift in focus can be expected to take place some time next week. _

_ "Lucien seems uncomfortable with the direction we're taking, saying they're just hurting her for the sake of hurting her now. I fear he'll be the next to 'quit', though I'll try to talk him out of it if he does hand me his resignation. He's a good scientist, if a bit idealistic. He's been listening to the others gossip in the lunch room a bit too much. _

_ "I'm not sure if it started as a joke or if they're being serious, but some of the junior assistants are saying that the specimen is actually an alien life form disguised as a human. It seems that many of the victims of C.C.'s hallucinations have seen the same space scape, leading them to draw baseless conclusions about the specimen's home planet. _

_ "Either way, they're better than those who have been whispering that the specimen is actually a goddess or some other supernatural being. An immortal cast down from the heavens for some a she'd commit or some such blather. I fear this is the party that Lucien has been listening to._

_ "I've reminded all of my assistants that they are scientists and that all of these ridiculous suppositions are better left to the realm of fiction. Specimen C.C.'s regenerative qualities are the result of an unexplained scientific phenomenon. I would dearly like to figure out it's source just to put these ludicrous ideas to rest, but for now our focus has shifted away from this. I'll have to be patient. It's only a matter of time before we're directed to search for the origin of her abilities again. Prince Clovis has invested far too much interest in this project to be satisfied with simple medical research._

_ "Dr. Albert J. Nielson"_

He couldn't stomach reading each entry any longer and scrolled ahead, clicking on a random entry further down the list. Maybe a part of him was hoping it got better. The page opened to a bloody picture of the inside of C.C.'s chest, accompanied with an x-ray.

_ "July 3, 2015 a.t.B._

_ "How could I have been so blind to have missed this? It was Reena who caught the slip. I'm thinking about promoting her to my second. Lucien has been growing more and more unreliable over the months. _

_ "During our latest experiment, Reena noticed that the specimen's sternum was still cartilaginous in places. This isn't necessarily worrisome. When she first arrived we estimated she was in her late teens or early twenties. Even if she'd been, at the very youngest, sixteen or seventeen, she'd be twenty one or twenty two now. There have been cases in which the sternum remains remains cartilaginous until at least the age of twenty-five, but there should have been some progression in the intervening five years. _

_ "We pulled out the x-rays we took as soon as the specimen arrived and sure enough they were the exact same. There's been no progression at all. It's like she hasn't aged or like she's stuck in time. If this is the case, we have to assume that she may actually be older than she appears. I've revised her assumed age as greater than or equal to 21._

_ "Unfortunately, this discovery has only fueled the school of thought that she's a supernatural being. A goddess, they're calling her secretly when they think I'm not listening. It makes me want to fire them, and I would have already if it wouldn't have meant their deaths. I won't have them killed just because they annoy me. I may be a scientist, but I'm not completely heartless._

_ "The Viceroy has been coming here more often recently and frankly I find all this talk of goddesses and the supernatural embarrassing. If the prince hears it we'll lose our credibility. Though his highness seems somewhat distracted lately and I doubt he listens to even half of the things I tell him. He keeps secluding the specimen and trying to interrogate her with his Royal Guard._

_ "Whether she talks during these interviews or not is beyond my knowledge as I'm not invited, even though I was chosen as the lead researcher here. But I doubt that she does judging by the frustration the prince evidently wears every time he leaves. I don't know what he's hoping she'll tell him, or what he's so recently discovered about her, but it would probably also be helpful to our research should his highness feel like sharing._

_ "But it's not my place to ask. If the Viceroy wants to fill us in, he will. Since he isn't, I'll take it as an indication that he can't talk about it rather than that he won't and I'll pretend it doesn't leave a bitter taste in my mouth. I'll just continue doing my job and hope it lasts long enough for me to die of old age, rather than the alternative. Judging from what's happened to those who quit, if this program goes under, we're all dead._

_ "I keep that knowledge to myself though. I wouldn't want to damage the morale here. We've got a good team of some of the brightest minds in Area Eleven. Doing anything to impede their thinking processes should be avoided at all -"_

"Lelouch."

He jumped in surprise, sending a startled look towards his Knight before quickly closing the document on the screen and turning off the monitor. He'd been so engrossed in the research entries that he hadn't even heard Suzaku come in.

"You didn't even drink your coffee." His Knight continued, gesturing towards the now thoroughly cold liquid sitting in a cup on the end of his desk. He hadn't heard the maid come in either. "Are you alright? You look like you want to be sick. What were you reading?"

"I'm fine. It's nothing." He said quickly, then paused, unsure why he was hiding it from Suzaku. Sure, he couldn't reveal anything about her Geass to him, but he already knew that C.C. had been Clovis' captive. "Just . . . reading about the things my brother had done to C.C."

Suzaku looked surprised for a moment. "That bad?"

He sighed, slumping back in his seat. "Yeah. That bad."

"We found the Rosenberg Institute's researchers. Those names you sent to the police, they just came back. It looks like the group of the core researchers and a couple of the security guys relocated to Narita after Prince Clovis' death. The rest are all dead. Silenced, it looks like. According to the report, Princess Abigail wasn't with them, though it's always possible that they've stashed her somewhere." Suzaku explained.

"I also managed to spot C.C. on a security camera in a parkade. We used auto-recognition software to find her, but she was pretty good about avoiding the cameras downtown. We only found a handful of entries for her. But we caught her stealing a car and heading East. She could be going to Narita."

For a moment, Lelouch didn't say anything as he let the information wash over him. Processing everything he'd learned so far as he began to feel his exhaustion again.

". . . Are we going to Narita?" Suzaku eventually asked.

"No." He said.

The researchers at the Rosenberg Institute considered C.C. a precious specimen and a mute. They referred to her in scientific terms only. Or at least Dr. Nielson did. He would never have referred to her as a witch. That was personal, from someone that knew her. He supposed one of the proponents of the supernatural idea might have progressed to calling her a witch, but any Britannian scientist would know better than to kidnap a princess for the sake of their science, wouldn't they?

He thought of Lloyd for a moment and grimaced, wondering how far that man would have gone to secure Suzaku for the Lancelot? Probably not as far as actually abducting him.

Besides, if it was someone who had worked for Clovis and seen his brother's more vicious side, they would know that crossing a prince wasn't smart. If they were the ones behind it and even if he did trade C.C. to get back Abigail, they couldn't possibly entertain the notion that he wouldn't absolutely annihilate them as soon as his wife was safe.

It wasn't a smart move and he was reasonably certain that the people Clovis had had working in his lab were of an at least moderate IQ ratio. No, he was barking up the wrong tree. Wasting time while Abigail's fate was still uncertain and the kidnapper might contact him at any time to set up the transfer.

Even the fact that C.C. was heading East didn't necessarily mean that she was going to Narita. There were plenty of other places east of Tokyo. If she was fleeing her pursuer, it might only mean that she had a safe haven in the east.

"I don't suppose the car was new enough to have a built in gps transmitter on it, is it?"

Suzaku shook his head. No, of course not. That would have been too easy. An amateur mistake that she wouldn't have made. Judging from the way she criticized everything he did, she'd regard her own actions with just as much scrutiny.

"I presume you have the license place number."

"Yeah." Suzaku nodded, reaching in his pocket to pull out a slip of paper.

"Good. We'll alert all the police to be on the look out for the vehicle but stress the point that they're to observe only and not approach the vehicle for any reason. If she's running scared, I wouldn't put it past her to lash out." He explained.

"Alright, I'll go do that."

"What about the forensic information from the gas mask? The limo?" He inquired.

"They have the fingerprints. The same person was responsible for a number of petty thefts, the most notable of which was from a pharmaceutical company last week stealing the gas they used in the car. But they've got no leads on who it might be. The DNA information from the mask will take a bit longer. They're saying a day or two even though they're rushing it." His Knight answered.

"Then I can't count on that information." He sighed, grateful that Suzaku was keeping on top of things while he'd been secluded in his office. "Where's Jeremiah?"

Suzaku glanced away, shrugging.

His friend had always been a terrible liar. It was because he couldn't do it while maintaining eye contact. That and his whole face kind of tensed up for a moment before he spoke. So Lelouch knew that whatever Suzaku was going to say next wasn't exactly true.

"The truth, Suzaku."

His Knight grimaced. "He's finding you a sleeping aid."

" . . . So what, you were going to drug me?" He asked sharply.

"No! We were just going to give it to you and tell you to sleep." Suzaku said quickly. "Look, we just want what's best for you. If you don't take the opportunity to sleep now, while you can, you're going to run the risk of making a mistake later when it counts."

"My wife has been kidnapped and you want me to go take a nap?" He demanded. It wasn't that he cared, it was just that it was disrespectful. If he went and unconcernedly slept while Abigail – someone whose safety he was ultimately responsible for – was in danger it would make him feel like a dick. There had to be something he could be doing to help the situation and sleeping wasn't it.

"I want you to be responsible and trust in those under your command to do their jobs." Suzaku countered firmly.

Jeremiah entered the office a moment later, carrying a bottle of water and a pill bottle. Lelouch glared at both of them before holding out his hand. If both Jeremiah and Suzaku had agreed to work together against him, they had to have a valid point. He couldn't see them getting along for any other reason.

"Fine. Three hours. And so help me god, if you decide to let me sleep longer, I'll make you both miserable, whether we're friends or not."

He took the pills, hoping it would keep his subconscious from recreating the images he'd just spent that last few hours looking at. He didn't want to dream about C.C. being tortured.

* * *

"Shit." Suzaku cursed, racing down the hall towards the room Lelouch had disappeared into two hours ago. He'd also been asleep, dozing in one of the plush armchairs in one of the sitting rooms when he'd gotten the frantic call from Edith

He'd thought they'd have more time. Everything about Princess Abigail's kidnapping seemed to have been for the sake of aggravating Lelouch. From the simultaneous timing with the terrorist attack at Ashford Academy, to the kidnapper's blatant disregard of leaving evidence behind at the scene of the crime. He'd thought the kidnapper would have left Lelouch alone for a while longer to work him up into a bigger panic. He'd been hoping that it would at least give Lelouch a bit more time to regroup.

He didn't even want to consider the stress his friend had to be under right now. On top of all of his other duties and responsibilities, he also had to worry about his sister and friends almost being bombed, his wife being kidnapped and his girlfriend running away, probably fleeing from the same kidnapper.

"Lelouch!" He said, barging into the room carelessly enough that the door slammed against the wall.

The prince had been sleeping, but jerked awake at the sound of his entrance, blinking sleepily a few times before sitting up. "What's wrong, Suzaku? What's happened?"

"A man just showed up at your house saying he'd found something you'd misplaced. He's the kidnapper."

Lelouch grit his teeth. "Already? What about C.C.? Have they found her yet?"

"No. There's been no word." He answered.

"Why didn't my guards arrest him?"

Suzaku winced. "He told them that . . . Princess Abigail would die if they did. He also said that time was running out for her and that it would be best if you didn't drag your heels."

"Fuck." Lelouch cursed under his breath, running a hand though his hair in frustration as he thought about what to do next. "I'll have to bluff and see if I can get him to give up Abigail's location. I don't have anything to trade with him. Was there anything else?"

" . . . He . . . wants you to come alone." He hesitated. He didn't care who made such a demand, he wasn't going to let Lelouch go in there by himself. Even if it was an order from Lelouch himself. He could speak the same for Lord Gottwald. That man would never let Lelouch go into such a dangerous situation by himself either.

"Ridiculous." Lelouch scoffed and he climbed out of bed and began changing into the freshly pressed suit one of the maids had left handing on the back of the door. "Let's go. Where's Jeremiah?"

"He went to see to it that the car's ready for you." He answered easily, relieved that Lelouch wasn't going to willingly put himself in such a dangerous situation without their protection.

"Good." Lelouch nodded, heading for the door as he straightened his tie.

"Lelouch . . ." He hesitated. He'd been wanting to ask since they'd discovered Princess Abigail had been kidnapped, but hadn't known if it was appropriate. But this would probably be the last time they'd be alone before their confrontation with the kidnapper, so this was probably the last chance to ask.

The prince turned back, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

". . . If you can only save one of them . . . which one will it be? Abigail or C.C.?"

Lelouch frowned, actually giving the question some thought before turning back around. "Abigail. Right now we need to focus of saving Abigail. C.C. . . . she's not helpless. She can probably take care of herself."

Suzaku frowned. If that was the case, then why had Lelouch looked so sick after reading about the experiments that Clovis had had performed on her? If she could take care of herself, how had she been captured in the first place?

He sighed. That didn't matter. He'd gotten his answer. He would protect Princess Abigail because she was the one Lelouch was more concerned with. Even if it seemed like they didn't get along very well, or that the majority of their relationship with each other was fake, Lelouch was still genuinely concerned about her safety.

* * *

AN: A short one for you, but I did finish it before Christmas. Hope you all liked your present :)

Lol, I totally thought C.C. was an alien at first the first time I watch Code Geass because of that first scene during the contract making.

Anyway, I'm away for the next week, so the next chapter will take longer. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas/joyous winter holiday. I will most likely see you again after New Years. :)

Allora

Edit: 12/26/2011: T.T I read this over on my phone at my parents place on Christmas and cringed at some of the errors that came up. Some how a couple halves of sentences went missing and apparently the greater than sigh (pointy bracket thing) won't show up on . Lame. Anyway, I think I've fixed them all.


	77. Chapter 77

Chapter 77

Mao stared at the luxury of his surroundings, from marble floors to oak furniture and paneling to the expensive vase resting on a spindle legged table next to the stairs filled with bright flowers. He hated it all. All of this . . . opulence.

Some people were given too much.

Not only did that bastard prince have such a luxurious living space, he had power, authority and lineage. He had a beautiful wife with a mind quick as a whip, sisters and friends who practically worshiped him and subordinates that would follow any command. He didn't deserve to have C.C. too.

No one deserved C.C. but him.

He'd have liked to have looked around more, to discover more of the hateful things the prince took for granted in his day to day life, but though he had been granted entry to the house, he had not been allowed past the front hall. The prince's assistant, a stubborn woman named Edith, had taken it upon herself to singlehandedly oppose him.

She stood at the foot of the stairs, glaring at him with her hands on her hips as he looked around and waited. She was carrying a gun in the small purse looped over her left arm and, while he had gathered from her mind that she had never been adequately trained in it's use, he also knew that having it with her gave her confidence. Apparently, she'd begun carrying it after she'd taken this job and it was more for the prince's protection than for her own. However, she was still determined to use it on him if he attempted to force his way past her.

There was no love lost between her and the princess and it was only the inconvenience it would cause to the prince that was staying her hand.

Since Mao had no intention of being met with a bullet, he was content enough for now to stay in the foyer. He didn't need to snoop in the prince's house anyway and provoking the woman in front of him would gain him nothing.

Not that there was anything for him to manipulate in her mind, anyway. She was almost boringly normal when it came to the inner workings of her mind. Sure, there were work secrets, but those would concern Lelouch more than they concerned her. Personal secrets were of the more mundane variety, like the fact that she'd re-gifted her sister's Christmas present last year, or that she'd knowingly taken too much change back from the coffee shop the other morning.

He sighed heavily and turned his back on the woman, wandering off to the side of the hall to disinterestedly examine the massive tapestry hanging on the wall. It looked like a Japanese castle in the distance, nestled between rolling green hills. It all looked very peaceful. And quiet. It was the first thing he'd seen here that he liked. If he knew where the painting was of he might have been tempted to visit it.

But before he could question the stubborn woman guarding him about the origin of the painting, the door opened and that bastard prince strode in confidently, flanked on either side by a Knight. He looked like he was about ready to spit fire, which only brought a grin to his face.

"Edith?" The prince said in surprise, quickly crossing the foyer to join her. "What are you doing?"

"Keeping him from having full reign of the house." She answered, nodding in his direction.

The prince turned at that, seeming to notice him for the first time as he ran a critical eye over him.

_"Japanese? No, maybe Chinese? Does this have something to do with the Chinese Federation or is this the act of a single man? I can't jump to conclusions and damage relations with the Federation when there's a chance he's just a common criminal. I need to get Abigail back first before I do anything."_

"I am Lelouch vi Britannia, Eleventh Prince of the Holy Britannian Empire." The prince introduced, though he lost none of his threatening aura.

"I know." Mao smiled, satisfied when the prince's eyes narrowed into a glare. He also took this opportunity to take a deeper look into the prince's mind to confirm whether or not Abigail's imagination of Lelouch and C.C. was even on the right track. It seemed that it wasn't, though there were disturbing memories of C.C. declaring loyalty to him and of her humming the same lullaby to that bastard prince as she had always done to him while they shared the same bed. Still, it seemed that he wouldn't have to get his hands dirty himself.

"Would you care to introduce yourself?"

"Not particularly." He smiled again.

"Then, would you care to return my wife to me?"

"I would love to." Mao said. "Just as soon as you return C.C. to me."

_"I need to keep him talking so he doesn't know C.C. is already gone. I need to find out where he's taken Abigail."_

"I agree to your terms." The prince said calmly. "Unfortunately, C.C. has just stepped out for a while. As soon as she returns, I will turn her over to you. In the meantime, I am very anxious about the well being of Princess Abigail. I would like to know where she is and in what condition."

Mao frowned. What did he mean that C.C. had already gone? Gone where? "Where did C.C. go?" He mused out loud.

"I will answer your questions if you answer my questions about my wife." Prince Lelouch bargained.

Mao let his smile drop. "I don't see why I should agree to your conditions when you refused to agree to mine." He said, gesturing at the Knights who looked like they'd love nothing more than to grant him a slow, painful death. The one on the left in particular was imagining such an outcome in vivid detail.

The other one was plotting out the quickest way to incapacitate him, but didn't take it any further than arresting him and seeing him put on trial. It was an interesting counterpoint, given the boy's past. He'd started killing long before the more sadistic one had even considered it.

"I'm not in a position in which I can carelessly risk my life with unknown kidnappers." The prince said diplomatically. "I ask you to understand the limitations placed on me by the situation."

_"Well, I probably could have come alone, but there was no way in hell that I was going to. But he's still refusing to talk about Abigail at all. I can't even use my Geass because of those reflective sunglasses he's wearing. But Suzaku still doesn't know about my Geass anyway, so that wasn't really an option from the start. If I can get him to admit at least to whether or not Abigail is alive, I'll be able to know how to proceed. If he's already killed her, then there's no point in showing restraint."_

Mao grinned. "Fascinating."

"What is?" The prince asked suspiciously.

"You are, your highness. The way you think is simply fascinating. You're pretty pessimistic, aren't you? It's surprising for someone like you, but it's also entertaining. You know, the funniest part is that you've unwittingly helped me. I just wanted to have a nice, private chat with you, but your paranoia caused you to drag in all of this collateral damage along with you." He said, gesturing towards the people behind the prince. "It's just fascinating."

Lelouch glared. "Edith, please leave."

The woman hesitated for only a second before nodding. "Of course, Lelouch." She said before turning and heading for the door, high heels clicking against the marble as she made he way out.

Mao chuckled. "Well . . . she was the least of your worries." He said with a malicious grin.

"Where's Abigail?" The prince asked icily.

"She's . . . in a nice, quiet, out of the way place." Mao answered.

"Did you hurt her?" Lelouch demanded.

"Hurt her? Really now, what kind of thug do you think I am?" He taunted.

"Then why did you say her time was running out?"

"Ah, that. Well it was only the truth. It's a bit of a trap, you see. And since you decided not to play by my rules and brought along Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum here, I think I'll have to add a ten minute penalty. Playing by the rules is very important, you know, your highness." Mao explained.

_"This bastard . . ."_

"How much time does she have?" The prince asked.

"Well, to be completely honest, I have no idea." He grinned. "It's not a precise art by any means. I think it makes it more exciting this way, don't you, your highness?"

Prince Lelouch glared at him coldly enough to send a little thrill down his spine. He'd certainly perfected that expression, but it didn't really help his situation.

_"If Abigail dies . . ."_

"I will kill you if she dies." Lelouch promised. "I will hunt you down and rip you apart, regardless of where you may try to run."

Mao laughed. "Then why don't you tell me about where C.C. has gone?"

* * *

C.C. should have known.

In a place as overpopulated as Tokyo, she should have known that there was no way Mao would have stayed within the city's limits. She knew him better than anyone else on Earth and she'd still ended up wasting time playing follow the leader with him in the city.

He'd finally stayed still for a couple hours in the morning and it had given her the time she needed to figure out where he was and catch up. It was stupid, but she should have known he'd be here from the start.

Mao had always liked churches. It was probably due to her own affinity for them, but he'd always enjoyed accompanying her to them. When services weren't in session, they were quiet places of holy reverence. When services were in session, the church goers had their darkest sins at the fore of their minds, easy for Mao to peruse. Everyone had a guilty conscience in church.

About half an hour outside of Tokyo's city limits, in what had once been remote farm land, lay the oldest Western church in Area Eleven. It had originally been part of a monastery and had been home to evangelical monks hoping to spread the word of their God soon after European contact had first been made. But since then, the rest of the complex had fallen into ruin, and the church itself was well on it's way to joining them.

It was a little visited historic site cut off from the rest of civilization except for a dusty, gravel road. It was this that she turned her stolen car down, despite the fact that Mao was now nowhere near here. If he was using this church as a sanctuary, there was a chance that he'd come back here. Even if he didn't, there was a chance that he'd left some clue as to what he was planning behind.

She pulled the car to a stop in front of the church some time later and turned it off, staring at the worn stonework peeking out from behind the growth of vines. It was peaceful here. Like a secret garden the rest of the world had forgotten about.

She could see why Mao had come here.

She was still engulfed in a wave of nostalgia as she made her way past the smashed wrought iron gate and through the rotting wooden door, passing carved stonework and statuary as she went. They didn't build like this anymore. They didn't spend years shaping stones or carving them into minute detail. Craftsmanship had gone the same way as chivalry and the dinosaur.

The chapel was small, as was typical for the time it was built. There had been no great patron here to fund an architectural marvel. But the builders had still commissioned a string of relief friezes along the walls of images from the bible. The stained glass that had once adorned the windows along the apse and aisles had long since shattered, leaving the room of worship cold, dirty and overgrown.

But it was due to this state of disrepair that she could see that someone had been here recently. There were multiple scuffs in the dirt approaching the altar. She followed them, making her own marks as she passed the altar to find that the crypt had been opened.

She was about to descend down the carved steps into the crypt when she heard something shift from within. She paused, cocking her head to the side for a moment as she listened. There was definitely something down there and Mao wasn't the type to keep a pet. He hated the way animal thoughts were so instinctive and disjointed.

She took a moment to draw her gun. There was no point in being careless now. If Mao had an accomplice down there she'd be able to question them. Though she really had no idea what kind of person might align themselves with Mao, she hoped he wasn't completely alone.

Well, those thoughts were all but moot considering what she intended to do.

It was dark in the crypt, the shadowy interior only illuminated by the opening to chapel above and a single candle flickering about halfway down the length of the chamber. But there was enough light to see the source of the scuffling sound.

Abigail vi Britannia sat bound and gagged on the floor next to a skeleton-filled niche in the wall. The princess glared when she noticed her presence through puffy red eyes, but she was prevented from making any more threatening movements by the shotgun propped up next to her head. C.C. followed the two pieces of fishing line tied to the trigger. The first was tied around the princess' throat. If she moved too far in any given direction, thanks to a system of makeshift pulleys, she'd end up pulling the trigger.

The second string was even more interesting. It led across to the other side of the chamber, where a rain barrel had been set up. Floating on the surface was a plastic basin, within which lay a brick. It was to the brick that the line was tied and the slow, steady drip of water from a second barrel propped up in one of the niches ensured that the basin, along with the brick, would eventually sink and pull the trigger.

On the table next to the candle illuminating the scene - just out of reach - lay a sandwich, a bottle of water and a pair of scissors. It was just like Mao to lay salvation tauntingly close to his victim. Just another way to damage their minds.

She sighed and turned back to the princess, putting her gun away as she did so. She kind of pitied the girl. She knew what it was like to be trapped and held against her own will.

"Don't misunderstand. I don't like you. I don't necessarily hate you either, but that's besides the point. I just don't think you're good for Lelouch. You don't understand him at all." She explained as she took the scissors and cut the strings holding the girl hostage. "But it would inconvenience him if you were to die here. And since I swore that I would do everything in my power to help him and that I would never hinder him, I can't just let you die in front of me."

Abigail didn't speak, not that she'd expected her to due to the gag still binding her, but she'd at least expected the girl to look a little bit relieved.

"You're still glaring at me. That's not very nice, you know. I did just save you." She pointed out before set to work untying the gag. The second the offending piece of cloth game free the princess spoke.

"You can stop pretending any time now, C.C.. I know you were behind this." She accused.

"What would make you say that?" She asked blandly, unwilling to give away her surprise at the suggestion. She'd probably been given too much time to think this all over. And yes, given the misconception she's created, it would probably seem like she was the one with the most to gain from having Abigail disappear.

"Your accomplice already admit it."

She snorted in disdain. "Did he? Mao and I didn't separate on such good terms. It's likely that he's using you to try to capture me. And, for the record," She said, leaning in to get in the girl's space threateningly. "If I wanted you dead, I'd do it with my own hands. It wouldn't be the first time."

That, at least, seemed to snap the girl back to reality.

"If . . . if you really weren't behind it, how did you know I was here?" Abigail asked. She was still suspicious, but less openly hostile.

"I've been looking for Mao. I have to keep my promise to Lelouch, so I can't let Mao interfere with him." She answered, before taking the scissors to the tie wraps that still bound the princess. "My search just so happened to lead me here. I didn't even know that you'd been kidnapped until I saw you."

"If he was after you, why didn't he kidnap you instead?" Abigail asked.

She shrugged. "I'm not that easy to capture. And he probably knew that Lelouch would trade me for you."

Abigail glanced up sharply, surprise evident on her face. "You think so? But he doesn't really . . . I mean. Lelouch and I . . . He said that . . . he wouldn't save me."

C.C. snorted. "A cold little bastard, isn't he? Listen, there is no one else on earth who knows Lelouch as well as I do. And you will never, no matter what you do or how hard you try, be able to impede on that. But you are his wife and you ought to have a little faith in him." She grumbled before picking up the paper plate hosting the sandwich and handing it to the princess. "Now eat. He wouldn't have left these here if you didn't need them."

"You want me to eat that?" Abigail asked, nonplussed. "He probably poisoned it, the god damned psycho."

She rolled her eyes and took a bite from the sandwich. It had gone dry in the time it had been left out, but it was edible. She frowned at the texture of the sandwich. How long had it been sitting out? How long had it been since Mao had left?

"How long have you been alone here?" She asked.

The princess shrugged, examining the seal on the water bottle closely for any signs of tampering. "It's been a while now. To be honest, when I heard you I thought you were him coming back."

"Che. Let's go." C.C. ordered, snatching the still unopened water bottle from the girl's grasp as she turned back towards the stairs.

"What the? What's the big rush all of a sudden? You can't even give me a minute to recover?" Abigail demanded.

"Lelouch can't win against Mao. And they may already be together." She explained, already halfway up the stairs back into the chapel.

"Damn." The princess muttered under her breath, following C.C. back up into the chapel. "And she bitches at me for not having faith in him."

"Ah, I see you've recovered." C.C. said sarcastically. "Good, because I wasn't going to wait for you."

"You're a bitch." Abigail said plainly.

"Yes." C.C. smiled. Bitch, witch. It was close enough. "And this bitch is driving. Don't forget that this is the first and last time that I will ever save your life. If you get left behind, it's not my responsibility. I don't owe you anything, after all."

"I'm right behind you." She snapped.

Abigail wasn't a bad girl. It wasn't like C.C. really had anything against her. In fact, she might have found it in her heart to actually like the girl if they hadn't been set up as rivals. She was quick, adaptable and had been able to keep her wits about her even in this kind of situation. Not to mention she had that same bit of spunk that had always made interacting with Marianne so enjoyable.

They settled in the car and she handed the princess back her sandwich and water bottle before putting her keys in the ignition and burning out back onto the gravel road. She'd switched license plates with a car of a similar make and model just in case she'd been spotted taking the car on the parking garage's security cameras. If it was like this, with Abigail being taken hostage in hopes of trading for her, there was no doubt that Lelouch would have people looking for her.

But even with this extra precaution, she figured she'd have a full police 'escort' by the time she reached home. She didn't necessarily plan on following conventional driving laws, especially not trivial things like speed limits.

* * *

Lelouch didn't really have a choice. If he didn't want Abigail's death on his conscience, he'd have to play by her kidnapper's rules. It was a sick and twisted game, invoking a penalty with someone's life hanging in the balance, but part of him suspected that that was all it was to this kidnapper. A game.

He'd always been good at games. He'd always been able to twist the rules in his favor and he didn't see why this would be any different. The kidnapper didn't seem particularly smart so he could probably talk his way in circles enough to get something out of him. He just had to keep the guy talking.

"C.C. went out to get some pizza." He said with a nonchalant shrug.

"Try again." The kidnapper said calmly, causing Lelouch to falter. He had never been caught in a lie before, especially not by a stranger. He'd honed his skills at deception practically to an art form. His body language had been open and relaxed and he hadn't given away any visual or verbal tells. He hadn't stuttered or hesitated. His tone had been clear, even and calm.

There was no way he should have known that Lelouch was lying. And it was a plausible story. She'd often disappeared for a couple hours at a time to go procure pizza whenever Samantha managed to chase her out of the kitchen.

Lelouch's eyes narrowed suspiciously. The only way he could have possibly known that he'd been lying was if he already knew where C.C. was. Had he already captured her? If so, then why was he here? Why had he taken Abigail?

"No. That's also wrong." The man said with a cruel smile that showed his teeth.

What was 'also wrong'? He hadn't said anything. It was almost like the kidnapper was responding to his thoughts. Actually, now that he thought about it, a lot of what the man had said didn't quite match the verbal conversation.

_Oh, God, don't tell me he also has a Geass? That he can read minds?_

"Ding ding ding ding ding!" The kidnapper said jovially as he clapped his hands, the sound seeming unnaturally loud as Lelouch felt himself begin to panic. The kidnapper laughed, lowering his glasses just enough to reveal his eyes for a moment, revealing the bird sigil glowing in both of them. "How astute, your highness."

Shit. Shit. What did he do now?

"What should I do? What should I do?" The man mimicked, voice taking on a condescending, mocking tone. "Suzaku doesn't know about Geass. If he finds out now he'll think I've been keeping it a secret from him because I've used it on him."

Lelouch paled as he felt Suzaku stiffen beside him. He didn't dare to look – didn't dare to take his eyes off of the threat in front of him. This bastard was deliberately wreaking havoc, like some kind of schoolyard bully that picked at people's weaknesses.

"But it's okay to keep secrets from him, _Lelouch_." The kidnapper said, deliberately informal. "It's not like he hasn't been keeping secrets from you."

Ah, but he saw what the kidnapper was trying to do. If he thought he could drive a wedge between him and Suzaku by making him suspect his Knight, he was in for a rude awakening. He knew Suzaku better than anyone else in the world and knew that his friend was incapable of keeping anything from him. Suzaku had never been able to lie to him.

"Everyone has secrets. Everyone. Everyone. And I get to see them all. Even if they aren't interesting. Take that woman, for example. You would have been better off staying with her than with the man who was secretly in love with your mother and the boy who killed his own father."

"Don't be ridiculous." He snapped, but cut off his further protests when Suzaku made a noise much like he'd just been punched in the gut.

This time he took the chance to look at his friend and see the aghast, stricken expression on Suzaku's face. His Knight had gone pale, staring at the kidnapper as though the mouth of hell had just opened up in front of him.

"S. . .Suzaku?" He said hoarsely, barely even audible to himself.

That couldn't be true, could it? Suzaku had idolized his father. Genbu Kururugi had never been particularly doting of a father, at least not from what he'd seen, but Suzaku had been the apple of his eye. And it was something Suzaku had been proud of.

Surely this was a lie. Surely Suzaku was just shocked at the suggestion. But . . . but that reaction was undeniable. His friend was shaking like a leaf and had slowly built up the courage to shake his head, but even that gesture lacked conviction.

"Th. . . that's not . . . I didn't . . . If I hadn't . . ." Suzaku began multiple times, as though trying to find the best way to explain himself.

"Oh, don't try to justify it, _Sir_ Kururugi. Your father called for do or die warfare and you thought by killing him you could end the war. You thought that by killing the man who'd spawned you, you could save lives. Most particularly, the lives of a certain Britannian prince and princess." The kidnapper continued.

The final comment hit them both like a punch in the gut. Surely not. Surely . . no. No no no, there was no way this was true. There was no way Suzaku had done something like his for his sake. He couldn't take responsibility for something like this.

"Lelouch. . ." Suzaku said and everything from his tone to his posture radiated anguish.

Suppose it was true, then. Suppose everything this bastard of a kidnapper had said was true, then there was no way Suzaku would have ever wanted him knowing about it. Suzaku would have taken the secret to the grave rather than let Lelouch know how much he'd cost him.

"You're still my Knight and my best friend. That won't change no matter what this bastard says." He said to Suzaku.

The kidnapper smirked. "Well, I suppose it's a fitting job for a guy with a death wish. Washing the blood off your hands with more blood in the name of your prince. And if something should happen to you along the way . . . well, dying for Lelouch might just atone for your sins, right?."

"Shut up!" Lelouch hissed as Suzaku paled even further.

Instead, the man's smile widened into a malicious leer. "All that hard work you've been putting in, all of that scheming and debasing yourself and bargaining to regain your country and it turns out you can't even stomach the title your precious prince wants to give you. Eh, _Prime Minister Kururugi?_"

Suzaku flinched, completely lost and ill equipped to deal with the kidnapper's accusations. At the rate he was going, Suzaku was going to break.

"Oh? Should I move on to the other one then? Did Sir Gottwald ever tell you that he used to fantasize about giving you another little brother or sister? Wouldn't that have been nice? Another -"

"_Enough_." Lelouch finally snapped, drawing on every ounce of authority he possessed. "How much longer do you expect me to listen to this crap?"

"Until you give C.C. back." He said immediately.

"If you can really read my mind then you already know that she's long gone by now. She ran at the first hint of you and now that I've met you I can see why. You're a malicious asshole who preys on the weaknesses of others to compensate for your lack of genuine power."

"How dare you!" The kidnapper snarled.

_Sorry, Abigail._

"How dare I?" Lelouch asked incredulously. "What? You've never had your trick turned against you?"

_Sorry._

Lelouch was willing to sacrifice a few things for his wife, but his Knights weren't one of them. Especially not Suzaku.

"Jeremiah," He said, as he felt his Geass flare in his anger, even though it would be useless on the man. His Knight looked a bit sheepish and it took him half a second to remember why. His mother, right. He didn't care. He didn't care about anything but seeing the idiot who had kidnapped his wife suffer. "Ki -"

He cut off as the front door slammed open and C.C. was there, looking the most panicked he'd ever seen her. "Mao!" She barked.

And like a transformation, the infuriated snarl on the kidnapper's face morphed into an expression of the most extreme rapture. "C.C.!"

Mao turned around, showing his back to three men who wanted him dead as he rushed to pull C.C. into his embrace. C.C.'s gaze traveled across the room, pausing on Suzaku for a moment before meeting his gaze.

"I've been looking for you, Mao." Her voice taking the same tone as someone trying to talk a predatory animal out of attacking as she stood trapped inside his arms.

"I've been looking for you too, C.C.. Now we can be together forever. I have a house in Australia. It's so quiet there. You'll love it." Mao explained excitedly. "I know you'll love it."

C.C. closed her eyes for a moment before sighing and moving to hug him back. Except that she wasn't. In her right hand was a small gun with a silencer which she wielded expertly to aim at his heart.

"You took things too far again." She said softly before pulling the trigger. Blood bloomed on the back of his jacket as he stared incredulously at her, slipping spinelessly from her embrace. "Wait for me in C's world."

Someone screamed and it took him a moment to notice that Abigail had snuck quietly into the room behind C.C.. But she wasn't quiet any longer as she sank to her knees staring wide-eyed at the body on his floor and the ever increasing pool of blood with a trembling hand over her mouth. It was probably the first time she'd ever seen something this disturbing.

"Abigail." He breathed in relief, bewildered as to how she had gotten there. Had C.C. really saved her? "Jeremiah, call for a doctor. I want Abigail checked over as soon as possible." He ordered, snapping back to reality. There was much that needed to be done, but his first priority was seeing that Abigail was safe.

He walked around the body, deliberately planting himself between her and the corpse to block her line of sight as he scooped her up in his arms, intensely grateful that she was as tiny as she was. It would be best to get her away from this.

But then he noticed that C.C. had also yet to move as she stared at Mao's body. "C.C. . . . I just -"

"Please don't thank me for this, Lelouch." She interrupted and for once her mask was broken and he could see the anguish she was feeling. "Not for this." She said before turning away and heading out the front door back the way she'd come.

He didn't know what their history was, but it was obvious that they had once been close. For Mao to go so far to be with her again, he had to have been obsessed. And C.C. . . . well, he'd never seen her show more emotion than she had today. But even despite the wretched way she was feeling right now, he wouldn't forget that it was his side that she had played for. She'd singlehandedly rescued Abigail and disposed of her kidnapper. Next to her, his own actions during this debacle had been negligible.

But the bastard had been as good as his word and had certainly created a ton of collateral damage. C.C. was hurt, Suzaku was hurt, Jeremiah was shamed, but it was Abigail that had been physically abused and so it was with her that his attention had to rest for now.

He sighed heavily and began making his way towards the stairs. "Suzaku, you can go to bed if you want." He said, though whether or not his friend heard him he couldn't tell. He seemed immersed in his thoughts, too shell-shocked by Mao's accusations to respond. "You too, Jeremiah." He said to the Knight who had just hung up his phone from the doctor. "Have some of the security guys see to the body."

"As you wish, my prince."

Ah, so they were back to formality, were they? He'd deal with that again later too. He carried Abigail up to their room, surprised at how quiet she was even now. She hadn't said anything to him as she stared fixedly down into her lap to avoid his gaze. Though, to be fair, he hadn't really said anything to her either.

"Are you alright?" He asked quietly. He knew that answer wouldn't actually be 'yes'. He'd noticed the purplish bruising around her jaw when he'd picked her up. It was obvious that bastard kidnapper had lied when he'd said he hadn't hurt her. Not that he'd really trusted him to begin with.

She nodded mutely and he sighed as he gently kicked open the door to their room with his foot, closing it again behind him before depositing her on the bed. "The doctor will be here soon. You should try to get some sleep. It will probably make you feel a bit better." He said before standing up to leave.

But she caught his sleeve before he was out of reach, fingers clenched tightly around the fabric for a moment before she realized what she was doing and snatched her hand away. "Sorry." She said quietly. "Could you . . . call Euphy over, please. I don't want to be alone."

He winced. He'd really treated her horribly in the past he realized. So much so that she couldn't even ask him to stay when she needed someone to comfort her. Even though she'd gone out of her way to comfort him on Nunnally's birthday, she wouldn't ask him to do the same for her.

He kicked off his shoes before biding her to scootch over a bit and sitting down against the headboard next to her. "Euphy went back to Pendragon. There was an attempt on her life so I had her sent away. Sorry. You'll have to make do with me."

For a moment she didn't know how to react, then she conceded defeat and wound her arms around him before resting her head against her stomach. He could do this much for her. At least until the doctor arrived.

"Is Euphy okay?" She asked, nose buried in his shirt.

"More or less. Lukas did his job." He answered, unsure if he should be burdening her with this kind of information right now.

". . . Is Lukas okay?" She asked.

He was a little surprised by her concern. As far as he knew, they'd never really had a chance to talk to each other and she only knew about him through whatever Euphy had told her. But, if Euphy had been planning on making him her Knight, she'd probably had a lot to say about him.

"He'll live."

They fell into silence for a long time as he tried to figure out the best way to ask her about her captivity - whether Mao had violated more than just her mind. "Did he . . . treat you okay? Mao, I mean."

She shrugged. "I suppose. As far as kidnappings go, I guess. When I woke up he just mocked me for a bit until he didn't like what I had to say in return. Then he gagged me and did his own thing until he set up the trap and left. Then _she_ came and got me out of there."

"C.C.?" He clarified.

She nodded. "Does she . . . She said that you would have traded her to save me."

He would have. At first. That had been the original plan had he been able to find where C.C. had run off to. Trade C.C. to get Abigail back then rescue C.C. But his gut clenched tightly at the thought of how quickly he'd abandoned her. With just a few simple provocations he'd been ready to abandon Abigail to her fate. "But you told me that if I was ever taken hostage you wouldn't save me. I didn't think anyone was coming. I really thought I was going to die."

He felt tears soaking through his shirt and tentatively closed his armed around her, rubbing her back to comfort her. "It's alright. You're safe now. I was definitely coming to save you." He lied. She didn't need to know that he had given up on her. "Do you want to go back to Pendragon?" He asked.

"No." She shook her head. "I want to keep helping you here. . . . Unless . . . you're going to force me to go?"

He could. And he really should if he was honest with himself. He'd even forced Euphy out of the country. So it really shouldn't bother him to do the same thing to Abigail. "You can stay." He murmured.

They were interrupted a moment later by a knock on the door, followed by Edith and Dr. Hawthorne – the same tyrant of a doctor that had treated him after he'd been shot.

"Your highnesses." The doctor said with a stiff bow as Edith looked a little surprised by what they'd walked in on.

"Doctor." He greeted with a nod before giving Abigail's shoulder a squeeze. It didn't really seem like she'd been abused, but it never hurt to be too careful."I'll leave you for now. There's a couple things I need to take care of." He said as he eased himself out of her embrace.

She nodded mutely again as she sat up on her knees watching him go. At the moment, she'd lost all of her aristocratic poise and seemed almost lost and child-like as she waited to be examined. It had always been hard for him to tell when she was being genuine and when she merely wanted him to think she was being genuine. But right now he figured this was probably the real her – vulnerable and afraid after having all of her armor stripped away – and he couldn't say he hated it.

One of the few things he like about her was knowing that she was strong. But he liked know she could be genuine as well.

* * *

AN: Sorry about the delay. I finally finished the first Assassin's Creed and then was like O.O wtf? You can't end it like that, and then ended up playing the next three games in a massive Assassins Creed Marathon. :( And then I got the Star Wars Old Republic game for christmas and had been playing that a bit too. T.T Sorry. I'm such a big nerd.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed. Drop me a review, ya? I gots to go to work now :(

Allora

PS: Oh, and hooray to for finally fixing the italics=no spaces glitch.


	78. Chapter 78

Chapter 78

Lelouch was looking for Suzaku. After briefly looking in his friend's bedroom and finding it empty, he'd taken to searching for the rest of the house. A quick call to his security guys at the gate told him that Suzaku hadn't left the residence, so he had to be somewhere inside. He supposed it was a drawback of living in such a massive house, that even knowing Suzaku was in the house somewhere he wasn't guaranteed to find him immediately.

His stomach growled in the midst of his search and he realized he couldn't even remember the last time he'd eaten. If that was so, perhaps Suzaku was seeking sustenance as well. If he could even think of something like food right now. It was worth a shot anyway and he'd be able to grab something to satiate him while he was there.

But it wasn't Suzaku that he found in the kitchen. Instead it was C.C., leaning on the counter over a tub of triple chocolate ice cream with a spoon and a glass of dry white wine. The combination churned his stomach, but she seemed to be enjoying it so he refrained from commenting on it.

"Hey." He said as he went about collecting the things he'd need for a sandwich. Maybe he'd make Suzaku one too. Knowing him, he probably hadn't eaten either.

"Mm." She grunted noncommittally around her spoon.

She didn't seem like she was upset at the moment or that she'd much prefer it if he just went away. She was just being her normal self, but he wondered how much of it was an act. A part of him had fooled himself into believing that she couldn't feel emotion. Obviously that wasn't the case.

He hesitated for a moment as he laid out a couple pieces of bread for his sandwiches before deciding to just go for it. "You gave Mao Geass, right? Just like you gave it to me."

She paused for a moment, spoon halfway to her mouth as she watched him out of the corner of her eye, before she followed through with the action and took another spoonful of ice cream, nodding with another "Mm."

"His Geass was different than mine." He noted, wondering if he was pushing his luck by addressing this so soon after the incident.

"It manifests differently in each person." She shrugged and he was surprised he'd even gotten this much out of her. He'd fully expected her to follow the usual course and either ignore him or change the subject.

"Then there are other Geass users out there too? Besides Mao?" He pushed.

She hesitated for a moment, as though debating with herself whether or not she thought he needed to know the answer before sodding slightly. "Yes."

"Then why'd you make a contract with me? Couldn't one of your other contractors have granted this mysterious wish of yours? Why not Mao?" He knew she was probably not going to answer. She was already considering withholding information from him and the tone of this inquiry hadn't exactly been as polite as it could have been.

"Mao became unstable and therefore incapable of fulfilling his contract." She said it emotionlessly, no trace of the anguish she'd displayed earlier at having to put him down. By that fact alone, he knew that it was a lie, that she'd put her armor back on and shored up her defenses so that she could make it through this interview without giving away too much of herself.

"You mean you used him until he lost his mind then cast him aside. How cruel, C.C.. You'd have been better off putting him out of his misery before you left him." He said, deliberately harsh. They were past the point of dancing around each other now. When the people under his protection were targeted as a direct result of her actions, he no longer had to wear kid gloves. What if it had been Nunnally instead of Abigail? Knowing what he did of Mao's ability, it very well could have been Nunnally that he'd gone after instead.

"I'll keep that in mind should it happen to you." She retorted taking a sip of her wine.

His eyes narrowed. "And how likely is that?"

She shrugged, as though the question didn't concern her. "Who knows? Geass is a thing that tests the limits of it's user's mind."

He frowned. But if he became unstable – if he really really lost it – it would probably be better for him if he just died or disappeared. If he lost his mind he wouldn't be able to guarantee Nunnally's safety anymore. He might do something to compromise her situation and he wouldn't be able to think ahead to counter the actions of the Emperor and Schneizel.

No, it would be far better if he simply died, putting an end to the vi Britannia line once and for all.

"If things should happen that way, I would expect you to take responsibility and put me down." He replied.

Her eyes widened in surprise for a moment then she scoffed. "Must be nice, Lelouch. Things get a little tough for you an you think death will solve your problems for you."

"You only say that because you're virtually indestructible." He countered.

She paused the shocked expression on her usually blank face enough to make him regret saying it. No doubt she'd wished she could die during the course of the Rosenberg Institute's experiments. But for some reason he felt like he wasn't supposed to know about that.

"I . . . read the Code-R memoirs." He said, almost sheepish, as though he'd just admit to reading her diary rather than a clinical discourse on years worth of torture. Still, it seemed like something private, a wound she would have rather nursed by herself in the dark than have dragged into the light and let others know about it.

She glanced away, prying a spoonful of chocolatey ice cream from the tub before shoving it in her mouth and shrugging. "Surprised it took you this long." She said around the obstacle the spoon presented.

He watched, slightly disgusted, as she washed down the creamy substance with more wine. But she'd given the silent cue that the conversation was over. Whatever other questions he might have, he wouldn't be getting any answers.

"Anyway, thanks for bringing Abigail back here." He said as he concluded the sandwich making process.

She shrugged is if it were nothing, once again more interested in gorging herself than she was on anything he had to say. She'd probably be fine. She'd probably bounce back from this as though she hadn't made that anguished expression after killing Mao at all.

"And welcome back." He said, before taking the pair of plates with him and heading for the door, though he did notice her pause again, spoon halfway to her mouth as she watched him go.

* * *

Suzaku was . . . he wasn't quite hiding. He was just sitting somewhere where it was likely no one would find him. Why he was just sitting there, he wasn't quite sure. What he should have been doing was packing his few belongings and getting the hell out of there.

He'd never wanted Lelouch to know about his father. He'd never wanted anyone to know, but Lelouch especially. Because Lelouch was . . .

Lelouch didn't deserve having to carry around this burden too. And he'd never wanted Lelouch to know just how corrupt he really was. That he could spout philosophy all day about how he wanted to save Japan when he was really nothing more than a common criminal.

A murderer.

That was what he was.

And Lelouch deserved better than having to spend his time in the presence of someone like him.

He should have been long gone, abandoning this comfortable niche the prince had made for him in this place, so that he didn't ruin Lelouch with his burdens. But somehow he couldn't force himself to do it.

Which was why he was currently hiding on the sofa in the enclosed patio, partially hidden from view by a particularly lush fern as he tried to stare a hole in the floor at his feet.

He glanced up when he caught movement in the garden outside and saw Lelouch wander by with a pair of plates in hand. He cursed quietly under his breath. He was practically invisible from the door to the house in here, but from the garden he might as well have been on display.

Lelouch must have sensed eyes on him, because he turned around, eyebrows lifting slightly when he saw him. He cursed again and would have had plenty of time to run away, except . . . he didn't. For some unfathomable reason he just waited there miserably as Lelouch gracefully opened the patio door, despite having full hands, and sat down on the other end of the sofa.

"Here you are." Lelouch sighed, setting the plates down on the little glass topped coffee table in front of them. "I've been looking all over for you. Eat."

He followed the order for no other reason than because that was something he was good at. He could follow orders to the letter. So he picked up the sandwich despite the way his stomach was recoiling at the very thought of eating it and dutifully took a bite.

It probably tasted really good. It was probably one of Lelouch's own handmade sandwiches. But he didn't even notice the flavor as he took bite after bite because he was so focused on Lelouch on the other end of the couch, dread growing as each silent second passed between them.

In retrospect, he should have eaten it slower, since Lelouch waited until he was finished to clear his throat quietly and begin. "Suzaku . . ."

"What's Geass?" He asked quickly, heading him off.

He could tell by the way Lelouch grimaced that he didn't really want to talk about it. But that was okay, because Suzaku didn't really want to talk about his father either. Lelouch had probably been hoping that his own secret had been forgotten in the wake of everything else.

Lelouch was quiet for a minute, fingers steepled in front of him as he either thought out the best way of avoiding the secret or of explaining it.

". . . You understand that Mao, that kidnapper, could read our minds, right?" Lelouch asked.

Suzaku nodded. "Yeah, some kind of psychic psycho."

To be completely honest, he hadn't been sure if he'd believed in any of that kind of stuff before today. But unless the kidnapper had done a lot of concentrated research on him with members of his family or with his father's old administrators, there was no way he would have been able to find out his secret except by reading his mind. But to expect Mao to research not only his secrets, but Lelouch's and Lord Gottwald's as well was pushing it a bit. Besides, he doubted the other Knight had ever told _anyone_ about his secret flame for Lelouch's mom, treasonous as it was.

"Yeah." Lelouch nodded. "That was his Geass."

. . .

What?

Hold on. Back up a bit.

Lelouch had Geass. That was what the kidnapper had said. And Geass equaled reading minds?

"You can read my mind?" He blurted in surprise.

"What? No." Lelouch denied. "My Geass is different."

"Different how?" Suzaku asked.

Lelouch hesitated. "I can give anyone who meets my gaze one order that they absolutely cannot disobey."

Suzaku felt a chill run down his spine. An order that couldn't be disobeyed? Even if it went against everything you stood for? Even if it would kill you to obey? Even if it would literally kill you? Could he do that?

". . . Shinjuku." He said quietly, because that was a mystery that had never been solved. Lelouch had been way out numbered when he'd gone down and it wasn't like he'd shown any kind of hidden proficiency with a gun since then to make Suzaku believe that he'd been able dispatch Clovis' Royal Guard by himself by any kind of regular means.

Lelouch nodded mutely and Suzaku felt his stomach clench uncomfortably. Had he ordered them to shoot each other? To shoot themselves?

But then he forgot about the deaths of a bunch of would-be murderers as the ramifications of Geass in another situation seized him. He remembered kneeling for Lelouch like he was trapped in some kind of spell as the prince had gone about knighting him. He'd had every reason to object to the situation, but he never had.

_"Kneel."_

A single word of command and he'd just sat there while Lelouch ran amok of all of his plans, until he'd finally finished and he'd snapped out of the spell and realized just what he'd done.

"You did use it on me." He said numbly as the realization struck.

Lelouch's head snapped around to stare at him incredulously. "I have not."

"When you chose to knight me," He began to clarify.

Lelouch flinched, a look of genuine hurt on his face for a second before he closed his eyes. "I've never used it on you, Suzaku. I will never use it on you. You agreed to becoming my Knight of your own volition."

"But -"

"I can only use it on a person once, so there's no real way I could prove it to you except by using it on you now. But thatwould make my argument a moot point, so I'm asking you to trust me. I've never used it on you." Lelouch insisted again.

Had he really be overtaken by Lelouch's charisma alone?

"Fine. Who have you used it on, then?"

For a moment he thought Lelouch might deny ever using, but then his friend sighed and leaned back in the couch. "Clovis' Royal Guard, a couple terrorists I was interrogating, a couple of the staff members here, Clovis and . . . Jeremiah."

"Jeremiah? You used it on Gottwald?" He asked in surprise more because the thought of there being an order from Lelouch that that man wouldn't follow without being manipulated baffled him.

Lelouch was quiet for a moment before nodding. "Clovis didn't shoot me. And I didn't shoot Clovis."

Suzaku took a moment to process that statement in the context of their current conversation before his eyes widened. "Does he know?" He asked in surprise.

Lelouch nodded.

Gottwald knew that he'd shot Lelouch in order to free him of suspicion of Clovis' murder. He knew that he'd been set up as the fall guy if anything went wrong. Did that mean that he already knew about Geass? That was what the kidnapper had suggested. That it was only him that had been left in the dark. That he was the only one Lelouch hadn't trusted with this secret.

"He found out, Suzaku. I didn't tell him." Lelouch clarified.

For a moment he wondered if he should verify that Lelouch really couldn't read his mind, but then thought better of it. Lelouch had always been like this. Lelouch had always known him almost as well as he knew himself.

"How long have you been like this? I mean, when we were kids -"

"No. I only just got it. In Shinjuku, actually. From C.C.."

"From C.C.." He repeated. "So that's why."

He'd never been able to make sense out of why Lelouch kept the girl around. Aside from whatever carnal pleasure Lelouch derived from her being here, it had never made sense that Lelouch continued offering his protection to her when it was fairly obvious he didn't particularly like her. She wasn't someone Lelouch could control, and he knew how much that meant to the prince. Even he was someone that didn't balk at following orders from Lelouch.

They fell into silence for a moment as Suzaku pondered over the ramifications of all this new knowledge. Lelouch waited patiently for a minute, then two.

"Suzaku . . . about your father. . ."

Ah, shit. He should have kept Lelouch talking about Geass. He should have kept asking questions.

He clammed up, pressing his lips together in a thin line though he knew it wasn't fair. But how was he supposed to explain himself to Lelouch? How could he possibly try to rationalize what had been going through his head that night when he'd been furious at the carnage he'd seen and terrified that Lelouch and Nunnally would be joining the ranks of the dead and bloody corpses they'd seen on their disheartening trudge across a war zone.

He'd been stupid. He knew that. He'd been a stupid kid who'd been trained to fight and in the heat of the moment had put those skills to work on his own father, no less. On the one man he'd admired and aspired to be like most.

But Lelouch didn't need to know that. Lelouch didn't need to know any of it. He _shouldn't_ have known any of it. He would have taken this burden to the grave without ever telling Lelouch because Lelouch was the one person he cared about most. And Lelouch deserved better than having to make sense of this atrocity.

Lelouch sighed, bowing his head to address his feet rather than the more invasive means of questioning while trying to maintain eye contact. Not that Suzaku was about to meet his gaze. Right now, he was physically incapable of it.

"It's really true, huh?" Lelouch said softly. "I'd hoped he was lying."

It was like the initial shock of his secret being revealed again, but so much worse. That Lelouch didn't even want to face the truth of it, that he couldn't even come to terms with it. That Lelouch was practically inviting him to deny it so that he wouldn't have to face this truth.

"It doesn't change anything though."

He felt the breath whoosh out of him in a disbelieving snort but couldn't bring himself to say anything to the contrary, partially because he hoped it was true and partially because he was afraid that if he said anything that it would only condemn him. He had no excuses for his action. So instead he sat mutely next to Lelouch and let his friend talk as if to himself.

There was a long moment of silence, as though Lelouch were testing the tension between them, seeing which one of them would break first and say something. His sense of guilt was growing by the second, but he would be damned if Lelouch managed to manipulate him even in this.

"Suzaku," Lelouch said, turning to look at him. It was a silent cue, but somehow he knew that this time Lelouch wouldn't take his silence for an answer. "That's the real reason why you were disowned, isn't it?"

He nodded. He would have been disowned eventually even if he hadn't become an Honorary Britannian and joined the military. He'd been acutely aware growing up that his mother was only waiting for him to step far enough out of line so that she could sever ties with him without drawing the suspicion of those who didn't know the Kururugis' dirty secret.

Lelouch said nothing in response. He didn't offer forgiveness because he probably knew that wasn't what Suzaku was looking for and he didn't try to make light of the situation, because that wouldn't have gone over well either.

Instead they just sat there, a prince and his knight, two best friends, two survivors, in heavy silence. And somehow, it was more reassuring than anything else Lelouch could have done. Because Lelouch still understood him. Lelouch had now seen the darkest part of him and he was still there, sitting beside him as a silent source of support.

"Normally," Lelouch said, eventually breaking the silence. "I'd give you some time off to get your head back on straight. But I'm afraid if I did, you'd take off and it would be the last I'd see of you."

"I wouldn't." He said, even though it had been the exact course of action he'd been contemplating before Lelouch had come to visit him. But it was true. Because this was a place where he could belong, even despite the sins he'd commit.

Lelouch smirked teasingly. "Well, I'm still not giving you any time off."

Suzaku chuckled mirthlessly, but that was okay. It was better to be working than brooding anyway. Because nothing would be solved by brooding. After all, he'd spent a significant portion of his childhood doing just that and it was only after he'd made the decision to act that he'd been able to begin to get past everything.

"Whatever you say, Boss."

* * *

Kallen had spent six days now in incarceration. She wasn't quite being kept in solitude, since the guards game by to check on her several times a day, but she'd had no visitors since the prince and his lackeys had interrogated her. Even Lady Stadtfeld hadn't gone so far as to actually speak with her.

The old bag had only cared about her arrest in so far as that it wouldn't affect the Stadtfeld name. It was a condition the warden and the prince had been only to eager to fill. Of course, she'd only heard about all of this from a guard who liked to rub it in her face a bit every time he came in to give her more food.

That's right. She was now an officially documented felon. A Japanese terrorist that had been registered within the law enforcement and military databases. If she didn't escape she would either end up spending the rest of her miserable life in this cell or she'd be executed for her crimes. If she was completely honest with herself, the later seemed more preferable. She couldn't imagine spending the rest of her life here.

Though, of course, she'd definitely take a jailbreak if she could get one. But that seemed unlikely given that she had no idea if Ohgi even knew what had happened to her. And besides, now that the prince was actively hunting Ohgi and Jin down, he'd have more important things on his mind than rescuing her. Things like . . . surviving, for starters.

She sighed and flopped back on her thin, hard (and don't forget waterproof, for some reason) mattress, bored out of her mind. The cell was barren except for her bed and a toilet in the corner in plain view. There was nothing for her to do here except worry, which she had been trying to keep to a minimum for the sake of her sanity.

A half an hour later, she heard someone outside her cell again. Her watch had been taken away so she didn't know what time it was, but it was probably a meal time. Which would at least give her something to do for a little while to ease her boredom. She'd be ordered to back into her corner while they set her plate down on the floor, as if they were feeding some kind of animal instead of a person, and then they'd lock her up again and go on their way. If she was lucky, one of them might feel talkative enough to try to goad her into an argument.

The door opened and she glared, even though she was relieved. This guard was her primary source of information since he was the one who liked to argue with her the most. And today he was alone. They usually traveled in pairs, which had always been a deterrent for her to try to take them down and escape.

And, again, it was odd because he didn't have any food for her. Instead he had the jeans and hoodie she'd been arrested in, which he promptly threw at her face. "Put these on." He ordered.

She caught the clothes easily, sending the guard a dirty look. "What? They've decided to give me a trial now?" She demanded.

She'd been arrested and thrown in a cell. She wasn't even sure what exactly she'd been charged with. Normally, this would all be very illegal, but since Lelouch had gotten involved personally and had the legal right to be her judge, a trial wasn't necessary. Her case was a bit special.

"Just put the clothes on." The guard said with a leer as he stood with his arms crossed in the doorway.

She stared at him incredulously for a moment before her anger flared. "Alright, I'll put the clothes on. Now get the fuck out, you perv."

The guard snorted before backing out and closing the door. She waited a couple seconds to make sure it was completely closed and, just for good measure, turned her back to it for a moment in case he decided to come back in. Then she changed her clothes probably the quickest she'd ever done, pausing only a second when she noticed they'd been freshly laundered.

"I'm done." She called, and the door opened again, revealing the same guard with a pair of handcuffs in hand.

"Turn around."

She briefly considered taking him down now while she had the chance. He was bigger than her, but if she was fast enough she could probably incapacitate him. But then what? She didn't know the layout of the prison at all since she'd been kept in her cell. She'd be on the run alone in unfamiliar territory filled with guards looking for her.

But still . . . If they were taking her out to execute her, they wouldn't have changed her clothes. They could just have easily have killed her in her prison garb. So then it had to be a trial.

She reluctantly submit to the guard, allowing him to close the cool metal rings around her wrists behind her back, and was glad that she did a moment later when she was pulled out into the corridor and spotted the guard's partner leaning against the wall, previously out of view.

She glared at him and the obvious provocation. They'd been waiting for her to step out of line and it was obvious that they were a bit disappointed that she hadn't taken the bait. But she would have had to have been stupid to start trouble if she was finally getting a trial. She pretended the thought hadn't even crossed her mind.

She was led through the prison, a guard on either side as she trudge by straight backed and poised. Even if the trial didn't go in her favor, at least it would be better that waiting in limbo like this. She was determined to face it with a clear head rather than dread.

It wasn't until she was led out into the near blinding early afternoon sunlight that she realized how much she'd missed the simple liberty of being able to go outside. And then she saw the sleek black Rolls Royce parked out front and the mid-twenties woman in an expensive business suit standing next to it.

Holy hell, Lady Stadtfeld had come through for her after all. Or, more likely, her father had heard about her arrest and seen to it that something was done on her behalf. Either way her trial didn't seem as hopeless anymore.

She picked up the pace a little to meet the woman, who nodded her head in greeting rather than extending her hand to her handcuffed client.

"Miss Kouzuki." The woman said in greeting. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Please, get in the car."

Kallen faltered, eyes narrowing suspiciously, because if her father had sent this woman she sure as hell wouldn't be addressing her by the name of Kouzuki. "Are you my lawyer?" She asked.

The woman laughed, the kind of polite, insincere laugh you heard from unhappy housewives at social events they'd really rather not be at. "No."

"Then who are you?" She demanded, not moving a step closer to the car despite the fact that the prison guards were now crowding her and silently trying to herd her towards the vehicle. Never before had the childhood lesson of not getting into cars with strangers seemed so potent.

"My name is Edith Cardston. I'm Lelouch vi Britannia's personal assistant." She introduced. "I've heard all about you from the prince. Please get in the car, Miss Kouzuki. He's summoned you." The woman explained.

Kallen glared. Of course it would have to be the prince. Not a trial. She should have known better. And heaven forbid if she offended his delicate sensibilities by showing up to a summons in her prison garb.

She didn't want to go. She didn't want to get in that car with that woman to go see the bastard who had imprisoned her in the first place. Surely if it was something so important he would have come to her rather than risk letting her out of her cell.

Everything about this situation was making her skin crawl, but she didn't really have a choice. She could probably try to get back into the prison, but that wasn't exactly a good option and she'd probably have to fight every step of the way back to her cell. That was, of course, supposing the guards didn't just pick her up and physically put her in the car. Which, given their size compared to hers, might very well happen.

But somehow getting in the car seemed an even worse choice.

Even more so when, another moment of hesitation later, the driver and another passenger slipped out of the car, both dressed as soldiers and looking like they'd be more than willing to physically put her in the car.

"Fine." She growled under her breath, stepping into the no-mans-land between the car and the prison before sliding past Edith and getting into the car. She slid into the middle seat so that she could be effectively sandwiched between the slender assistant and the bulky soldier. She jabbed her elbow into the soldier's ribs under the pretense of getting comfortable, but there was only so much damage she could cause with her hands still cuffed behind her back.

She wasn't going to make things easy for Lelouch or his minions if she could help it.

* * *

Ohgi was still wallowing in his own sense of worthlessness, head buried in his hands as he agonized over letting Kallen and Naoto down, when his phone rang. He ignored it, letting the incessant ringing add to his headache until it finally stopped. Only to start ringing again thirty seconds later.

He frowned. It was probably important if the person called him twice in a row.

"Are you going to answer that?" Tamaki bellowed from down the hall. He'd temporarily moved into Naoto's room after finding out that his old apartment had been basically flattened during the massacre.

"Yeah yeah." He grumbled as he got up to begin fishing around in his jacket's pocket for his phone.

The ringing stopped again as he was halfway across the room and he pause, trapped in a moment of indecision as to whether or not he should carry through with the action. Then it started ringing again – yeah, it was definitely important – and he quickly crossed the room and finished the search, bringing the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" He answered. He hadn't recognized the number, but then again he didn't have a photographic memory either.

"Is this Ohgi?" A voice asked in Japanese.

He frowned. The speaker sounded a bit familiar but he couldn't place the voice. "Who wants to know?"

"I'll take that as a yes." His caller said. "I seem to have found something you misplaced."

Ohgi frowned, mentally going through a list of things he might have lost. But his keys had been in the pocket next to his phone and his wallet was sitting on the side table. When he didn't reply, his caller elaborated.

"About five foot eight, red hair, bad temper."

"Kallen." He hissed in surprise.

"Precisely." The caller said

But Kallen was in prison. He knew she hadn't gotten out because he'd have probably been the first person she'd called if she had. And he'd had Yoshida continue watching the Stadtfeld place on the off chance that she'd get back there, but so far there had been no word.

"Who is this?" He demanded.

There was a pause on the other end of the line and for a moment he thought the caller wouldn't answer. Then the speaker sighed. "This is L.L.."

"From Shinjuku?" He demanded incredulously, aware that Tamaki had come out of his room to listened to his half of the conversation.

"Just shout it, why don't you?" L.L. grumbled.

Shit. This was really L.L.? Clovis' killer? Is that why his voice had sounded familiar? Because this was the voice that had damned near led them to their deaths. The voice that had abandoned them in the middle of an impossible battle.

If he really did have Kallen, he'd probably be sporting a variety of injuries at the moment. Which brought up another problem. How did he know if L.L. really did have Kallen? He'd have had to have busted into a maximum security prison and performed a jailbreak. And so far he hadn't heard anything about it on the news.

"I want to talk to her." He said firmly.

"Yes well I'd love to let you but the fact is she's a bit preoccupied at the moment. She said she wanted to wash the filth of the prison off of her." L.L. explained.

"How do I know you're not lying?"

"Well she's the one that gave me your number. But whether I'm lying or not, the whole purpose of this call was to see if you could come pick her up. Lovely as the lady is, we don't exactly see eye to eye." L.L. Explained before rattling off an address. Ohgi didn't know the Settlement very well, though he did recognize that the address he scribbled down on the back of a gas receipt was somewhere near downtown. "We'll be waiting for you. And seriously, you can't get here fast enough."

Ohgi frowned and was about to give it up as a trap when, in the second before L.L. hung up, the sound of a door slamming open and a "Hey, douche bag!" that was unmistakably Kallen filtered through.

So then . . .L.L. really did have her. And whether it was a trap or not, Ohgi would be going to get her. He'd made a promise to Naoto after all. Besides, he was a little bit curious about the identity of their mysterious 'savior'.

He reached for his coat as Tamaki frowned. "What's going on?"

"L.L. rescued Kallen." He answered, double checking that he had his wallet, keys and phone on him, as well as the gas receipt with the address on it.

"That asshole from Shinjuku?" Tamaki demanded. "I'm going with you."

* * *

AN: This chapter is for 'Kardec' since he inadvertently motivated me to write this every time he signed in to his The Old Republic account to find me still playing it. lol. If anyone else wants to play with me, I'm on both Zeekeg Beast and Dark Reaper servers under the name Shiduri.

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. It's a bit shorter than usual but I wanted to cut it off here to that the meeting was all in the same chapter.

And now for the SOPA/PIPA announcement that should have probably been in the last chapter (but I was being an ignorant Canadian at the time and didn't think it would effect me). As it turns out, it very well could affect me. And while it's said that this particular bill is now dead in the water, most articles I've read have figured that it will be reworded and tried to be put through again sometime in the future. Please don't let that happen. I don't know where the fanfiction. net website is based out of but to me it seems like a prime target that 'rips off the original artists'. From my foggy understanding of the bill (sorry, but i'm only working with half the details since legalese puts me to sleep) but internet value is based on views, which means that Dauntless is probably very much in violation of some clause or another of this bill.

Anyway, even if SOPA does go through, I'll continue writing Dauntless and will probably continue updating it through email or something. But it's so much easier to do it like this.

Anyway, enough of that seriousness. Sorry if it bored you but I was kind of shocked and appalled the first time I read anything about it. (as I said, I was completely ignorant about it until just before the black out day). Don't forget to review. I love hearing from you. Now, I have to go to work. :(

Allora.


	79. Chapter 79: Kings and Pawns

Chapter 79

Ohgi was growing more and more sure that he'd written down the address wrong. Maybe he'd mixed up the streets and avenues? Maybe he'd written the numbers in the wrong order? Either way, he was pretty sure he'd made a mistake.

They'd begun passing mansions that made the Stadtfeld estate look like a modest townhouse a couple minutes ago and he'd actually pulled over to double check the address. But this was really it. In fact, it ought to be the next house up. . . in the good couple hundred meters of over spaced yard between houses.

Well, since they were this close, there was no problem in just giving it a quick check.

He slowed his decrepit old beater (painfully conspicuous in this neighborhood) almost to a crawl as they passed L.L.'s supposed residence. But there were Japanese guards at the gate. And that was definitely a Japanese garden in there, along with a bizarre faux Japanese facade on the house. It was like the owner had conformed just enough with Britannian conventions to get through the occupation unscathed.

". . . Do you think L.L. is from one of the Six Houses of Kyoto?" Tamaki asked quietly as Ohgi brought the car to a stop.

Well, that was a possibility. He didn't know who else might have come out of the invasion with so much wealth still intact. But if this place did belong to the Six Houses, it meant L.L. was one of them. Which meant it was the Six Houses that had hung them out to dry in Shinjuku.

But then . . . if this was one of the Six Houses, it meant that they had just been summoned. A couple of nobodies like them and the Six Houses . . .

Should they risk it? What was the chance that he'd gotten the address wrong now? That they'd just happened to stumble across an oasis of Japanese architecture coincidentally when L.L. had quite plainly spoken in Japanese to him?

He pulled over and turned off the car. It wouldn't hurt to ask, right? And if it turned out to be the wrong place, at least the guards probably wouldn't violently remove them from the premises since they were Japanese. Probably.

The guards bristled a bit as they got out of the car, but they didn't make any overt moves and waited for them to approach.

"Is this . . ." Ohgi began, and then felt silly for referring to L.L. by his alias. These people probably knew L.L.'s real identity and referred to him as such. "We're looking for a friend of ours. A red-headed girl. She's seventeen. Her name's Kallen. Is she here?"

The guard at the gate nodded. "Kouzuki-san is waiting within with the Master."

Kouzuki . . . then, had Kallen severed her last ties with the Stadtfelds now and taken up the Kouzuki name full time? Or was it merely a hint that L.L. knew the secret of her heritage? Either way it didn't escape his notice that the guard hadn't given away L.L.'s true identity.

"Yeah, can you call her out here?" He tried, already knowing that it probably wouldn't go over very well. Did the Six Houses usually operate like this?

"She's waiting for you. And no doubt you would like to thank the Master for all the trouble. If you'll leave your weapons here, I'm afraid no one has ever been allowed to carry weapons into the villa."

Ohgi frowned. It was a reasonable request, but it didn't make him feel any more comfortable. After all, L.L. didn't know if they'd come here to exact a bit of revenge on him for the lives they'd lost in Shinjuku.

He hesitated for a moment. It was apparently obvious that he'd never get to Kallen if he refused to disarm. And really, that was the deciding factor. He was here for Kallen. Everything else – whether this was one of the Six Houses or not – was irrelevant.

He pulled out the weathered and beaten handgun he'd been using for years and handed it to the guard, motioning for Tamaki to do the same. He'd only grabbed it at the last minute after remembering how easily L.L. had betrayed them last time.

"You sure about this, Ohgi?" Tamaki asked, not bothering to hide his doubt.

"Kallen's in there." Was his only response.

After that, they were quickly patted down by the guards before being let in through the gate. He felt another pang of unease settle over him as the gate closed behind them, effectively cutting them off from their vehicle which was still parked on the street. And there was no way they were getting over these walls.

Still, it was kind of surreal. He'd played at the Stadtfeld place when he was a kid and had always been impressed with the luxury that Naoto had lived with. But this was something else entirely. He didn't think he'd ever been in a place this rich. It practically oozed cash.

"Tch. Fancy." Tamaki muttered, obviously just as uncomfortable.

They were met just inside the gate by a young Japanese woman in a simple yukata, who bowed meekly. "This way, please."

He shared an uncomfortable glance with Tamaki before falling into step behind the woman. The driveway was lined on either side with elaborately designed rock gardens that cut a stark contrast to the luscious green grass of the garden. Beyond that he could see sakura trees and water features. It was a real Japanese garden like he hadn't seen since before the invasion.

It brought on a pang of nostalgia and longing as the woman led them quickly up the long driveway towards the house. But she didn't go in. Instead, she turned away down a cobblestone path and led them around the corner of the house into the garden.

Ohgi froze as they came around the corner. Because Kallen was right there, seated at a little patio table that had been set up in the garden. But she wasn't alone and her table mates were anything but Japanese.

He glanced back over his shoulder towards the gate, but already knew it was hopeless. It was a trap, he should have known it. He should have gone with his gut instinct rather than letting the hope of rescuing Kallen override it.

They were so dead.

Because sitting at the table across from Kallen was none other than Lelouch vi Britannia and an unknown woman.

"Fuck." Tamaki hissed, mirroring his thoughts exactly.

But they were given no choice but to approach the table. What else could they do? The guards at the gate had taken up new positions, keeping them in rather than keeping anyone else out.

Ohgi squared his shoulders and prepared himself to face the prince. No matter how he looked at it, despite the prince's position, he was still just a teenager. And one of the first things he'd been taught as a teacher was how to take control of his classroom – how not to be overrun by his students. He could do this.

He approached with an even stride, aware that Tamaki was failing miserably to emulate him as he kept checking over his shoulder or to the garden walls. But that was fine. He needed someone to watch his back while he was focused of Prince Lelouch anyway.

Kallen made a horrified expression when she noticed his approach. She'd previously been glaring sullenly at the Viceroy from where her right hand was handcuffed to her chair. It wouldn't necessarily stop her from moving, but it would slow her down – which was enough of a deterrent while Suzaku Kururugi (_the_ Suzaku Kururugi) watched her like a hawk from his post at the prince's shoulder.

"If you harm so much as one hair on them, I'll kill you, Lelouch!" She snarled. "Even if it kills me."

"Hush, Kallen. I have guests and you're making a spectacle of yourself." The prince replied, though the comment lacked the force of a true reprimand. Then, surprisingly, the prince actually rose to greet them, stepping away from the table and the safe arms reach of his Knight to extend his hand to be shaken. "I apologize for the subterfuge, but it was necessary. It's a pleasure to meet you, Kaname Ohgi."

It was a subtle show of force, but he picked up on it. The prince knew who he was. He knew his name and by now he had the license plate number on his car as well. With that, it would be only too easy for him to find the address to his apartment. He'd been caught.

"I wish I could say the same, your highness." He said, mouth going dry at his own daring as he shook the boy's hand. But at this point he had little to lose.

The boy smiled, smothering a small chuckle before glancing to Tamaki. "And you are?"

"None of your god damned business, _your highness_." Tamaki spat with venom.

Ohgi thanked his lucky stars that at least he'd been smart enough not to give away his name, even though the response could have been phrased better. If it was possible to at least get Tamaki out of here, then he'd have a chance of escaping the prince.

Prince Lelouch quirked an eyebrow and studied Tamaki closely for a moment before shrugging and gesturing back towards the table. "Please join me." He said before retaking his seat.

Ohgi stared at the chairs they'd just been offered uneasily. It would put them at a marked disadvantage if they needed to fight. Especially while Kururugi was left standing already. Those would be precious seconds they'd need to counter an attack.

The prince noted the hesitation and again smiled slightly. "If you're concerned about it damaging your prospects in a fight, don't bother. If you'll direct your attention to the roof of the house, you'll find that my Knights already have me covered. So please be polite and accept my hospitality while I'm still offering it."

Ohgi let his gaze track across the roof of the house where the prince had indicated to find himself under a sniper's scope. The shooter's was obscured by the gun already being lined up, but judging from the prince's explanation it could only be Sir Gottwald.

He took a seat, followed only a moment later by Tamaki, and wondered what the prince could possibly have in store for them. By all rights, the prince should have just had them arrested already. Or executed. That he was going this far to be polite even despite the danger of the situation baffled him.

"Tea?" The prince asked, gesturing to the silver teapot in the center of the table. "I'm afraid I never liked Japanese teas, so it's an orange pekoe. But it's rather nice."

He shook his head slightly, denying the offer while earning another little smile from the Viceroy.

"I promise it's not poisoned." Prince Lelouch said, refilling the delicate bone china cup in front of him to prove his point. "Kallen's already had a cup. Though, granted, most of it ended up thrown in Jeremiah's face."

Ohgi glanced at her, but she hadn't reacted to the jibe, far too preoccupied with watching the prince from between narrowed, suspicious eyes.

"He was less than amused. Hence his current position." The prince elaborated.

"What -" He began to ask, then cut off as he realized something. The prince (or probably more likely Kururugi) had impersonated L.L. in order to get them there. But in order to even know about the mysterious voice they'd encountered in Shinjuku, it meant Kallen had to have talked.

He ran another eye over her, searching for injuries. She looked tired and stressed, but otherwise unharmed.

"What do I want with you?" The prince asked, finishing the question he'd never quite uttered. He nodded. "Information. Primarily."

Ohgi narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but said nothing. He wouldn't be talking. He'd never sell out his resistance cell on the off chance that this boy might spare his life. He knew everyone in his resistance. He'd recruited most of them himself while Naoto was cooking up their next scheme. They were his family and he refused to betray them.

"They don't know anything." Kallen hissed.

"I know that's a lie." The prince countered with a smile.

"They weren't there." She said again.

"That doesn't mean they don't know anything." Prince Lelouch said, before turning back to pin Ohgi in his gaze. "I want information on the Kenshiki Faction."

Ohgi's eyes widened slightly in surprise. But Kallen was right. He didn't know anything. "We've had no dealings with the Kenshiki Faction. We've abhorred their methods from the start."

"I'm aware of that. Which is why we're having this conversation here, in my garden, instead of in the cell next to Kallen's. But I'm also aware that you know someone who does have dealings with the Kenshiki Faction. A friend of yours that you had Kallen run protection for during a meeting in August." The prince explained.

_Jin!_

He tensed and knew he'd already given it away when the prince's smile widened. "Yes, that is the information I want out of you."

Jin. One of his oldest friends. When they'd been kids it had always been him, Jin and Naoto running around together. Jin, whose leaving their resistance had hurt the most because of their long friendship. Jin, who had so recently used Naoto to dispose of his business partner and had Kallen protect him in a deal with the Kenshiki in return for lending his ship for their failed first attempt at stealing Code-R.

"I won't talk." Ohgi said firmly.

"Let's look at this rationally. You're not exactly in a position to refuse me." The prince said. "I, however, am in a perfect position to make the remaining days of your life very uncomfortable. Or, I can let you go free, if you give me what I want."

"As if you'd let terrorists go free." He scoffed.

"You're not terrorists." The prince said blandly. "You're freedom fighters. There's a difference."

"_As if_," He repeated firmly with emphasis. "you'd let us go free."

"I'm after information, Mr. Ohgi. At the moment that's all I'm after."

For a minute the prince just stared at him evenly, the amused smile completely gone. Instead it was replaced with something like annoyance. Then the prince made a gesture with his hand and he flinched, bracing himself for a bullet to the brain. But a woman in a business suit approached instead, bearing a manila folder with a black logo on the front.

"This is Miss Kouzuki's criminal record." The prince explained as he flipped it open. "She's been charged with treason, sedition, murder, attempted regicide and theft. She's also been implicated in the plot to assassinate my sister Euphemia."

"I told you I had nothing to do with the bombing!" Kallen protested, damning herself by only protesting that crime.

The prince ignored her outburst, instead keeping his gaze fixed evenly on Ohgi as he felt himself begin to sweat. None of the charges leveled against her were good. And none of them could be countered. She'd commit every single one of those crimes except for the last with Princess Euphemia.

"She's scheduled to be executed in three days."

"What?" Kallen exclaimed.

Ohgi's throat went dry as his heart kicked into high gear, hammering against his ribs so hard for a moment all he could hear was the rushing in his ears. Kallen was going to be killed.

"I can make it all go away." The prince said. "A clean slate. A new identity. Not even a hint of her criminal record."

Kallen for Jin? Jin for Kallen? He had to make the choice. Which couldn't he stand to lose more? One of his childhood friends? Or the girl he'd agreed to protect like his own sister?

"While we're discussing this, I think it's only fair to inform you that I have no intention of harming your . . . friend. The only thing I want is information on the Kenshiki Faction and I'm willing to pay him for it. You really don't have anything to lose by agreeing to this offer. But you do have a lot to gain."

He let his breath seep out in a long, defeated sigh as his shoulders slumped and his eyes closed. There was really only one answer he could give. "Jin. Jin Nakata."

The prince watched him for a long moment before nodding and pulling a phone out of his pocket. "Set up a meeting for me. Tell him I'm a . . . prospective client that wishes to remain anonymous for the time being."

Ohgi swallowed nervously as he took the device. How easy would it be to trace the number? He'd really be selling Jin out. Giving the Viceroy who had been sent to Japan to exterminate dissenters the number to an illegal arms dealer and resistance fighter.

The prince waited patiently, sipping his tea as Ohgi worked up the courage to make the call. But if he didn't, Kallen would definitely die. There was no way she'd be able to combat the charges laid against her. And even if she could, it didn't sound like she'd be given the chance to. The prince had made it sound like it had all already been decided.

There was always the chance that the prince was telling the truth. Maybe he'd let them go if he cooperated. Maybe he'd really spare Kallen. Maybe all he really wanted from Jin was information. He'd probably end up getting them both killed if he tried to set up a trap.

He swallowed nervously and dialed the number, silently praying that things weren't as bad as they looked right now.

* * *

Lelouch watched evenly as he methodically backed Kaname Ohgi into a corner. The first time he'd encountered this man had been over an old school walkie-talkie in Shinjuku as he'd went about hunting down Clovis for his treachery. At the time, he'd been less than impressed with the man's leadership skills.

They'd attempted a highly precise job that had gone from bad to worse when their escape had been cut off. He'd been under a lot of stress at the time and Lelouch now attributed most of his initial dismissal of the man to those situational factors.

This second meeting was completely different. Ohgi walked with authority. It didn't rest comfortably with him, but he still possessed it. It made him, at the same time, more interesting and more dangerous. It also made him potentially useful, if he could be sufficiently cowed.

Lucky for him he seemed to have found the perfect leverage over him. Whatever the connection between Kallen and Ohgi was, it obviously went beyond mere commander/subordinate. If he could control Ohgi by keeping Kallen close, it was possible he'd be able to gather reliable information about terrorist movements that his spies couldn't access.

And since he intended to keep the fiery red-head close anyway, Ohgi presented an unexpected bonus. He'd had the documents detailing the record of Kallen's crimes made up this morning. It was 'official' in the fact that it had been made on the same form as the genuine article and had been printed on the same paper and stamped, but it had never been filed within the system.

In fact, there was no official record of Kallen's arrest at all.

It was shady business, but he was convinced he could control her if he was given enough time and leverage. He could break her. He was sure of it. Judging by her reaction to her comrades arrivals, it seemed that Ohgi and the other one could also be used as incentive.

He listened as Ohgi made the call to Jin Nakata. The rebel had switched into Japanese as the call had connected, likely in an attempt to keep him from eavesdropping, and was currently designating a place and time.

Ohgi paused nervously after concluding the call, aware that his purpose had just been served. Technically Lelouch had no further use for him and could kill him now. His companion shifted uncomfortably as Lelouch took another slow sip of his tea.

"So are you going to let us go now, or what?" The belligerent rebel demanded.

Lelouch had been about ninety percent certain that he was the loud-mouthed pilot from Shinjuku. Tamaki Shinichiro. Jeremiah had confirmed it after the man's less than polite opening phrases. So even despite the lack of an introduction, he wasn't at a disadvantage.

"Lelouch." Kallen said, and for the first time since she'd arrived her tone was calm and even as she addressed him. She'd given up on addressing him formally even before she'd walked in the door and had begun hurling insults. It had worked out to his advantage since he was pretty sure Ohgi had been privy to her initial greeting upon her arrival. Well, at least this time she was addressing him by his name. He watched her out of the corner of his eye and tilted his head slightly towards her, a silent cue that he was listening if she wanted to speak.

"Let me go with you. Please."

He frowned, turning to look her full in the face. "Pardon?"

"When you go to meet Jin." She clarified almost desperately. "Please take me with you."

"For what purpose?" He asked.

"It's my fault that this is happening. He should know that it wasn't Ohgi that sold him out."

"I could let him know for you." Lelouch shrugged, though he was secretly intrigued by the offer.

She pressed her lips together and he could practically see the gears turning in her head. She had to make it worth his while to have her accompany him. Spin the request so that it was in his favor.

"Jin's practically paranoid. He's as likely to shoot you as soon as he sees you coming than speak to you. If you have me along, he probably won't shoot." She explained.

"Only probably?"

She grit her teeth. "I'll walk in front of you." She bargained.

He smirked dangerously. "Are you really offering to protect me, Kallen? Why, that's everything I ever wanted from you."

"Don't let it go to your head, asshole." She growled.

He laughed because he couldn't help but find her utter disregard for propriety interesting, along with the appalled expression on Ohgi's face upon hearing her openly insult him. She'd given up, he realized. She didn't expect anything out of this. No, in fact she expected the worst. She expected to die, along with Ohgi, Tamaki and even Jin. She had nothing left to lose, so it was no holds barred.

"Suzaku will be coming with me, you realize?" He asked as he leaned back in his seat. "You won't be given another opening to assassinate me."

And Jeremiah was going to be on standby at the head of a squad of Knightmares as he listened to the meeting via a transmitter, much like he was doing right now. But none of them needed to know that. He'd let them continue believing that he excluded his senior Knight from his business with the Japanese due to the man's former position as the head of the Purist Faction and ingrained racism.

"I'll be going with you too, Lelouch." C.C. said firmly, contributing to the conversation for the first time since she'd rolled her eyes at him and complained about why he wouldn't just get all this over with by using his Geass, instead of playing cat and mouse like this. She'd made a remarkable comeback since Mao's death. It was almost like it hadn't happened at all. Though if there had been a difference, it was that she'd become even more protective of him. She was always trailing about in his shadow these days.

Kallen glanced at C.C. for a moment before averting her gaze. Whatever C.C. had done to her when they'd first met after her failed assassination attempt, the lesson had stuck.

"That's fine." She said stiffly. "I'm not going to . . . I just want to be there for Jin. And to make sure you stick to your word about not hurting him."

"Kallen." Ohgi said warningly.

"Just let me do this, Ohgi." Kallen said, looking to her leader almost pleadingly.

"And then you'll let her go, right?" Ohgi asked.

"I don't recall saying I'd let her go." Lelouch revealed.

"You said -" Ohgi began heatedly before Lelouch cut him off.

"I said I'd give her a new identity with a clean slate. And that much I will do."

"Why are you doing this? Why her?" The resistance leader demanded.

"I have a use for her." Lelouch revealed.

Kallen laughed mirthlessly and slumped back in her seat. "Wonderful."

"What use?" Ohgi asked, eyes narrowing dangerously even though he wasn't in a position to intimidate.

Lelouch considered the question for a moment before throwing him a bone. "I have enemies I think she'd like to fight. Enemies she'd never even get a chance at without me."

There was dead silence for all of a second as Ohgi connected the dots. When he did, he actually jerked in surprise, rattling all of the china and silverware on the table. The man stared at him in open shock for a moment and opened his mouth to say something, then thought better of it and snapped his mouth closed. It was a gamble letting him know that much, but so long as he help the trump that Kallen presented, he ought to be safe.

Kallen, for her part, also seemed to have put it together. Instead of looking horrified like Ohgi, she looked intrigued. It only convinced him even more that he could sway her. He could definitely use her if she was interested of her own volition.

"This is about her piloting skills, right? Because she's . . ." Ohgi hesitated, unsure about revealing the scope of her skill.

"An Ace." Lelouch finished. "Since she could hold her own against the Lancelot in a vastly outstripped Sutherland, even taking into consideration Suzaku's injuries at the time, she's an Ace. A rare commodity even within the Knightmare Corps."

There was a long moment of silence around the table.

"I'll do it." Kallen said firmly, leaning forward in her seat.

"Kallen!" Ohgi protested, but she didn't even look at her leader, her gaze resting solely on Lelouch instead.

"The Emperor, right? That's your enemy."

"Kallen." Ohgi hissed again, voice low and pleading caution.

"I'm afraid I can't dignify that inquiry with a response." Lelouch said, knowing better than to confirm anything that could be held against him. It was unlikely that anyone would take the word of an Eleven rebel over the word of a prince. But on the off chance that someone did, he'd done nothing but give them suspicions that would make them sympathize with him.

There was another moment of silence, then Kallen shrugged, leaning back in her seat as she realized the error of showing her own interest. "But I want a couple things from you in return."

"Oh? You think you're in a position to bargain now?" Lelouch asked, amused. Though he secretly wondered what it was she would ask for this time. If she asked for Japan back or for Code-R again, he'd probably just laugh in her face.

"You have to promise not to hurt Jin, Ohgi or . . . or. . ." She gestured at the third man at the table, unwilling to give away his identity.

"Tamaki Shinichiro." Lelouch supplied, gratified when the man flinched.

She glared at him. "Or Tamaki." She nodded. "And I want the son of a bitch that killed my brother. I want him alone and unarmed in a room so I can kill him with my own hands."

Ah, well that request was a little bit more difficult to manage.

"What am I? A detective now?" He asked to deflect the demand.

"It'd be easy for you to find out. He was killed by Clovis because he was planning to steal Code-R." She said.

"Well Clovis is already dead." Lelouch shrugged.

"I want the bastard that actually got his hands dirty."

Lelouch was quiet for a moment as he considered how to proceed. Obviously he knew it was Jeremiah whose head she wanted. And obviously he wasn't going to give it to her. "Clovis' records of that fiasco are hardly well documented. I can look into it, but I can't make you any promises." He said, deliberately not looking towards his Knight sitting on the rooftop.

"Yeah? Well the day I avenge my brother is the day I'll pilot for you. Not until then." She said dismissively.

"Oh? I'm curious what it is you think you'll be doing until then?"

She shrugged unconcernedly, all bravado. "Whatever I want, if you want me to pilot for you."

Ohgi actually winced.

"Listen very carefully, Kallen. I don't respond well to insubordination. I'm willing to give some leeway here and there, as I've already granted you for your appalling treatment of me today, but when I give orders I expect them to be obeyed. If I tell you to pilot for me, you're going to damn well pilot for me. Understand that your skills make you valuable, but they don't make you invaluable."

That knocked the wind out of her sails, but it didn't completely stop her in her tracks. "I won't fight Japanese."

"As if I'd make you." Lelouch said dismissively before standing up from the table. "Our business is concluded here, Mr. Ohgi." He said as he gestured for the Honorary Britannian soldiers he'd recruited from the base specifically so that this place would seem even more Japanese than it actually was, to approach. They'd taken up a position at the corner of the house – just out of view – in case anything had gone wrong.

All in all, he was pretty pleased with these negotiations.

"This way please, sirs." One of the guards said, gesturing for the Japanese men to stand from the table.

"What about Kallen?" Ohgi demanded, gaze traveling nervously to the girl when he noticed one of the soldiers handcuffing her anew before releasing her from the chair.

"Kallen will be kept somewhere safe until the meeting with Jin Nakata. Then, she will need training." Lelouch answered as he turned away.

"I hardly need training. I'm already an Ace." Kallen sniffed dismissively..

Lelouch sighed and gestured mutely to Suzaku. His friend had been tense the entire time and Lelouch just knew it was because he was wondering if he was about to witness Geass first hand (as opposed to Jeremiah, who had practically begun frothing every time she'd insulted him). In truth it was one of the reasons why he'd refrained from using his power. The other reason was because it would have been wasteful if it was possible to sway them with argument alone.

Suzaku broke away from him and effortlessly swept the legs out from underneath her. Even though Lelouch wasn't watching, he heard the breath whoosh out of her as she hit the ground.

"What the . . . fuck . . . was that for?" She wheezed.

He chuckled. It was kind of refreshing having her treat him so blatantly informal. He didn't enjoy being insulted, but somehow she managed to do it in a way that made it more entertaining than offensive. "A trained soldier would have seen that coming."

* * *

Kallen hated Lelouch vi Britannia with the passion of a burning sun. He was arrogant and manipulative and selfish – all of which were traits that she despised. However, she was also willing to accept that he'd done something good for Shinjuku after the massacre, since even Ohgi had been impressed. Which meant, she supposed, that he wasn't completely the devil incarnate.

That title, she supposed, went to the prince's father. So he was only the spawn of the devil instead of the devil himself. Either way, he was the lesser of two evils. She didn't like the idea of fighting for him – of fighting for the bastard who had tried to lead them to their deaths in Shinjuku because it would have been more convenient for him if they'd all died, the Wolf of Britannia who had butchered civilians and soldiers alike in the Middle East – but he was right when he said that she'd never get a chance at the Emperor otherwise.

How much would she give to be able to put that tyrant down – the man who had really destroyed Japan?

At least with Lelouch on the throne, he'd have Suzaku Kururugi at his side. It was possible that things would look up for them in that case. Because Suzaku had to have suffered in this system as much as any other Japanese person under the Britannian Number system. Probably even more so since he'd decided to take up Honorary Britannian status and join the military.

Not that she actually liked him either, brainless yes-man that he was. But he was still Japanese. Though she doubted she'd ever forgive him for the cheap shot he'd just taken at her while she was handcuffed and unable to defend herself.

She was hauled out of the prince's estate by a pair of guards and taken back to the prison, where she was promptly stuffed back in her cell. She thought that would be the end of it. And she thought that the likelihood of Lelouch actually agreeing to bring her along to the meeting with Jin was slim to none. He'd never actually said that he'd take her. He just said that he'd keep her 'safe' until then.

So she was surprised three hours later when her guards came back, handcuffed her again and escorted her back out to the car where Edith Cardston was waiting for her. She didn't like the woman, but then again the feeling was probably mutual.

Edith didn't speak to her aside from ordering her to get in the car where she was once again sandwiched between the assistant and one of the prince's goons. This time she didn't elbow him, knowing that it did little damage and probably hurt her wrist more than it hurt the guard through his body armor.

She was taken to a house not far from the Tokyo Base that was small and definitely meant for single occupancy, but was at least well maintained. Edith was all business as she unlocked the door, bustling into the modestly decorated home. She wondered if this was Edith's house. And if so, why the hell was she here? Surely this wasn't the safe place Lelouch planned on keeping her?

"This is your new residence." Edith explained boredly as she made her way to the kitchen table. "As of this moment, you're under house arrest. These two gentlemen are Jason and Tyler. They'll be keeping an eye on you. Groceries come on Wednesdays and Sundays."

Kallen followed, reluctantly sitting down at the table across from the woman. Given her apparent distaste at this assignment, Edith wouldn't have chosen to sit down unless she needed to.

"What's with the sudden generosity?" She asked because going from a semi-solitary cell in a maximum security prison to her own house was a huge step up in the world.

"All those who work directly for Lelouch have their accommodations paid for." She woman answered.

"Even you?" She inquired.

"I live at the main house." Edith replied before pulling a folded section of newspaper out of her briefcase. "Besides, you needed a place to stay now that you're officially dead." She said as she laid the obituary section face up on the table.

There, in a full color memorial article was her face, along with the faces of seventeen of her classmates. She actually knew . . . most of them. Her stomach twisted squeamishly as she closed her eyes.

So this was how Lady Stadtfeld had decided to deal with her arrest. She'd been officially swept under the rug. Her funeral would be closed coffin, of course. Her body was obviously too mangled by the explosion to be put on display.

She wondered if her father actually knew, or if his bitch of a wife had done this without his knowledge. An even better question was whether or not he'd make it for the funeral. He hadn't come to Naoto's.

She felt a momentary pang of sympathy for her real mother. Losing two children in such quick succession was sure to hit the woman hard. She'd been even more broken than usual since Naoto's death so she could only imagine what she'd be like after learning about her 'death' as well.

"Your new name is Kallen Wallbridge." Edith explained, sliding a new passport, driver's license and citizenship card across the table towards her. "Kallen is a common enough name so you were allowed to keep it. You're the daughter of Stan and Leslie Wallbridge, who were both killed earlier this year in an attack by the Kenshiki Faction. The subway bombings, to be precise."

She frowned, looking down at the new documents she'd been given, looking at the new name, the new birth date and the new identification numbers. A whole new life.

"Lelouch told me to tell you this: that Kallen Stadtfeld died in the Ashford bombing and that Kallen Kouzuki is about to be executed. This is the only person you can be now."

It was easy enough to see what she was saying. She wouldn't be able to rely on the Stadtfeld name any longer and neither would he tolerate subversive activities from her. A gilded cage, but it was better than being executed since it would give her the chance to bear against the Emperor. She knew Ohgi wasn't exactly pleased with her decisions today, but she _was _an Ace. She knew that. Which meant she had the skill to make a difference in a fight against the Emperor. Especially against his elite Knights of the Round.

She felt bad for Ohgi. He'd only been trying to protect her but she'd managed to effectively cut herself off from him. If Kouzuki was 'dead' then Lelouch probably wouldn't allow her to associate with anyone she'd used to know. But this chance was worth it, wasn't it? The change to take the fight to Britannia itself instead of just the Britannian establishment in Japan.

Edith stared at her for a long moment, no doubt surprised by her silence. She wanted to say something. She wanted to be the mouthy bitch she usually was, but she was feeling a little overwhelmed by everything at the moment. This morning she'd been sitting in a cell wondering how long she'd have to wait there until she was executed. Now, she was sitting in her own house wondering when she might be given a chance to assassinate the Emperor of Britannia.

The woman stared for a moment longer before pulling Kallen's old cellphone out of the briefcase. It was the same phone Lelouch had taken from her when she'd been arrested. The same phone he'd found Ohgi's number out of in order to get to Jin.

"To keep you amiable, Lelouch will allow you to remain in contact with the two men that were at the main house today. However, keep in mind that they are not allowed to come here. Should they be seen approaching, they were be shot on sight. So it's probably in your best interest not to tell them where you are."

Why would Lelouch grant her that concession? If Kallen Kouzuki was supposed to be dead, she'd have thought that he'd have cut her off from all of her terrorist contacts. So why would he allow this? To keep her 'amiable'? No, it was more to keep Ohgi in line. If Ohgi knew she was still alive and being held by Lelouch, he wouldn't make any moves to upset the prince. And Lelouch had made it quite clear that he would kill her if he had to.

She was a hostage.

And to keep Ohgi from acting so that she would have a chance at the Emperor, she'd inevitably end up calling him to let him know about her current situation sooner or later.

She really, _really_ hated that bastard prince.

* * *

Euphy hadn't gone to school since she'd returned to Pendragon. In fact she'd barely left her room. Instead, she spent her days wallowing in her guilt. She'd had the Tokyo newspapers delivered to her at home and had ended up crying herself dry when they'd finally confirmed the identities of all of the deceased.

She'd known four of the victims personally. Three had been in her class, girls that had eagerly befriended her upon her arrival, and even Kallen Stadtfeld had been lost in the explosion. She wanted to phone Milly or Shirley to help console them about the loss, but she didn't even know what she could say to them when she was the one responsible for their friend's death.

She found herself calling Lukas everyday instead. His voice was always calm and more or less unconcerned she he talked to her, though she knew he had been hospitalized. He'd repeatedly told her it wasn't serious and she'd foolishly believed him because he'd been able to sound so calm about it. But when she'd called him yesterday he hadn't been able to answer and she'd been put on the phone with his doctor instead.

He'd just undergone a surgery and had still been unconscious from the anesthetics. She'd spoken extensively with the doctor, who had only been willing to divulge information about Lukas' injuries with her because she was royalty, and had found that her bodyguard had downplayed every single injury he'd received in order not to burden her further.

He'd told her that the burns weren't serious and that they'd heal on their own. The doctor told her that they were third degree burns in places and that the only way they would heal was with extensive surgery and skin grafts. He was lucky that the nerves hadn't been damaged too badly, so he would probably be able to retain use of his hand as long as it didn't get infected.

Though there was a risk of that because the wound in his arm that Lukas had told her had only needed a couple of stitches and was cleanly healing, was actually infected. It turned out it was caused by a piece of wood shrapnel from a door frame and the wood had begun separating inside the wound as it had absorbed more moisture. Of course, the skin grafts had to wait until the infection was healed, because if he couldn't fight the infection it was likely that he'd end up losing the entire arm.

She'd cried all night about that too. Lukas was in all of that pain because of her. He might lose his arm because he'd been trying to protect her. She was very aware that if he hadn't been there it was possible that she'd have been seriously injured or possibly died. She hated it.

She stared at her phone. It was about the time she usually called him. Mid-morning in Area Eleven and late night here in Pendragon. She didn't know what to say to him either. He'd tried to keep all of this from her so she wouldn't feel like this, and she wasn't sure if she should just go along with it and pretend she didn't know, or if she could call him on it. Which was crueler, given his condition?

She dialed the number, secretly terrified as it rang that the doctor would pick up again and she'd have to hear about something else that had gone wrong. When he picked up after the fifth ring she let out a quiet breath of relief at hearing his voice.

"H'lo" He answered sleepily.

"Hey, Lukas. It's Euphy."

"I know. You're the only one that calls me here." He said. "How are you tonight?"

"I'm fine . . . How are you feeling?" She asked tentatively. Then quickly added. "I talked to your doctor yesterday . . . so don't spare my feelings this time. I want the truth, Lukas."

It was better if there were no lies between them.

He was quiet for a moment, letting out a long, slow sigh. "I'm feeling . . . like shit, Euphy. Like my entire body is being flame broiled. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

The doctor had said that the infection had caused a fever and that, in conjunction with the burns, had to be unbearable.

She swallowed nervously. "Yes. That's what I wanted to hear, Lukas."

He let out a mirthless chuckle. "A sucker for punishment, aren't you?" He grumbled.

If only! If only someone would punish her for the massive loss of life that had been all her fault. But no one was willing to even point the blame at her and it was doing nothing to help her deal with all of this. If just one person had been willing to hate her as much as she hated herself right now, she might have been able to come to terms with it.

But no one was willing to point the finger at royalty. That's not how Britannia worked. Royalty was at the top of the hierarchy. What were a handful of commoners dead so long as a princess survived? A fair trade, right?

Her mother had done nothing but coddle her since she'd gotten back, repeatedly saying that it had been a bad idea from the start. That it wasn't her fault. Heathens couldn't be trusted to act civilized around royalty. That even Lelouch had lost his touch with what little elitism he'd had when he'd allowed one of _them _to become his Knight.

For the first time since she'd been a child, she'd screamed at her mother. Suzaku hadn't even been there. How could her mother pass the blame off on Lelouch and Suzaku when it had been all her fault instead? When she'd deliberately made herself into a target even after her identity had been exposed. When she'd thought that a school full of innocent teenagers on the cusp of adulthood – their whole lives still ahead of them! - had been a good place for a prime assassination target like herself to stay.

"Euphy?" Lukas questioned when she didn't speak for a full minute.

"I'm still here. I won't hang up until you do." She said. "Like always."

Lukas was quiet for a moment. "It wasn't your fault, Euphy. Don't take responsibility for something that was beyond your control."

"You shouldn't have been hurt because of me."

"I was your bodyguard, idiot. That was my job." Lukas scoffed. "Why'd you want to Knight me if you weren't prepared to have me die for you? Did you think it was just a fancy title?"

"No. But I hate that someone I care about was hurt trying to protect me." She answered. "I wasn't even hurt when I was the target."

"This is why I didn't tell you about my injuries. Give me a little of your respect, Euphy. I'm not just some bystander that got caught up in things. Yes, I was hurt trying to protect you. Yes, you got out of an assassination attempt unscathed. I am damned proud of that. It's because of me and my actions that that was the case. And now you're telling me that, what? You wish I hadn't been there? That you wish it had been you who had taken that blast instead? Think about how that makes me feel."

She flinched. She didn't think she'd ever made him angry before. Even when she'd stopped talking to him and told him to leave her alone. Even when she'd recklessly given herself up to the JLF despite his protests.

"I'm sorr-"

"Just listen to me." Lukas cut her off. "For once in your god damned life, actually listen to what I'm going to say to you, Euphy. And I'm very sorry for my tone, your highness, but I'm going to say this anyway. _Grow up, Euphy_. It's an unfortunate fact of life, but people die. _Soldiers_ die every day in Britannia and they generally do so willingly. Do you know why? It's because they've decided to fight for something."

"You weren't fighting. You were just attacked." She countered, feeling her own temper rise. He might be older than her, but she wasn't some stupid child.

"I was fighting to keep you safe. It's unfortunate, but battles are sometimes one sided."

"But you didn't decide to fight. You were just following orders. It's only because of Lelouch -"

"Why do you need to bring your brother into this? Do you think in that split second that I felt the heat traveling down the hall that I had time to even consider him? No. My only thought was if I should save myself or you. And you came out on top. Even shielding Shirley was nothing more than a last minute 'well, if I'm going to get burned anyway, I might as well save her too' reflex.

"You should be grateful instead of guilty. I won't lie, this hurts like a bitch. But if I could do it again, if I knew exactly what condition I'd be in, if I knew I might even lose my arm, I'd still react exactly the same. Lelouch's order to protect you doesn't have a damned thing to do with it."

She felt ashamed as fresh tears began streaming down her cheeks. How long had he been penting up this frustration as she'd repeatedly invalidated everything he'd done for her. "I'm so sorry, Lukas."

"That's not what I want to hear." He grumbled.

". . . Thank you." She said, even though the words made her insides squirm uncomfortably. She didn't understand how being hurt could be gratifying, but she was a princess and she understood that her world view was skewed. To a soldier like Lukas, however . . . "Thank you for saving me, Lukas."

He let out a contented sigh and for a while the line was quiet. It was quiet for so long that she was about to check if he'd fallen back to sleep. It had happened before. And she'd stayed curled up in bed with the phone pressed against her ear as she'd listened to his reassuringly steady breaths until a nurse had come in and found the line still connected and hung it up.

Then he made a surprised gasp and a pained grunt.

"Are you okay?" She asked immediately.

"I'm sorry." He said, voice strained. "The new painkillers they put me on seem to destroy my verbal filters. I shouldn't have said any of that. I'm sorry. I was out of line."

She laughed – actually laughed for the first time since . . . she almost couldn't remember – because after a dressing down like he'd just given her the first thing he could think of was to apologize for it.

"It's fine, Lukas. I'm just Euphy for you, remember. We're friends."

" . . . Yeah."

* * *

AN: To all of those who complained over the last year and a half for me to get a beta damn it, I have finally taken your advice on it. This chapter was beta'd for you by SplitIce. And even better is the fact that he has offered to go back and beta the whole freaking thing. That's right, the entirety of Dauntless from Chapter one to whatever godforsaken number this thing will eventually go up to, will soon be completely typo free. Hooray. *virtual marching band and confetti*. Thank you so much Split!

On another note, I may possibly have bronchitis. The reason this chapter came out so quickly was because I literally couldn't convince my body to move and it hurt my already massive headache to play the Old Republic due to the freakishly small text size on that game. Hopefully I'll begin to feel better, but if not I'll be going to the doctor tomorrow. :( So the moral of this story is that I wouldn't hold my breath for twice-per-week uploads if I were you.

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Don't forget to drop me a line to tell me what you thought.

OH! And I almost forgot, but there's another great fanart on deviantArt for Dauntless. It's of Abigail (a fan favorite) and can be found in laniessa's gallery. Or you can follow the link to it on my profile page. Check it out and don't forget to leave the artist a comment. :)

Allora


	80. Chapter 80: Wolves in Sheep's Clothing

Chapter 80: Wolves in Sheep's Clothing

Jeremiah was . . . anxious? Yes, he was anxious. Because nothing had been resolved between the prince and himself. In a true Lelouch fashion, the prince had left him hanging once again. It was like finding out he'd been the gunman in Shinjuku again. He had no idea what the boy was thinking and what the reaction to his magnificently embarrassing secret might be.

And now that Stadtfeld girl was after his head too. He knew Lelouch was interested in her. And he knew that the prince had invested a lot of time and money into keeping her contained, both before the Ashford bombing and since. She was valuable, just as the prince had said, because she was an Ace. And that was something he was not.

In terms of sheer value, she would probably be his choice. She was the better pilot, she could cause more damage. But she wasn't loyal to the prince, which was where he had her beat.

Still, Lelouch had always been interested primarily in skill. He'd let Elevens into the ATTF because they'd been able to compete with Britannians and had promptly disregarded the traditional hierarchical system of keeping the Numbers in the bottom ranks. There were Honorary Britannian officers in the ATTF. Not many, but there were still some there.

And maybe leaving him in a room with that red-headed bitch would seem like a good means of revenge for tarnishing the no doubt shining memory the boy had of his mother. Not that he'd let himself go down to her.

He'd been eighteen the first time he'd met Marianne vi Britannia. Eighteen and just graduated from the Imperial Colchester Institute, the most prestigious military academy in Britannia, at the top of his class. He'd been ready to make his mark on the world. He'd already been offered an officer's position in the army before his final exams had even been graded and he'd been in high spirits on that day.

The Empress had had the common courtesy to wait until the ceremony had finished (a fact that surprised him even to this day) before she'd approached him. At first he hadn't recognized her, shaking her hand like he had with all of the other well-wishers that had approached him in the gap between the graduation ceremony and the graduation dinner.

And then she'd introduced herself, grinning broadly as his expression had cycled quickly through embarrassment to shock to fear. He'd knelt immediately (because that was what you did when you were faced with royalty, never mind the fact that she'd been born to commoners) and had apologized profusely.

She'd laughed and said with a smile, "Good. Stay like that, Jeremiah Gottwald. And while you're down there, swear loyalty to me. If you do, I'll put you on my Royal Guard."

He hadn't had to even think about it. What was some low level officer's position in the army compared to serving royalty? It was nothing, that's what it was. So he'd done as she'd ordered, swearing life and loyalty to the Emperor's favorite Empress.

She'd grinned as she'd accept the oath, ordered him to rise and had nodded her head towards the door. "Come on, then." She'd said and turned away. It had become increasingly clear over the next few seconds that she'd gone to the graduation ceremony solely for the purpose of recruiting him. It turned out later that Marianne was friends with the man who had originally offered him a command in the army. They'd been talking about him and she'd decided to take him for herself instead of 'letting him go to waste in the army'.

While the rest of his graduating class had been drinking celebratory glasses of champagne and having their photos taken, he was being debriefed on just what his day to day responsibilities would be from the inside of the Empress' limo on the way to the Aeries Villa.

Of course he'd fallen in love with her. Of course he had! It would have been harder not to. She'd been perfect. She'd been beautiful, vivacious and charismatic with a sense of humor that had put the entire house in an uproar a few times. Not to mention she'd been a living legend. Marianne the Flash.

She'd been his role model, his idol and the living picture of what he deemed an ideal woman.

He'd have loved to have been with her. He'd have loved for her to have even looked at him as anything other than a subordinate. He would bet that half of the other men under her command had felt the same way. But she never had, and she never would have even if she hadn't been assassinated. Because she had always been one hundred percent loyal to the Emperor, both as his Knight and as his wife.

It had been a childish fascination. A young man's dream of possessing the one thing that he absolutely could not have. It would have never amounted to anything.

Even so, he'd never wanted Lelouch to find out about it.

In the beginning, he'd tried to swear loyalty to Lelouch for the sake of her memory and for the sake of the love he'd had for her. Because Marianne had changed his world. She'd charged into his life when he'd been about to go make something of himself, and had made him into what he was today. But as the months had passed, as certain things had come to light and as he'd gotten to know the young man he'd sworn himself to, it had become less and less about his mother and more about Lelouch himself.

When he'd first met the boy as a cheerful, if more than a little competitive, seven year old, the prince had paid him no heed. And why should he have? There were dozens of men who guarded the Aeries Villa and the Imperial Palace. Lelouch had grown up knowing that there was always someone within shouting distance that would protect him. The individuals themselves hadn't mattered so much as the existence of the Royal Guard itself.

So Jeremiah had known very little of the prince's character, even when he'd been knighted. But now he knew more. Lelouch was charismatic and genius. A brilliant tactician, whether he was applying those skills to military or political pursuits, and as multifaceted as any gem. He knew when to seem hard and when to seem like he was compromising in order to get what he wanted. He was generally steps ahead of his competition and when he wasn't he was able to adapt and plot quickly enough not to be left behind.

In short, he had all the qualities of a good emperor.

Jeremiah didn't know if what the prince had alluded to in front of the terrorists was the truth or had been a lie designed to make them sympathetic with him. Probably about half of what he'd said to them had lies. But if it was the truth, it was definitely a succession plot he supported.

The support he'd once had for Emperor Charles had quickly eroded upon learning certain truths. The man's utter lack of regard for his most loyal Knight and wife's children was unforgivable. That he hadn't sought to protect them during the invasion – that he'd exiled them at all – was the final nail in the coffin of his loyalty to the Emperor. That Mariannie's loyalty had been rewarded like this, even though it was commonly known that she'd regarded her children only second to His Majesty was a travesty.

Jeremiah would support Lelouch in whatever way he was able. But sometimes he wished he knew what the boy was thinking. He'd still follow orders regardless, but the next time he was called for a private meeting, he wanted to know if that terrorist girl was going to be on the other side of the door.

And he couldn't simply ask, because it wasn't his place. Lelouch had owned him from the start. His life belonged to the prince to dispose of as he pleased. That was the price of failing the prince before. The price of disobeying.

Lelouch sighed heavily, dropping the stack of papers he'd been perusing to pin his gaze on him. Jeremiah stood rooted to the spot, the tension even thicker since they were alone. Kururugi had been called to test the new Lionel frames since the Royal Guard was still on their mission in Osaka.

"I can read you like a book, Jeremiah." The prince said after a full minute of mute scrutiny.

He swallowed nervously, bowing his head so he could avert his gaze.

"And of course, you're absolutely right. This is a perfect opportunity to get rid of you. I can just stick you in a room with Kallen and let nature run it's course. Survival of the fittest and all. Especially now that I know what kind of a depraved bastard you are." Lelouch said evenly.

He grimaced, but said nothing.

"But then again, I knew how depraved you were when you put your gun in my hand and asked me to shoot you the first time we met." The prince continued after a moment. "Jeremiah, you're my Knight. If that doesn't make you invaluable to me, I don't know what does. Besides, my mother was a very loveable woman."

His head snapped up to stare at the boy incredulously. That was it? His transgressions were forgiven so easily?

"All that being said, if you had ever actually laid a hand on her things would be different. But then, if you'd actually laid a hand on her, your head probably wouldn't still be connected to your shoulders, an act that wouldn't have had anything to do with me, and you would never have had the opportunity to become my Knight. So, let's both be thankful for your restraint." Lelouch said.

"Of course, my prince." He said with a deep bow.

"It's _Lelouch_, Jeremiah. You don't know how much of your unease you give away by addressing me formally." The prince corrected.

He sighed, relief coursing through him. "Of course, Lelouch."

* * *

Cornelia stared down at the sleeping boy in front of her, the low afternoon sun filtering in through the curtains only accentuating the unhealthy flush on his cheeks. This was the boy that saved Euphy's life. This was the boy who had thrown himself on top of her to shield her from heat and broken shrapnel, knowing that he'd be taking the brunt of it himself. A split second decision that went against the human instinct to fight for his own survival.

It was to this broken soldier that she owed her sister's life.

She knew who he was, of course. Euphy had told her enough about him that she'd gotten tired of it. And quite honestly, she'd been less than impressed until now. Even after hearing testimony about how he'd stood against the terrorists at Kawaguchi in an attempt to stop them from taking her, she hadn't been impressed. Because they'd still taken her in the end anyway.

This was Corporal Hector Zimmerman's brother. And if he turned out to be even half the soldier his brother was, he would still be an asset. That was, of course, if he didn't lose his arm.

Euphy had called her last night and they'd talked for hours – something they probably hadn't done in years. It was partially because of Euphy that she'd come here. Her sister had wanted a visual confirmation of his condition. Just hearing it from the doctor hadn't given her an idea of what shape he was in. No, talking to the doctor had probably made the mental image she had of her pet soldier worse.

The other reason she'd come here was because she was a bit curious about him herself. She'd met him a few times as he'd escorted Euphy around and he'd always remained stiff and polite, if a bit distant. But what did she expect? He was one of Lelouch's. Apparently.

She frowned. That's right. He was one of Lelouch's. So why had she even come here? She could have sent anyone to come take a picture of him to send to Euphy. She didn't have to do it personally.

She raised her phone and took a picture of him with it.

The click of the photo being taken must have woken him, because his eyes snapped open and he stared at her blearily for a moment.

"Euph . . . no." He mumbled before his eyes widened in surprise and he scrambled into an upright position, smoking his injured hand off the side of the bed in the process. "Your highness." He hissed through his pain.

He looked like he was about to try to climb out of his bed so that he could give her a proper bow. Which was completely unnecessary. So she did what any sensible person would do and removed the thing that was agitating the patient – namely herself.

She did an about face and head for the door, not looking back even when the soldier let out a confused "Um?" behind her. She had better things to do than check on injured soldiers anyway.

She sent the photo to Euphy's phone as her driver took her to the Viceroy's Palace. She hadn't scheduled a meeting with her dear little brother, but he'd make time for her. She was his General after all and no, she wasn't pleased with the turn around. But this was probably also Schneizel's doing, not Lelouch's since he'd been surprised enough by her arrival that he'd initially tried to send her home. Either that or it was their father's way of telling her that she'd fallen out of favor.

Either way, it wasn't Lelouch's fault so she wasn't taking it out on him. Or she was trying very hard not to, but damn if he hadn't pissed the hell out of her with the stunt he'd pulled in Area Eighteen. Yes, she was still a little bitter about it. And she wasn't above petty revenges when she could get them, hence why she'd invited along the wife her brother had all but ignored.

But that didn't seem to have gone as planned since she'd heard the woman had rallied to her husband's side rather than releasing all hell in his house, especially after finding out about the mistress. From her last report, she'd gathered that Abigail had taken the nobility in hand in the wake of Kururugi's knighting and was well on her way to establishing a measure of control over them.

If she'd realized the girl could be so useful she would have probably left her back in Pendragon. It wouldn't have hurt Lelouch to feel the flames of discontent from the rich and powerful as a consequence to his actions. He might have even learned to think things through more thoroughly next time.

Though that seemed unlikely with all that she knew of Lelouch.

She sighed as she made her way through wide corridors of white marble and lively red painted walls, Guilford a steady presence at her back as always. Every few feet boasted another garish painting. Many had been painted by Clovis, but a few were expensive originals from other masters.

It wasn't to her taste.

None of this was to her taste. She hated having to return to court in Pendragon where she felt smothered by the luxury and the courtesies afforded to her. She'd rather have a dirty old canvas tent in a war zone any day. Her mother didn't understand and she wasn't quite even how she'd go about explaining it. She was just more comfortable in an environment that might be blown up at any moment, than she was in some fancy mansion.

So, really, this assignment was killing her. She went home every night to her lavish estate – one she'd only bought because it was expected of her to live in something befitting her station – and slept in a four-post bed that was made up every morning by a quiet, but efficient maid. She did office work. It felt like years since she'd even mounted her Knightmare. She hated everything about this assignment, and she hated most that there was no end in sight.

She hadn't been ordered here to replace Bartley until such and such an objective had been achieved, or until a certain date. It had been an open-ended order that spanned indefinitely. Eventually the Empire would go to war – either with China or the E.U. - and with luck her skills would be required for the conflict. But aside from that, she didn't foresee the end of her assignment here.

She would be stuck as Lelouch's underling until such a time that their father decided she was needed elsewhere. It was a galling thought, but she would endure as she always had. She wouldn't let a little forced humility break her.

It was with that thought that she squared her shoulders and entered her brother's office. He was waiting for her, hands nested on top of his desk as Gottwald stood at his shoulder. Security had obviously alerted him to her arrival. She didn't see Kururugi, but she wouldn't have put it past Lelouch to keep him out of sight due to her rather vocal disapproval of his knighting.

It didn't matter. They were siblings. They didn't need protectors with them for a meeting with family. She'd only brought Guilford along for the sake of propriety. She wasn't visiting Lelouch as his sister. She was visiting him as his General. It meant she wanted to talk business with him, not that she expected to need her Knight's protection.

"Viceroy." She said with a salute, unaccustomed with the gesture. There wasn't a soldier in Britannia that outranked her. Even Knights of the Round saluted her as they passed. But, while she hadn't been demoted, she was aware that she was in a subordinate position to her brother. It was nothing more than a courtesy, but one that she almost regret when she saw his lip twitch in wry amusement.

She would have glared at him, but her professionalism wouldn't allow it. Besides, she'd made him salute to her more than a few times in Area Eighteen and he'd always done so without looking too sullen about it.

"Chief General." He inclined his head to her, refusing to salute and acknowledge his own inferior rank. But at least he acknowledged hers. "I take it you had something you wanted to speak with me about."

"Yes, sir." She answered, trying her best to pretend that this wasn't her little brother she was talking to. If she pretended it was someone else, she could probably get through it without getting too angry.

"Please sit." Lelouch said, gesturing to the chair across from his desk. It was armless and hard – meant as a direct insult – but she sat in it anyway without comment. She supposed she couldn't fault him for getting a little petty revenge on her. After all, she had dragged his wife along for the sole purpose of making him miserable. And before that and had kept him in confinement for a day and half as she'd worked through her anger at his insubordination in Area Eighteen.

Besides, she'd sat on more uncomfortable chairs in her lifetime. If he thought it was going to faze her, he was going to be in for a surprise.

"So, what brings you? Speak." He ordered.

"The JLF." She answered immediately, watching as his eyebrow quirked up slightly in interest.

"What about them?" He asked. "Did you uncover some plot of theirs?"

As if. If she had, she would have seen to it that he hadn't heard a thing about it until she'd solved the problem. She didn't need him meddling in her military operations. She'd won more campaigns that he'd lived years.

"Surely you haven't forgotten that they took Euphy hostage." She said, unimpressed with his lack of vengeance. "I understand that you're busy dealing with the Kenshiki Faction, but you cannot let the JLF off on this. They threatened a member of the royal family. One of us. It cannot be allowed to go without punishment."

Lelouch stared at her for a long moment, violet eyes so much like their father's boring into her calmly as he considered his response. As a child, she'd always been jealous of Lelouch for his eyes. He was the only heir, prince or princess, to have inherited their father's eyes. She'd wished she'd had them for herself, so that the Emperor might favor her for being the most like him.

Obviously not that it had worked. Lelouch's resemblance to their father hadn't saved him from exile after Marianne had been killed. The Emperor hadn't even seemed concerned as he'd sent Lelouch and Nunnally away.

"Just what is it you're suggesting I do, Cornelia? Abandon my pursuits against the Kenshiki so I can hunt down the JLF instead? Or would you have me step back from the military completely and have others lead my campaigns when I know I can do better myself?" He asked sharply.

"Don't be so defensive." She protested. "Continue your vendetta against the Kenshiki. Raze them to the ground."

She knew Lelouch already had some great plan in the works. Her spies inside of the Osaka garrison had told her they'd seen Hector Zimmerman on the prowl there. The only reason for him to be so far from his master was if Lelouch had given him some kind of mission. And with the caliber of soldier that she knew he was, it had to be something important.

In all honestly, she'd been considering Zimmerman for her own Royal Guard before Lelouch had resurfaced. He was an excellent soldier, inventive when he needed to be, but still followed orders well. She'd given him his command for the sake of giving him more experience before she inducted him into her Royal Guard.

Lelouch's accusation when she'd arrived here about her hoping Zimmerman's squad would babysit him wasn't so far off the mark. She'd wanted Lelouch protected, so she'd put him in with some of her best, without trying to make him feel stifled or like she was spying on him by placing him with her own Guard.

She hadn't expected him to win them over. Especially not all of them. It took months, sometimes even years for a commander to completely win over his subordinate's loyalty. She'd thought she'd put Lelouch in with them until his tour ended, or the invasion, then they'd part ways. She hadn't thought he'd get an oath out of them, even to the point of deserting their posts to go to him.

It had been another painful blow to her already damaged ego.

"But give me leave to pursue the JLF. I will not allow them to get away with what they did to Euphy." She continued firmly.

She'd let her investigation into the JLF consume her for the last few weeks since they'd taken Euphy hostage. She'd pulled up every scrap of information she could on the JLF, from suspected personnel lists to records of their activities for the last seven years. She'd sifted through it all. She was more than ready to begin hunting them down and exacting her revenge.

All she needed was the go ahead from Lelouch. She couldn't move his armies without his approval, even if she was the Chief General of Britannia. Lelouch had supreme authority in Area Eleven. His word was law and even if she outranked him, her status only really counted in an active war zone or if they were back in Britannia. There he would just be another provincial governor. Here, he was a king.

He considered it for a long moment, leaning back in his seat as he slowly tapped his fingers against the arm of his chair. He was probably weighing the pros versus cons in giving her the opportunity to redeem her shattered reputation. If she could put an end to the JLF, the better equipped and better organized foe, before he could put down the Kenshiki, she'd be laughing. She'd be able to show everyone that Lelouch's uncanny victory in Area Eighteen (and even she didn't know how he'd done it) had been nothing more than a fluke.

"Fine." He said eventually. "Dismantle the JLF, but keep their leaders alive for the time being. They'll make for powerful tools later."

She frowned at him, not bothering to cover her confusion. Leaving them alive would only serve to incite the Elevens. The leaders would be beacons to the people for dissent. Surely he didn't intend to keep them alive indefinitely? No, that was imprudent. And if her brother was anything, it was prudent. He'd probably keep them alive long enough to interrogate them, then have them publicly executed. It's what she would have done, barring having them killed in the field.

"It will be done." She promised with another stiff salute as she raised from her chair.

She had the disconcerting sensation of his gaze following her as she made her way to the door. He let her get as far as the door before he spoke again.

"You _will_ keep me informed, won't you, Cornelia? I'm not, after all, giving you free reign to do whatever you want with my military."

She paused on the threshold and convinced herself not to glare at him. If he wanted progress reports, fine. She'd give them to him, just so long as she got to bring the dogs that had threatened her sister down. Lelouch would take care of the bastards that had tried to assassinate Euphy at school and she'd take care of the ones that had taken her hostage.

"Of course, Lelouch. Whatever you want, my brother." She said over her shoulder, turning just far enough to see him watching her with narrowed eyes.

* * *

Suzaku was tired. It had been a long day. He'd almost forgotten how much of a taskmaster Lloyd was. And this time there wasn't just one Knightmare that needed testing. Since the Royal Guard was still in Osaka, he'd been left to calibrate all of their machines to Lloyd's exacting standards.

So he was tired and it probably wasn't a good time to seek Lelouch out for that fact alone. But he hadn't been able to speak to Lelouch that morning, or the night before and it had been gnawing at him all day.

"Lelouch." He said, finding the prince staring pensively at a chessboard. He held up a hand for a moment to not disturb him before moving a piece across the board and gesturing to his opponent to go. Gottwald seemed curious about the disruption, but not curious enough to take his eyes off the game. He'd need all his concentration just not to embarrass himself while playing Lelouch.

"What do you need, Suzaku?"

"Can I talk with you?" He asked then nodded towards the older Knight. "Alone?"

Lelouch frowned but dutifully stood up and head for the door to the adjoining room, gesturing for Suzaku to follow. "I'll be back, Jeremiah. Don't cheat." He called over his shoulder.

Suzaku followed him and closed the door firmly behind him.

"So, what's wrong?" Lelouch asked. "Something with those Lionel frames?"

"Was it really true what you said to Kallen? About going against the Emperor?" He asked. It hadn't completely felt like a lie at the time, though it was difficult to tell with Lelouch. About half of what he'd told the terrorists had been lies and this could have just been another in the bunch. Except . . . except he couldn't forget Lelouch swearing to him that he'd one day destroy his homeland. He couldn't put it past Lelouch.

The concerned expression slipped off Lelouch's face, replaced instead with a guarded mask. By that change alone he knew it had to be true. Lelouch would really try to take the throne. And that would be impossible to do without disposing of the Emperor. Just taking the man prisoner wouldn't work. The man would really have to die.

"Why are you asking?"

"Why?" Suzaku asked incredulously. "Not even a week ago you found out what I did to my father and now I find out your planning the same thing? _Don't do it, Lelouch._ It will hurt you in ways you won't even understand."

Lelouch snorted mirthlessly, but his gaze became less guarded and more sympathetic. "Suzaku, your father was a wonderful man. My father is no such thing. In fact, I've never considered the Emperor as a father. I've hated him for years. At times, only the thought of finally putting an end to the bastard has gotten me through. I'm not going to be hurt by finally getting my revenge."

"You keep thinking that, Lelouch." He said dismissively. But Lelouch wouldn't see that he was right until it was too late. "And what about if you fail? Have you even considered that? You're going against the man who controls the Empire. He's not just going to clap you on the back and shake his head saying "Boys will be boys." if you mess up. It's treason, Lelouch, and you'll drag everyone under your command down with you. From me, to Edith, to the lowest peon in your army. We'll all be killed for treason."

"I know the stakes, Suzaku. I know them better than anyone." Lelouch snapped, a sliver of anger escaping his control. "I've done nothing without thinking it through. I know there will be collateral damage if I fail, which is precisely why I'm determined to succeed."

"You're gambling with people's lives."

"Yes, but with no intention of losing." Lelouch nodded, before adding bitterly. "Of course, if you can't accept that you could always maintain your cover as a good and loyal servant of an Empire that despises you and run off to the Emperor to tattle on me. If you're lucky, he might even reward you. Maybe even make you the Knight of One. Who knows? It's worth a shot, right?"

Suzaku glared because he knew that was really the only other option he had. Either he shut up about his misgivings and followed Lelouch to help him kill his father, or he ratted Lelouch out to the Emperor and watched his best friend subsequently executed. He couldn't just back out quietly, he was far too well known for that now.

But why would he? Why would he turn on Lelouch for the sake of a man he secretly hated? The Emperor had destroyed his life, he'd declared war on Japan and sanctioneds the slaughter of thousands during the invasion. It wasn't that he wanted to protect the man or that he didn't think the Emperor would deserve it if he was killed, it was just that he didn't want Lelouch to be the one to do it. He didn't want Lelouch to be hurt the same way he had been.

He was still angry with the way Lelouch simply brushed away his concerns and by the way Lelouch had thrown his earlier ambition in his face. But Lelouch was his best friend. Lelouch was the one who had found out about his sin and promised that nothing would change – a promise he had kept thus far. Lelouch treated him the same as he always had and for that and for friendship and for oaths that he'd sworn. . . No, he'd never betray Lelouch. Not to anyone. Not for any reason.

"I'm still your Knight." He growled.

The tension left Lelouch's frame as he glanced away and down. Then the prince sighed. "It's my only viable way out, Suzaku. I will have my revenge. And I will put Schneizel on the throne. Then, I'll disappear. My brother won't stop me from leaving and I'll be able to be with Nunnally again."

Suzaku paused, unsure what to say, not that Lelouch really gave him the chance. The prince turned and was out the garden door before Suzaku could come up with an adequate response.

For Nunnally. Of course Lelouch had a plan that would reunite him with Nunnally. He wouldn't leave her hanging like she was, cooped up and out of sight, forever. And it was only then that he realized what else Lelouch had let slip – that the oaths Suzaku had sworn were only temporary. Eventually Lelouch would disappear. He'd probably fake his own death again then take Nunnally and disappear some place where no one would be able to find him.

Suzaku would be left behind. Again.

He almost didn't hear the door opening behind him, but he felt the full force of the glare being leveled at his back. He turned to face Lord Gottwald, feeling his irritation carry over from his last conversation.

"Eavesdropping, Lord Gottwald? Hardly becoming for a Knight."

The glare didn't leave Gottwald's face as he threateningly took a step into the room and grabbed Suzaku by his collar. "If you ever let the prince doubt your loyalty again, I'll put you down so fast you won't even know what hit you."

It was hardly the first time Gottwald had ever grabbed him like this. And it was hardly the first time the man had threatened him either. But he was not in the mood for it today. He shed the skin of the docile subordinate soldier as easily as he would a coat, leaving to bare the monster he really was.

"You will do as the prince orders." Suzaku said darkly, grabbing the man's wrist and twisting it back painfully enough to make Gottwald grimace. "And nothing more, Lord Gottwald. Taking justice into your own hands won you nothing the last time you tried to kill me. I'd have thought you'd learned that lesson."

He jerked away from Gottwald and quickly left the room, already regretting that he'd stood up to the man. He should have just let it be. He should have just let the older Knight preen like the peacock he was and throw his weight around a bit. He should have held his tongue instead of aggravating the man further by poking at an old wound.

Suzaku usually kept himself under a tight rein of control. He didn't let people see what was beneath the facade. He supposed that was where he differed from Lelouch. They were both monsters inside, wolves in sheep's clothing. The only difference was that Lelouch wasn't afraid to let his disguise drop and let the world behold what he was truly capable of in all his terrible majesty.

* * *

Ohgi was still reeling by the fact that he was alive. He'd walked into the lion's den – come face to face with Prince Lelouch - and come out of it intact. Not on top though. He hadn't gained anything. Kallen was still in the prince's clutches and, worse, he'd sold out Jin.

It was only because Kallen was still being detained that he hadn't called up his childhood friend already to tell him not to show. And even still he was tempted. If they were smart about it, if they were quick and precise and didn't make any overt moves towards the prince, they might be able to take Kallen back. Though that would require Jin's help, and the honest truth was that he was afraid to face him.

He knew he probably wouldn't be the most cooperative if it had been him that had been held out in offering to the bloodthirsty prince in exchange for Kallen. Well . . . maybe if he'd known it was in exchange for Kallen. But he knew pretty damn well that Jin wasn't going to laugh and let it slide. Which was probably why Kallen had offered to take the brunt of the blow by asking to accompany the prince.

Whether or not that would actually happen was anyone's guess.

"Hey!" Tamaki said as he opened the door to the apartment, a few envelopes tucked under his arm. Naoto had kept a post office box in the Settlement, a place where informants could send information, and Tamaki had gone to check it. He tossed one of the envelopes towards Ohgi, looking anxious as he did so.

They had one spy in the Tokyo Base. The guy was half Britannian, and had apparently gone to high school with Naoto before going the military route. He worked in one of the administration offices and occasionally came across interesting information. However, ninety percent of the time, that information came after the fact. He was useful for knowing what was going on, but never helpful in giving information that would be useful for an upcoming mission.

Ohgi ripped open the envelope, sliding out the single piece of paper inside. The letter was handwritten, in quick scrawled kanji, but it was still legible.

_O,_

_ Haven't heard from you for a while. Sorry I only have bad news. If I'd known about it earlier, I'd have tried to get her out. Kallen Kouzuki was executed this morning. The record came across my desk for filing or I might not have heard about it at all. It was kept pretty hush hush, not sure what that means though. Usually they'd have made her into a spectacle. _

_ I'm sorry. At least she's with her brother now._

_ H._

He sat numb for a minute, the letter hanging between limp fingers as he stared at the coffee table. He'd lied. That bastard prince had lied.

Of course, he should have seen it coming. He should have known. The prince had said it himself. He was _only_ after information. There was no need to keep Kallen alive after he'd gotten what he wanted. No need to keep any of them alive. In fact, it would have been smarter to kill them all.

Because he would be damned if he let Jin get caught up in all of this now that Kallen was gone.

He'd deliberately scheduled the meeting with Jin after Kallen's scheduled execution date in an attempt to prevent this very thing from happening. But it seemed his efforts had been in vain.

It had been stupid to trust. Stupid to hope that the kid that had revitalized Shinjuku wasn't actually all bad. No doubt the prince had had a purpose behind that too. And he should have known that the prince was just talking – telling them what they wanted to hear in the hope of recruiting him. Of course Kallen would have taken the bait if the prince implied he was going to direct his evil genius at the Emperor next. Of course she would have.

He was no better. He'd also fallen for it. But what kind of kid dreams about killing their own father? About actually doing it, coldly calculating it in detail and recruiting allies rather than saying they would in a fit of anger? Of course not. The Emperor was the one that had made Prince Lelouch Viceroy in the first place.

The Emperor had lavished Prince Lelouch with gifts and authority. The prince was probably grateful, not plotting against the man.

He'd gotten Kallen killed. It was his fault. He was the leader. He was supposed to see these kinds of traps and avoid them instead of walking straight in. He'd have probably gotten Jin killed too if it hadn't been for this letter.

But the prince wouldn't have his way this time. He'd phone Jin, tell him not to show to the meeting and then he'd disappear. Obviously, this apartment was no longer safe. Neither was his vehicle. But that was fine. He could always find somewhere else to go. He could disappear into the masses without leaving a trace. He could crash with friends and allies, or he could leave Tokyo completely.

Jin would probably have to run too, but it was better to be on the run than dead.

He just needed to work up his courage first. It was probably better that he was going to do this over the phone. Jin was going to be pissed.

"What's it say?" Tamaki asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Kallen's dead." He answered; surprised that he was able to keep his voice even. Kallen, who he was supposed to be protecting, was dead. He was pretty much worthless as a human being. Couldn't even protect the one person he'd promised he would.

For once, Tamaki remained quiet, hand coming up to rub across his face. "Ah, fuck." He grumbled under his breath.

The silence that followed, that horrible moment when neither of them knew what else they could possibly say, dragged on. It was only interrupted when Ohgi's phone began ringing full minutes later. He didn't want to answer it. He didn't want to deal with anything else right now, but his duty as leader (and he'd done a bang up job of leading so far) urged him to force himself off the couch and find the phone.

He dropped the letter on the coffee table and went to find the device, picking it up while watching Tamaki move in to examine the letter for himself.

He didn't say anything when he answered, not in the mood to pretend he was glad to hear from whoever had interrupted their mourning silence.

". . . Ohgi?"

Ohgi swallowed hard, clearing the lump in his throat as he tried to quiet the sudden pounding of his heart in his ears. He was hearing things. He had to be hearing things. But just in case he wasn't . . .

". . . Kallen?" He asked uncertainly, watching Tamaki straighten up suddenly.

"Who else would it be? What was with the creepy phone answer?"

"You're not dead." He said, letting relief flood his system.

"Well, according to Lelouch, I am dead. But in the literal sense of the word, no. Apparently my name is Kallen Wallbridge now – stupid name. My parents were killed in the Osaka Subway Bombings." She explained.

So then, the prince had really followed through when he'd said he'd give her a new identity. Though, of course, that too served the prince's agenda.

"You realize that's a perfect cover story for someone out to fight the Kenshiki Faction, right?" He asked. An orphaned girl who had had everything stolen away from her by the Kenshiki Faction's massacre in the subways.

"I know." She said softly.

"You said you wouldn't fight the Japanese." Ohgi reminded her.

"I also said that I wanted Saito dead. I'm sure the prince took that into account."

"Kallen . . ." He said warningly.

"They blew up my school, Ohgi!" She snapped. "They killed my classmates. People I knew. People who weren't involved in the struggle for Japan's freedom or the oppression of the Japanese. They were just normal girls. And how many hundred other people have they killed that have been just as innocent and just as uninvolved?"

"Yes, it's terrible. But that's not a reason to throw your hat in with the Viceroy. If you fight for him once, he'll make you fight for him again. You know he will. You'll end up fighting us or the JLF or whoever he goes against next." He tried to explain.

Ohgi may not hate the prince, but that didn't mean he trusted him. The boy was manipulative and charismatic in a way that made you feel you'd gotten the best bargain until you reconsidered the conversation afterward. He would easily be able to manipulate Kallen into doing whatever it was he wanted.

Kallen laughed bitterly. "No, I won't. I'll tell him to go to hell if he tries."

Ohgi sighed, shoulders slumping as he leaned against the kitchen table. "I don't even understand you anymore. I don't understand how you can willingly join hands with a Britannian prince."

"He would have killed you if I hadn't." She said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "He would have killed you and Tamaki and probably Jin too. And even then he wouldn't have let me go. He probably would have killed me too. Better to be alive and of use to him for now, than dead and unable to accomplish anything. Especially if he really is planning to take the throne. If I can -"

"Kallen, don't talk about that over the phone." He interrupted. He had no idea who might be listening to this conversation. If she'd been given a phone, it was probably being monitored.

"You're right. Sorry."

"Where are you? I want to talk to you in person." He finally sighed. Maybe then, he could make her see sense.

The line was quiet for a long time before she finally sighed. "I can't tell you."

It did nothing to put him at ease.

"Are you still in that prison?" He demanded.

"No. I was given a house. It's not up to Stadtfeld standards, but it's nice."

"Where is it?" He demanded.

"I was told that you'd be shot on sight if you approached the house. So . . . I won't tell you." She answered.

Ohgi sighed heavily. She was doing far too much protecting of him than was necessary. In fact, her actions were putting him to shame. He was the one who was supposed to be protecting her. Not the other way around.

"Fine." He sighed.

She wouldn't budge now that she'd made up her mind anyway. Apparently she'd grown past the point of needing his advice. He hadn't been trying to fill the void that Naoto had left in her life for long, but he'd become accustomed to thinking of her like a sister. That she was pulling away from him now kind of hurt.

* * *

AN: I've been trying to upload this all day, but the site wouldn't let me log in. Glad it's finally up and running again. Hopefully the review feature will work too, since I wasn't able to review a story earlier today either.

Anyway, here is the big 80. Starting with this chapter (well actually, I'll do the last chapter too) I will now be implementing chapter titles. This way, you'll be able to track which chapters have been beta'd and which haven't. I have begun the massive revising project I started with SplitIce, but it's still slow going. Thus far I only have four chapters up (ie. the one's with titles). So . . . 75 more to go. T.T

Also, as I had a dream last night in which Lelouch was a Sith lord, I think it's safe to assume that Dauntless is still one of the big obsessions in my life. Lol. At least my subconscious is entertaining.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don't forget to leave me a review.

Allora

Edit: Oops, I forgot to turn off the track changes feature before I copied this chapter into ff so for a while you were seeing both my mistakes and the corrections right next to each other. That's hopefully all fixed now. I hope I didn't miss anything. Well, live and learn.


	81. Chapter 81: Off On the Wrong Foot

Chapter 81: Off On the Wrong Foot

Kallen was already getting used to living on her own. It wasn't something she'd ever experienced before – even at Naoto's there had always been people around to take care of her or for her to take care of. But it was kind of nice. She ate when she wanted to, slept when she wanted to and did whatever she wanted to. There was no one here to tell her how she was supposed to behave. She'd been given a new name, but hadn't been told how 'Kallen Wallbridge' acted or who she was. It was kind of liberating being able to just be herself.

Of course, all of that didn't mean that she wasn't bored out of tree. You could only spend so many hours indoors without going a little stir crazy. And considering that before this she'd spent almost a week in prison, she was well overdue for a bit of fresh air.

Not that her guards seemed to agree with her.

She'd made a single attempt at convincing them to go for a walk with her. Just _something_ to go stretch her legs a bit and get out of the house. They hadn't seemed amused and had promptly ordered her back into the house. And then had promptly activated a lock on the door from the outside in order to keep her in.

That, in addition to the fact that the windows had alarms on them and the charming gps tracker they'd affixed to her ankle her first night there, meant that she wasn't going anywhere.

So she was surprised on Sunday when she went down, almost starved for human interaction that didn't involve her guards, to greet whoever was supposed to be bringing her groceries to find Suzaku Kururugi in her living room instead.

They eyed each other warily, like opposing predators that had stumbled into each other's territory. But it was Kururugi who broke their gaze first, choosing instead to inspect the room around him with an expression that screamed disapproval.

"Can I help you?" She asked venomously.

"Are you ready to go?" He asked.

Go? Right, the meeting with Jin. They were really going to let her come? She had deliberately not gotten her hopes up about it so that she wouldn't be too angry when they ignored her request.

She glanced down at herself. She was dressed and her hair was done (which was better than yesterday, when she'd spent the entire day in her pajamas). Whatever. It was good enough to meet Jin. And it wasn't like she was going to dress up for the prince and his Knight, even though she felt almost painfully under dressed just standing in the same room as Kururugi in his gaudy uniform.

"Yes." She said quickly before they could change their minds.

"Then come on." He said, gesturing towards the door.

She nodded and head for the door, thoroughly uncomfortable with the way he fell in behind her. She couldn't see him which meant she couldn't see if he was about to attack her. Though she supposed that was the reason why he wasn't leading. A Knight wouldn't show his back to an enemy and Kururugi had made it pretty clear by his actions that even if Lelouch decided to have her around, he still considered her an enemy. Just one that had been leashed.

She grated a bit at the thought. She'd jumped on the first chance she'd found to ensure that Ohgi and Tamaki would get out of there alive. In retrospect, she'd played right into the prince's hands, but there was nothing she could do about it now. And the fact that he was keeping his word so far meant that she really was valuable to him. He really did need her for something.

She led the way outside, smothering her surprise when both of her watchdogs stiffened to attention and saluted to Kururugi. She knew that he outranked them, but she didn't think they'd salute him like this. He was still Japanese and they were both full blooded Britannians, but neither of them seemed too put out by it. It was a pity. She was kind of wishing they'd have choked on having to show their respect to a Number just to watch them get a good dressing down.

She reached the sleek, black limo that was parked in front of her house and reached for the door, only to find that Kururugi already had a hand on it and was opening it for her. Whether he was trying to be gentlemanly, or whether he was just trying to herd her into the vehicle faster, she resented the action either way. She wasn't a lady of refinement anymore. Lelouch and Lady Stadtfeld had made sure of it when they'd buried Kallen Stadtfeld (though to be fair that hadn't actually happened yet as her funeral was tomorrow).

Lelouch was waiting inside, staring out of the opposite window. He was dressed in a suit, as always. In fact, by now it was almost hard for her to think of him dressed in anything but formal clothes. She was sure she'd probably seen him on campus sometime dressed normally, but she really couldn't picture it now. He was every inch a prince. The classmate that had once been her rival for most absences was long since gone.

"Good morning, Kallen." He said, nodding his head to her in greeting.

She pursed her lips for a moment and thought about saying something along the lines of how it would be a much better morning if he dismissed the goons he'd ordered to supervise her, but then thought better of it. He was being civil, if not downright polite, and he was even keeping his end of the bargain. She didn't really have a cause to complain.

So she nodded back to him. "Good morning . . ." she said, and thought about addressing him formally. But if she started that now, he'd probably expect her to keep it up. And she would be damned if she had to tack on a 'your highness' at the end of every sentence from now on. "Lelouch."

Laying across the same seat at the prince was that woman referred to as C.C., her feet carelessly resting in Lelouch's lap as she watched the exchange with cat-like curiosity. She still didn't know what purpose the woman served or what her position was within Lelouch's entourage.

What she did know was that even Kururugi was wary of her. So she had to be way up there in terms of position. Which made her way up there in terms of threat as well. She nodded her head mutely to the woman, who smirked in amusement, but said nothing.

Kururugi slid in next to her, closing the door before tapping on the partition behind them to let the driver know it was safe to go.

There was silence for about a minute before Lelouch glanced at her. "Did you want something to drink, Kallen?" He asked, gesturing towards the refrigerator built into the wall beside him.

She shook her head slightly, wondering what the chances were that he'd poisoned whatever it was he was trying to offer her. But that did seem like an awful lot of work and subterfuge when he could just have had her executed.

"Suzaku?" Lelouch questioned.

"I'm fine. But thank you." Kururugi said, slightly emphasizing the last part before sending her a disapproving look for her manners.

"I'll have a juice." C.C. said, even though she hadn't been offered anything.

Lelouch sent her a dirty look, but dutifully retrieved a bottle of orange juice for her, along with a bottle of water for himself. C.C. smirked triumphantly as Lelouch tried to ignore her, even despite the way her legs were possessively draped over him.

It was bizarre watching the exchange. She felt like she was missing something. But it was also bizarre how almost normal Lelouch seemed right now. It was the first time since his impromptu visit to the Student Council room after he'd been shot that she'd seen him act like just a normal person. He seemed almost just like the teenaged boy he was right now, rather than the Viceroy of her country. He wasn't trying to come off as imposing and authoritative. They were just travelling in a car together.

It bothered her more than she'd like to admit.

* * *

Lelouch was slightly nervous about this upcoming meeting. He hadn't been able to govern the location, which meant he was going to be operating in unfamiliar territory. There were a lot of things that could go wrong, the most likely of which being that they would be shot. He and Suzaku would probably die and then C.C. would put herself back together and, hopefully, avenge him. But all the same, he'd rather not be shot again.

He also hadn't been able to designate the number of people this Jin Nakata was allowed to bring with him. It was very likely that they would be outnumbered and his Geass would only be able to reach so many of them in the case of an emergency. So it was likely that even Geass would be ineffective in keeping him completely safe.

For that reason, he'd brought with him a veritable stack of cash, carefully ensconced in a large duffel bag. They were unmarked and the bag wasn't bugged. It really was a genuine payment, though as much for the guarantee of his protection as for the information he was hoping to get out of the man.

They drove for a while, winding in and out of busy thoroughfares and residential areas until they were certain they weren't being followed by anyone. Then they went to their intended destination, a shady little warehouse just off of the wharf in one of Tokyo's busiest ports.

He'd had Jeremiah do some preliminary scouting of the area, but this was the first time he was seeing it for himself. He very nearly ordered the car to turn around. If there was ever a movie in which the stereotypical bad guy had a hideout along the wharf, this was probably used as the inspiration for the set. It looked shady, in every sense of the word.

But nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Surprisingly enough, Kallen seemed to have grown more relaxed at the prospect of going in there. He wasn't sure if that should make him more calm or more wary. She ought to know this wasn't a chance for her to escape. She'd been outfitted with a GPS anklet that housed a small explosive to prevent tampering. If she tried to remove it, she probably wouldn't be permanently crippled, but she definitely wouldn't be walking for a few weeks.

He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep, slow breath, refusing to show his nerves as the car pulled into the warehouse and light was extinguished within the cab. For a moment, no one moved, then Lelouch gestured towards Kallen to exit the vehicle first. C.C. followed, hauling up the duffel bag that had been sitting where her feet should have been as she went.

Suzaku gave him one last questioning glance, but had to know by now that he wouldn't change his mind. He rarely did once he'd decided on something. Lelouch followed him out of the car, standing behind the full array of his protectors as he cautiously examined the man seated on a wooden packing crate nearby.

"Jin. . ." Kallen said, sounding regretful and wary.

Jin Nakata was in his mid to late twenties with shoulder length black hair pulled back into a tie at the nape of his neck and shrewd, calculating black eyes. Lelouch had had the OSI run some research on him and he'd found that the man was an illegal arms dealer with more than a few warrants out for his arrest, though most of those charges came from the Chinese Federation.

Jin snorted mirthlessly. "I knew it was something like this. He's never sent buyers my way before."

"It's not -" Kallen began.

"Where's Ohgi?" The arms dealer demanded sharply, eyes boring into Lelouch.

"At home, I would assume." Lelouch answered.

There was another long minute of silence before Kallen spoke up.

"It was my fault."

"You know, Kouzuki-chan, this isn't what I meant when I teased you about embracing your Britannian side." The man said, finally taking his eyes off Lelouch long enough to glare at Kallen instead.

"I know."

"Were you captured?"

"Yes." She answered.

For a moment, Jin didn't move, clearly considering his options. Then he held up a device on display. "This is a B5-05 wireless detonator. I figured this was a trap, but I also thought you had Ohgi. This entire place is rigged to explode and I promise you, I can kill you all well before the squad of Knightmares you have hidden away down the street ever reaches you. Let Kallen go."

Lelouch glared at him before glancing away, dismissive of the threat. "And send away the only thing staying your hand? I think not. Besides, she's the one that wanted to come here. Kallen and I have made an agreement."

"An agreement, huh?" Jin asked darkly. "And what exactly does this agreement entail? Selling out all of her accomplices to the Britannians in return for a fresh start? I read your obituary in the paper, Kouzuki-chan. It was a real tearjerker."

"That was part of the agreement, though you are the only accomplice of her's that I'm currently interested in." Lelouch answered.

"And why might that be? I'd have thought that I was too small of a fish for you to come fry personally." The arms dealer asked.

"You have information I'm interested in." Lelouch answered plainly.

Lelouch kind of liked this man. Even in the face of a potential KMF strike, he'd yet to show his nerves. Lelouch wouldn't be able to cow him into submission. Jin Nakata wasn't the kind of person that could be easily controlled, especially not by the threat of violence. He'd blow them all up before he gave Lelouch uncontested control. Really, the only thing Lelouch had going for him in this situation was that the terrorist didn't seem too keen on committing suicide just to take him out.

Lelouch was in a tenuous position, but like Jin, he wasn't the type to cower at a threat to his life. It was best to treat the man as an equal, rather than a pawn that would just be used. It was a distinction that the man would probably pick up on.

"I don't deal in information." Jin said fearlessly.

"Make an exception." Lelouch said, nodding towards C.C.. She obeyed the silent cue, stepping into the no-mans-land between them to set down the duffel bag and zip it open to show off the contents.

Jin let out a low whistle as he surveyed the contents of the bag from his perch on the packing crate, detonator still in hand. "You know, I think I saw a movie like this once. There's a bomb in the bottom, right?" He asked. "Of course only a prince could afford to blow up that much money."

He chuckled and let a smirk creep across his face. "There's no bomb. Nor a tracking chip and the bills aren't even marked. I even got you bills small enough that you shouldn't have much of a problem spending them."

"How thoughtful of you." Jin countered glibly.

"I try."

There was a long moment of silence as the arms dealer glanced at the money, then at Lelouch, then at Kallen, silently debating on whether or not to take the bait. Finally the man's gaze rested on Suzaku. "Kururugi . . . sama, I have a question for you."

Suzaku stiffened and glared. "Then ask me."

"Why did you become his Knight?" Jin asked. "I'm not going to jump down your throat about turning traitor. I understand it. Or at least I understand the theory behind it. 'The Honorary Britannian System; a chance at a better life' in theory at least. What I want to know is why you chose to subjugate yourself to that prince in particular. Was it just the money and prestige? Or was there something about Prince Lelouch that that made you want to serve as his meat shield? Assuming you were given a choice, of course."

"I chose Lelouch." Suzaku said immediately, narrowing his glare. "It had nothing to do with prestige or money."

"So tell me why." Jin prodded. "You were supposed to be our hero, you know? I want to know why you chose this Britannian over Japan."

"Because terrorism isn't ever going to solve anything. Britannia won't submit just because you bomb their buildings and kill their people. All it's ever going to do is make more people miserable and I can't stand watching innocent Japanese die because Britannia feels like it has to crack down on Area Eleven to solve the terrorist threat.

"We have to learn how to work with the Britannian establishment because it's not going anywhere. Britannia has too firm of a foothold here for it to be removed, especially not by petty terrorism." Suzaku explained firmly.

"And the prince? You haven't said anything about him? It's all the Britannian establishment this or Britannia in general that. You say you condemn terrorism when your master is nothing more than a terrorist himself. He's certainly killed as many innocent people as any terrorist cell if you consider Area Eighteen and the Shinjuku massacre." Jin accused.

"He isn't -" Suzaku cut off the heated outburst before it could gain momentum and grit his teeth for a moment.

Surprisingly, it was Kallen that came to his defence. "Lelouch wasn't responsible for the Shinjuku massacre. That was Clovis." She explained somewhat reluctantly, as though the thought of vindicating him left a bad taste in her mouth.

Jin quirked an eyebrow in interest, but didn't comment, still intent on grilling Suzaku. "Well?"

"Lelouch may not be perfect, but he's not a terrorist. He doesn't target civilians to get at his enemies and protects them when he can. If you want to know why I follow Lelouch – why I chose to become his Knight – it's because I trust him. I've known him since we were kids and he's promised -" Suzaku hesitated, glancing at Lelouch as though for permission.

Lelouch shrugged. Revealing his agreement with Suzaku wouldn't hurt their position in this negotiation, though it was interesting that even this man was looking to Suzaku as a role model of Japan.

"He's promised me he'll . . . revive Japan and begin turning power back over to the Japanese within the constructs of the Britannian Empire." Suzaku finished.

"What?" Kallen demanded incredulously, though Lelouch ignored her in favour of watching the arms dealer's reaction. Suzaku's favour was still the best reference he could have when dealing with the Japanese.

"And you believe him? You really trust him?" Jin demanded.

"With my life." Suzaku answered immediately.

It was heartwarming to know that even despite Suzaku's misgivings, that hadn't changed. It felt like they'd been arguing more than being friendly lately, but Suzaku's faith in him hadn't been shaken. It was good, because Lelouch's intention of following through on his promise to Suzaku had never changed. He would do everything Suzaku had just said or he would die trying if only so that his friend could keep his faith in him.

Jin was quiet for a moment before turning his attention back to Lelouch. "So let's say that I hypothetically take the bait. What then?"

"Then I ask you to kindly put that detonator down and we can talk business like two civilized gentlemen able to mutually benefit from dealing together." Lelouch answered.

Jin rubbed a hand across his face as he considered his options before nodding slightly. "Okay. I'll bite. This isn't really my style, anyway. God damned idealistic Kouzukis rubbing off on me." He said, setting the detonator down on the crate beside him. It was still within arm's reach, but Lelouch would let him have that assurance. Then he reached behind him and pulled out a pistol. Suzaku was moving almost before Lelouch recognized the object, stepping between them and forward in an attempt to take the man out.

But Suzaku stopped after two or three lunging steps when Jin held up the gun between two fingers nonthreateningly and set it down next to the detonator. He'd disarmed in a show of good faith and Lelouch wasn't about to be outmatched.

Lelouch pulled out his own gun, handing it to C.C. as he stepped away from Suzaku (by far the more threatening weapon in his arsenal) and out towards the arms dealer with an hand offered to be shaken.

"It's a pleasure to do business with you, Mr. Nakata." Lelouch said.

"Let's skip the pleasantries." Jin said, glancing down at the hand being offered to him but not taking it. Instead, he reached inside his jacket and pulled out a box of cigarettes and a lighter. He pulled one out, between his lips before silently offering one to Lelouch.

He took it, unwilling to let the gesture go unanswered. He'd never thought that his experience at getting into trouble with Rivalz back in school would come in so handy. But his brief experimentation with tobacco left him with enough experience that he didn't wind up coughing on the first drag of the cigarette once it was lit.

He hated smoking, but by accepting he'd established a commonality between them. It wasn't much, but people who shared habits tended to be more accepting of each other, especially addicting habits like smoking.

"I have some conditions." Jin said. "And there are things I won't tell you no matter how much money you throw at me. I might be a realist, but even I have lines I won't cross."

"Naturally." Lelouch nodded.

"You'll leave Ohgi out of this. I mean completely. I want him safe and away. Immune, got me? I don't want him getting even so much as a parking ticket." Jin bargained.

"I can do that." Lelouch agreed.

"I want the same treatment."

"I figured as much." He nodded.

"And Kouzuki-chan."

"That one's more difficult to manage." He said. "As I said, Kallen and I have an agreement. She's chosen to assist me of her own free will. Though she will certainly have my protection for so long as she sticks to her side of the deal."

Jin's eyes darted to where Kallen was standing awkwardly between Suzaku and C.C. but she nodded mutely. She wasn't trying to run, which was all he could have hoped for. It seemed she'd tolerate him in order to get a chance at the Emperor.

"I have other conditions as well."

"Name them." Lelouch shrugged.

"The Blood of the Samurai gets the same treatment. Immunity."

"I can't do that." Lelouch said, shaking his head slightly. "Amnesty is the best I could offer. If they keep their heads down, I won't come after them."

"So just disband, huh? As if there wasn't a reason for opposing you in the first place."

"I am here by Imperial mandate to destroy the terrorist threat in Area Eleven. Even I can't disobey a direct order from the Emperor. And granting your faction immunity would just let you run rampant. It's not something I can do, whether I want to or not." Lelouch explained.

"Fine." Jin sighed. "That one was a long shot anyway."

"Any other demands?"

"I'm sure I'll think of something I should have asked for later. What do you want to know about?" The arms dealer asked.

"The Kenshiki Faction."

Jin laughed. "Should have figured. That's about the only thing linking me to Kouzuki-chan. I knew dealing with that bastard was a bad idea. Should have gone with my gut."

"Do you have contact information for them?" Lelouch asked, finally getting into the meat of this whole charade.

"Contact information? You're kidding, right? I got the call from them though a friend who knew a guy who knew Saito and hooked us up. I wasn't going to deal with them at all since they'd whacked their last arms dealer and looted his stock, but I needed the cash since I'd just found out my partner had been stealing from me. I didn't trust them from the start, which is why I had Kouzuki-chan brought in. Both times I dealt with them, they called me."

"Both times?" Lelouch asked quickly. If he couldn't find a way to close in on them, he'd still try to find as much information as possible. This was the first person he'd met that had actually dealings with the Kenshiki Faction and he wasn't about to waste the opportunity.

"Yeah, the second guy was no less of an asshole but at least he didn't start by pointing a gun at my subordinates." Jin answered. "Some prick named Kei. Wouldn't give his family name. He liked to be all mysterious, though from what I understood he was one of the mucky mucks in the Kenshiki."

"You met Kei?" Lelouch asked, feeling his heart leap into his throat. Jackpot. This was it. A confirmation outside of the Geass-laddened confession he'd pulled from that terrorist.

Jin's eyes flashed in amusement and he smirked triumphantly. "I can see he's of great interest to you. So more information on that subject will cost you extra."

Lelouch scowled. He'd given himself away and of course the bastard had called him on it. "How much?"

"Information." Jin answered.

"Ask then." He ordered moodily.

"What's really going on in Osaka?"

"That's part of an ongoing military operation so I can't tell you. But I can tell you that Honorary Britannians and any Elevens who have come forward with verifiable information about the Kenshiki have been granted entrance to the protection zones. To my knowledge, there's been only a handful more civilian casualties than expected for a city of that size." Lelouch evaded.

"That's not what I wanted to know." Jin said.

"That's all I can tell you."

"Fine. Then I want to know the details of your agreement with Kouzuki-chan." Jin bargained.

"I agreed to pilot for him because he said he was going after the Emperor." Kallen answered before he could evade this demand as well. He sent her a withering glare which she returned with equal fervour before squaring her shoulders and raising her chin defiantly. "That's the only reason I'm putting up with him."

Jin quirked an eyebrow at him. "So you're a Britannian prince who's promised to give Japan back to the Japanese and kill his own father?"

"I refuse to confirm or deny any of those claims. It's all hearsay." Lelouch countered.

"You know," Jin said after a moment of quiet contemplation. "I never really hated the Britannians. Even after the invasion and all of that, I didn't hate Britannians in general because I knew there were good and bad eggs in any group. Well, in my profession, I've met more than a few bad eggs claiming to be Japanese freedom fighters. And I knew that not all Britannian's were inherently evil thanks to people like Kouzuki-chan and Naoto.

"Naoto probably would have even liked you, your highness. That's probably about the highest praise I can give, seeing as he had pretty exacting moral standards. But now I've got testimony from Suzaku Kururugi and from Kouzuki-chan that you're not the typical Britannian prince we're so familiar with here. And I was in Shinjuku myself recently. I don't think that place has looked so safe since before the invasion, even despite the massacre, which I hear is all thanks to you."

"Your point?" Lelouch asked.

"Tell me why you're so interested in Kei and I'll tell you everything I know about him down to detailed inventories of what I've sold to him."

"He's the mastermind behind the Kenshiki. Saito is just the mouthpiece." Lelouch answered. Well, that was the simplified version and if, by chance, Jin went back and sold this information to the Kenshiki they would at least assume he was ignorant of their internal struggles.

"So that's it, huh?"

"He's my primary target." Lelouch confirmed, though that wasn't completely true. While Kei was the larger threat, he would strike at Saito as soon as his Royal Guard returned from Osaka. He demanded retribution for the Ashford bombing and seeing Saito hang was the only recompense he would accept. "Though all I have on him at the moment is his name."

Jin took another long drag on his cigarette, nodding quietly to himself. "The Kenshiki pissed me off from the start." He finally said, while distractedly patting down his pockets in search of something in particular. He eventually came out with a pen, which he looked at in disappointment, and a pocket sized note pad. He put pen to paper as he began talking, tone somewhat distracted. "I liked Takashi, even though he was a rival dealer. That's the guy Saito and his boys killed for his stock. He was a stand-up guy. We met a few times. He was talking about getting out of the trade. Apparently he'd found a girl he wanted to settle down with. He was going to sell me his leftovers. Instead, the Kenshiki killed him and took it all."

Lelouch listened patiently, watching Jin's pen move quickly over the notepad though he couldn't see what the man was writing. Presumably it was that detailed inventory he'd promised.

"What was Kei like when you met him?" Lelouch asked when the man lapsed into silence for a moment.

"A lot more like I expected you to be like." Jin answered with a grim laugh. "You know when you're lined up in a store and the person in front of you doesn't even look at the cashier? Like they're a machine or some dumb animal that's only function is to obey? Maybe not, you probably don't do your own shopping. Anyway, that's the kind of guy Kei is. Or at least that's how he was to me. I wasn't even human to him. I was a repository of goods that he needed access to. He wanted to be obeyed and didn't take well to negotiation. I got the impression he was used to giving orders."

So Kei was used to holding authority. He'd met those kinds of people before, in fact Jeremiah was very much like one when he was dealing with subordinates. He was a noble and a commanding officer in the military and both of those social infrastructures gave him the right to rule. It was a different style of command than Lelouch liked to practise, one that depended on an adherence to a common social system and hierarchy rather than blind loyalty to a single person.

But it narrowed down the possibilities. If Saito was actually nobility and he had a confession that he and Saito were old friends, it was more than likely that Kei was also a member of the now defunct Japanese nobility. Possibly a far more important member of the nobility that had escaped the kill on sight lists. Which meant it would be far easier to figure out just who exactly this man was.

The impending search was made much easier when Jin tore the page out of his notepad a few minutes later and handed it to Lelouch. The face staring back at him from the page was roughly sketched in pen, but detailed enough that it could be a real person. "This is the Kei that I met. Haven't drawn in a long time so it's not the best quality, but that's the basic gist of him." Jin explained before going back to his notepad.

Kei was dark haired and dark eyed, with typical Japanese features. He could have been half of the Elevens in the ghettos, but the expression the man was wearing was distinctive. It was all haughty arrogance and overstated confidence. This man would carry himself differently than the rest of the disadvantaged masses. His pride hadn't died yet and he wouldn't bow his head and meekly evade any of his Britannian overseers.

Lelouch could picture him perfectly. The kind of man who would walk proudly down a street in the Settlement just waiting for some belligerent Britannian to start something then signal for the half a dozen friends he'd had following him to come out and smack them down. The kind of person that looked for trouble to validate their own self-confidence.

Jin continued scribbling in his notebook for a moment before finally ripping two more pages out of his notebook. Lelouch took them, quickly perusing the lists of weapons and explosives on the page. Most of what had been sold to Saito were explosives, which they had put to good use in their reign of terror in Osaka. Kei's list was considerably smaller.

"Kei didn't buy much." He noted.

"Didn't have what he was looking for." Jin shrugged.

"Which was?" Lelouch asked, curiosity piqued. What exactly could Kei have been looking for that was so rare?

"Energy fillers and KMF rounds. Guess they figured since we had that Glasgow with us that I sold that kind of stuff. I don't even know where Naoto got that shit for the Glasgow. It's not like there's a lot of it floating around outside of official channels." Jin explained.

Lelouch frowned. "When was it that you met with Kei?"

If he was looking for KMF munitions it had to have been after his shipment of Sutherlands had been stolen. Unless he already had some Knightmares.

"Just a couple days before you sealed up Osaka."

"Did you meet there? In Osaka?" He asked quickly.

"Hell no. I'm not touching that city's port with a ten foot pole until things settle down there. I made them come out to international waters." The arms dealer explained.

"Did he return to Osaka?" Lelouch asked.

"Probably. Looked like he was heading that way."

Lelouch nodded, risking a glance at his companions over his shoulder. They were behind him and there was no chance of them making eye contact with him and he was far enough away that they probably wouldn't hear everything he said if he lowered his voice.

"Was there anything else you wanted to tell me?"

"Not really. What's the protocol for ending this thing? Or is this the part where you order your Knightmares in and I blow them up?"

"Nothing so dramatic." Lelouch said, then activated his Geass. "_You won't tell anyone the details of this meeting, of course. And you __**will**__ call me if anyone from the Kenshiki contacts you again."_ He ordered, slipping a business card into the man's hand. The card was blank except for a seven digit number. There was nothing to indicate who the number belonged to, and therefore nothing to incriminate his new contact should someone else stumble across it. The number connected to the cellphone he'd begun carrying. Not to Edith's phone, but rather to the one that only his Knights and Edith knew the number to.

Jin nodded mutely, glaze-eyed and slack-jawed as he slipped the card into the inside pocket of his jacket before blinking suddenly and coming out of the trance. "Sure sure."

"It's been a pleasure doing business, Mr. Nakata." Lelouch said, and would have offered his hand to shake, except that he'd already learned his lesson. He made a gesture like a wave with the hand holding the cigarette before turning his back on the man and heading back towards the car. C.C. and Suzaku fell in beside him automatically. Unsurprisingly, Kallen was the last to follow. But she did follow, which was all that mattered.

All in all, things had gone better than expected, he mused to himself, staring down at the quickly sketched portrait in his hand. All of his previous working knowledge of Kei had been based on assumption. But now, he had eye-witness Intel on how the man operated. Things couldn't have gone better.

* * *

Suzaku had been watching the arms dealer like a hawk, thoroughly uncomfortable with the distance between himself and the prince he was supposed to be protecting with his very life. But Lelouch had ordered him to stay and he knew how to follow orders, even when they made him uncomfortable. He'd settled for keeping a close eye on Nakata, watching for any minute sign that he might be about to reach for the gun or detonator beside him.

So he'd seen it. He'd seen the way the man had gone listless for a moment before blinking out of a trance. Lelouch had used it. He'd used Geass after insisting that it was a tool he only used when the situation demanded it as a last resort.

And the situation hadn't demanded it. Nakata had been being cooperative. They'd won him over and Lelouch had used it anyway.

It was sick. It was a sick and twisted power that no one should possess, let alone his power-hungry, revenge-driven best friend. Lelouch might have had the best intentions in the world (not that he did, but he might have had) and it still wouldn't be right for him to use Geass to achieve his objective.

He wished Lelouch could just get rid of it. But he couldn't give it back. Suzaku had gone to C.C. shortly after Lelouch had told him about Geass and asked her if she could take it back. She'd promptly laughed in his face and told him not to interfere in matters that didn't concern him. Which didn't answer the question on whether or not it was possible that Lelouch _could _give it back, just that she wouldn't be taking it back.

He hated this. For the most part, Lelouch was as familiar of an entity as he had always been. But then there was this part of him. The part that could bend even the staunchest of opposition to his will. The part that didn't compromise or negotiate. The part that not only expected, but forcefully demanded complete obedience.

But he kept his mouth shut. Compared to what his commanding officers in the army had repeatedly asked him to do, looking the other way while Lelouch manipulated people was a small thing to ask, wasn't it? He wasn't killing anyone and Lelouch was charismatic, anyway. If he put his mind to it, Lelouch would never actually ever _need_ to use Geass.

Suzaku stared quietly out the window. Knowing Lelouch, the prince probably already knew that Suzaku knew he'd used Geass, and that he was less than impressed with the display. Which meant that they would probably argue. Again. And he still hadn't apologized for the last fight.

He didn't agree with what Lelouch was planning to do to the Emperor. But he understood that Lelouch had made up his mind. And he already knew that Lelouch would do anything for Nunnally. He couldn't really blame Lelouch for wanting to get Nunnally out of the little prison she'd been forced into and back into normal society. And given the choice between the two, he would rather serve Lelouch and Nunnally's interests than the Emperor's.

Honestly, he was beginning to feel like they were an old married couple. They were always jumping down each other's throats about everything these days. . . . Or he was. Actually, now that he thought about it, Lelouch hadn't instigated an argument with him since that first day they'd been reunited at the Tokyo Base.

He frowned. Maybe he was expecting too much from Lelouch. Somehow he'd placed his friend on a pedestal. He had put his absolute trust in Lelouch and piled all of these expectations on him which probably no human could actually meet. Just what did he expect Lelouch to be? Perfect? He was still human.

He trusted that Lelouch had a plan and he trusted that Lelouch would keep his promise. So why wouldn't Lelouch use every tool in his arsenal to achieve his objectives? Yes, Geass was sick and twisted. But guns and Knightmares were probably more destructive and Suzaku had never made much of a fuss about Lelouch using them. And it wasn't like Lelouch was abusing Geass. He used it when he needed it, just like he used guns and Knightmares when he needed them.

They were just tools. Weapons that Lelouch used when necessary to ensure that his plan came to fruition. The plan that would give Suzaku the only thing that would redeem him. Japan.

The ride back to Kallen's house was quiet and uneventful. Even C.C. wasn't engaging in her usual practice of needling Lelouch into an argument, no doubt wary of the unfriendly ears Kallen possessed. Though he didn't doubt that things would go back to normal as soon as the red-head was out of the car.

Kallen hesitated for a moment as the car pulled to a stop in front of the house she'd been given, watching Lelouch like he might suddenly bite her.

"So what happens now?" She asked.

"Edith will contact you in a few days with the details." Lelouch answered before gesturing towards the door in a clear dismissal.

She looked like she wanted to argue for a moment before glancing at him out of the side of her eye instead. Suzaku's gaze narrowed suspiciously, but he masked it and opened the door for her instead, getting out to help her out of the car like any gentleman would. Well, it was partially because he had learned some manners and she was still a girl, but mostly it was because she was being shifty-eyed and might try to run.

He escorted her to the door, earning more salutes from her guards, who looked on with undisguised interest. Lelouch would have to do something to make sure they kept their mouths shut. Though without knowing who else was in the vehicle, it might look like he'd just taken her out on an afternoon date . . . in uniform. Okay, maybe not.

"Um . . ." She said awkwardly as they came to a halt at the door, no doubt just as aware of the guards watching them as he was. "Do you want to come in?"

He blinked in surprise. Earlier today, she'd looked like she'd wanted to eviscerate him just for daring to step foot in her home, and now she was inviting him in? He grew more convinced that she was about to try something and mentally began going through the details of their fight in Shinjuku (at least the details that blood loss hadn't erased) and the way she'd moved at the knighting gala, though granted she'd been in a dress and trying to maintain her cover at the time.

He didn't know how she would fight, but he was confident he could beat her. He had height and weight on her, plus muscle. He wouldn't hold back just because she was a member of the fairer sex. If she tried to start trouble, he'd treat her like any other enemy.

"I shouldn't." He said, still trying to avoid the conflict. She had the chance to avoid a fight. All she had to do was go inside and he'd leave her alone until the next time Lelouch decided to let her out for something.

She sent him an annoyed scowl before curling her fingers around the lapel of his uniform and jerking him inside, slamming the door behind them. She shouldn't have been able to move him, but he hadn't been expecting her to grab him in front of the Britannians guarding her.

His counterstrike was almost instantaneous. He grabbed her wrist and used the momentum she'd created to drag it painfully behind her back before forcing her forward against the door.

"What are you doing?" She demanded, outraged.

"You started this." He growled in response.

"I just wanted to talk to you." She explained angrily. "And I couldn't very well have done it in front of Dumb and Dumber out there, could I?"

". . . Oh."

She took advantage of his hesitation to jerk her arm out of his grasp and turn around to give him a haughty glare. He glared right back. She'd still acted inappropriately by dragging him in here, so he wasn't about to apologize for reacting. Besides, he still didn't like or trust her. She might be fine with serving Lelouch's interests for now, but as soon as she got what she wanted out of the prince, he wouldn't put it past her to turn on him.

She broke their glaring match to send a scowl at the door behind her before leading him further into the house and away from any prying ears on the other side of the door. "Was it really true what you said Lelouch promised you?" She demanded from the center of her living room.

He nodded. "Yes."

"But you were already in the military before he went back to Pendragon. I read about you in the papers. They said you'd joined the military in 2016 a.t.B.." She protested.

"I never said it was the reason that I joined the military. All I said was that it was the reason I became Lelouch's Knight. Or one of the reasons."

She frowned. "Then what was the reason you joined the military?"

"To try to change Britannian from within." He answered immediately, because that goal hadn't changed, even though he was using Lelouch as the rallying point of his cause, rather than himself.

She stared at him incredulously for a minute before shaking her head slightly. "Were you dropped when you were a baby?" She demanded. "Or were you naturally born this stupid?"

"It's not stupid to try to change the system." He argued.

"No, it's idealistic and naive." She countered before turning away from him.

"Britannia can change. And we will see it. I know Lelouch. He'll stop at nothing to keep his promise to me."

"And we'll remain what? A protectorate of the Empire?" She asked bitterly.

"I don't care about that. All I care about is if the people are safe." Suzaku said firmly. "It's the people that needed our protection, not the land."

" . . . My brother used to say something like that. He used to say that if he could trust Britannia to treat the Japanese right, he wouldn't have even started fighting. He didn't care about pride or patriotism." Kallen said softly.

Suzaku shifted uncomfortably. He didn't necessarily like Kallen, but he liked her better when she was all brash and impertinent. He understood that. She was a threat like that and he could watch her and take her down like any other enemy. He didn't really know what to do with her when she got all soft and girly on him like this.

"He sounds like he was a good guy." He said awkwardly.

"He was." She agreed immediately. "He was the greatest. And the Britannians tortured him to death. I could barely recognize him when I found him. One of the only resistance leaders that would have been willing to work with Britannia, and they slaughtered him. So no, it's not enough just to protect the people, Suzaku Kururugi. That's not enough for me. I need revenge."

When she turned back to him, all trace of softness was gone, replaced with steely determination. He stared back at her and he pitied her. Taking revenge on Britannia wouldn't solve anything. Just like Lelouch going after the Emperor for the sake of revenge wouldn't change anything. He'd still be the once-exiled prince of a dead Empress with a crippled, blind sister. And she still wouldn't have her brother back.

Suzaku just couldn't understand it. But then that part of his mind that liked to say things he didn't want to hear mentioned that maybe he did understand revenge after all. Maybe he understood it very well. Because he'd never hated anyone more than he hated himself, and maybe his self-imposed atonement was just a way of getting revenge on himself for the murder of his father. Maybe he was just doing his damnedest to make his father's killer suffer.

* * *

AN: Apologies about the wait. I just got a new job (yay! It's even in my field!) and so I was kind of stressing about whether or not I was going to get the job, whether I made a good impression at my interview, etc etc which wasn't very conductive to sitting down and concentrating. Kind of. I was also kind of delayed because ANOTHER Geass fanfic lodged itself in my brain and just wouldn't leave me alone. -.- I think I'm probably going to write this one too, unlike Succession Games.

The first chapter of my other story, which will likely be called Weapons of Mass Destruction, unless a better title smacks me upside the head in the next hour or so, will probably also be uploaded tonight after I proof read it a bit. Do me a favour and check it out ya? I'd like to know what you think of it's premiss, once I get it up.

And of course, I'd like to hear what you thought of this chapter of Dauntless as well.

Thanks for reading,

Allora


	82. Chapter 82: Welcome to 'Family Feud'

Chapter 82: Welcome to 'Family Feud'

Lelouch paced slowly across the length of his home office, frown firmly in place. He glanced at the clock. It was already ten o'clock at night. He'd expected Suzaku to come tear into him by now.

Maybe he'd been wrong? Maybe Suzaku hadn't noticed his use of Geass?

But Suzaku had been uncharacteristically distant since his meeting with Jin earlier. That suggested that he did know. So why wasn't he coming to drag Lelouch through the coals for it? Suzaku had been rather vocal in his dislike of Lelouch's newfound power. He'd thought for certain that Suzaku would come to express his disgust and/or disappointment with him.

It wasn't that Lelouch was necessarily looking forward to being reamed out Suzaku again, it was just that he'd been toying with an idea all afternoon and wanted his friend to not be secretly pissed off at him when he chose to present his idea. So he'd been waiting in his office for Suzaku to show up, so that they could fight, so that they could get over it, so that he could propose his great idea that Suzaku probably wouldn't be too keen on, but would hopefully go along with for Lelouch's sake.

Yes, because this idea relied rather heavily on Suzaku's good grace.

Lelouch waited until ten thirty before giving up on Suzaku's sense of punctuality. If felt a bit strange to go seeking someone to yell at him, but the situation was what it was and he needed Suzaku to get whatever grievances he might be harbouring off his chest before Lelouch could proceed.

He made his way upstairs, bracing himself for yet another argument with Suzaku. Suzaku wasn't particularly hard to fight with. He was almost painfully earnest and straight forward. If he wanted to, it would only take a little subtle diversion to avoid the fights altogether. But arguing had always been a part of their relationship, and he wanted to refrain from manipulating Suzaku as much as possible. He still felt guilty about using Suzaku's status for his own gain, but he'd already commit to the decision and was prepared to follow through with it.

Providing he could convince Suzaku.

Lelouch climbed the stairs, finding Suzaku's room with the door half ajar and the light still on. He frowned and poked his head through the door, finding Suzaku reclined on his bed while reading (of all things). The scene actually caught him by surprise. Obviously, Suzaku was literate, but Suzaku had never been one to snug down with a good book before bed.

"What are you -"

He cut off when Suzaku jumped in surprise, snapping the book shut and shoving it halfway under his pillow before pausing and sending Lelouch a sheepish smile.

". . . reading?" Lelouch finished in confusion,letting himself into the room to pluck the book out from underneath the pillow.

"You surprised me." Suzaku said, making a halfhearted grab for the book.

It wasn't anything illicit. It was a collection of Japanese children's stories. In fact, now that he thought about it, he remembered Suzaku reading stories to Nunnally from his own version of the same book before the invasion.

He stared down at the book with a slight frown. It was harmless. Just a bit of nostalgia and Suzaku had still treated it like it was contraband. Though Lelouch supposed that to many the book would have been contraband given that it had been written in Japanese.

"I found it in the library downstairs. I didn't figure you'd miss it for tonight."

He shrugged. "Keep it if you want, Suzaku." He said, sitting on the edge of the bed. Waiting.

And still he waited until Suzaku finally awkwardly cleared his throat.

"What's up, Lelouch?"

"Is there nothing you wanted to say to me?" Lelouch asked, perplexed. Maybe he'd read Suzaku wrong, though that was unlikely. He thought for sure that Suzaku had noticed his use of Geass on Nakata.

"I'm not your moral compass, Lelouch. You're supposed to know right from wrong without having to rely on my reaction." Suzaku said with a tired sigh.

Lelouch frowned, saying nothing. While it was true what Suzaku was saying, he did notice that a fair few of his decisions over the last few months had been based not on whether it was right or wrong, but rather on the sliding scale of how much Suzaku would hate him if he went through with Plan A as opposed to Plan B.

So then, he supposed the real question was had it been right decision for him to Geass Jin Nakata into submission? Looking at the bigger picture, he'd deemed that it was. Leaving Nakata without some measure of control over him could have risked future operations. While it hadn't been the most ethical way of doing so – usurping his free will and all – it had been the correct decision. Bringing down the Kenshiki was more important than one man's liberty.

"I don't regret it." Lelouch said finally, glancing at Suzaku out of the corner of his eye. His friend gave him an exasperated sigh before grabbing his book back and flipping it open to wherever he'd left off.

"Fine." Suzaku said, fingers tensing on the book's cover before bowing his head and feigning beginning to read again. Not that his eyes were actually moving down the page. "What did you come in here for?"

Lelouch frowned, calculating his odds for success. Suzaku didn't appear to be mad at him. A bit disappointed, yes. But not angry. Would delaying garner better odds of success? Probably not.

He hesitated for another moment before biting the bullet. "I want you to reclaim your inheritance."

"And I want to wake up tomorrow to find the world at peace. Unfortunately, we don't always get what we want." Suzaku said with a snort.

Lelouch blinked. Suzaku had to have been spending way too much time around him. He wasn't usually this cynical. Comparing his family situation to a war was just a little bit over dramatic.

"I'm serious, Suzaku."

Suzaku finally gave up on pretending to read and snapped the book shut. "So am I. Generally, when you're disowned it's a pretty permanent condition. It's not like she grounded me and sent me to my room. She told me quite clearly and in no uncertain terms that I wasn't ever to come back. It's not like I can just show up and they'll welcome me back."

"I was disowned and they welcomed me back." Lelouch pointed out.

"Yeah, and you only had to get married and kill a thousand civilians to do it." Suzaku pointed out.

Lelouch sighed. "Actually, I only had to get married. I was taken back before I joined the military."

Suzaku didn't say anything for a moment, crossing his arms over his chest and staring away out the window. "Sorry. That was a cheap shot." He eventually grumbled an apology.

"It's fine." He shrugged. He let silence fall between them for a moment before continuing. "I'll help you."

"I'm sure you would. Just Geass them all into letting me back into the family, right? They wouldn't even have the chance to refuse." Suzaku grumbled.

Lelouch frowned. He had only used Geass once in front of Suzaku. There were plenty of other times when he could have used it and had chosen not to. It was unfair of Suzaku to automatically assume that that was what he'd meant.

"Actually, I just spent the afternoon beginning to acquire the leverage you would need to successfully enter into negotiations." He countered, not bothering to mask the fact that he was offended by the assumption.

"Such as?" Suzaku asked, visibly interested and yet still standoffish.

"The Kururugi Shrine, the old Kururugi estate in downtown Tokyo, the villa in Kyoto and every other property owned by your family before the invasion that I could find." He explained, satisfied to see the shocked expression on Suzaku's face.

"So what? You intend to buy them? Dangle those properties in front of them and hope they forget what I did?" Suzaku asked bitterly.

"No. I intend for you to buy them. I had all of those properties bought in your name. You will have all of the Kururugi's traditional holdings. All they have is the name."

"And the heirlooms, and the respect, and the family." Suzaku countered. "You know, all the important stuff."

"Keeping you out of the family is strategically unviable." Lelouch argued. "What do they plan to do about the succession? You're Genbu Kururugi's only child and your father was also an only child. Who do they hope will take over the family?"

Suzaku was quiet for a moment, gaze darkening before restlessly getting off the bed to go look out the window with his arms crossed over his chest. His stance was tense, defensive, and Lelouch knew he had to have just stepped on a landmine.

"My mother will manage the family until my brother comes of age." Suzaku eventually said, glaring out into the garden.

". . . I wasn't aware you had a brother." Lelouch said hesitantly. This was unexpected and obviously unpleasant for Suzaku.

"Mother remarried after the invasion because I was no longer suitable to be heir." Suzaku said bitterly. "My brother Genbu is now six."

This was worse than he'd ever expected. Bad enough that his mother had cut ties with him, but Suzaku had grown up with a brother who had been born for the sake of replacing him. On top of all the normal feelings of jealousy that came with an only child coping with a new addition to the family, Suzaku had had to deal with his mother's scorn and a brother that would have constantly been found better than him.

When it was put that way, he supposed it wasn't surprising that Suzaku had run away from home.

"That child doesn't have Kururugi blood in him. Your mother was a Sumeragi. Whoever the father is, I doubt he was a part of the family, right? You're still the only heir."

"That doesn't really matter, Lelouch. The family agreed to it."

"So make it matter. Your brother won't come of age for another twelve years. You'll turn eighteen in eight months and you're in an ideal position to put your family back into a position of power." Lelouch explained. "If we approach the situation right, it won't be hard to overrule the decision to disown you."

Suzaku was quiet for a long time, staring out into the garden as his thoughts ran over the proposition. Lelouch waited patiently, watching for any hint of the decision that was to come, or any point he could push on to get Suzaku to fold.

"I'm happy with just being your Knight. Being the Kururugi heir really doesn't matter to me." Suzaku said, glancing back over his shoulder. Lelouch could tell from the complete lack of emotion that it _did _in fact bother him.

"You're still a terrible liar, Suzaku. And it matters to me. People are going to begin wondering why you don't introduce yourself as the head of the Kururugi family after your birthday. Actually, I'm surprised your family hasn't already publicly disowned you. Though, I suppose they probably aren't aware that they're no longer at the top of Area Eleven's most wanted list." He sighed then stood up. "Think about it."

Lelouch knew when to push and when to let up. Now was definitely the time to let up. It was a lot of information to process and it was a big responsibility that Lelouch was asking him to take up in addition to his current duties. Even so, the Kururugi family name was obviously still something Suzaku took pride in. If it hadn't been, he would have changed his name when he'd enlisted.

He'd give Suzaku a couple days.

* * *

"The blow back wasn't as bad as we feared." Kanon said, handing him a print out that he barely looked at before handing it back to his assistant. "It seems we have Princess Abigail to thank for that."

"I wonder if Lelouch counted on that or if it was just an unexpectedly pleasant surprise." Schneizel grumbled. As pleased as he was that he didn't have to drag his brother out of the fire, he still would have preferred it if Lelouch hadn't jumped into the flames to begin with.

"Would you like me to ask her?" Kanon asked.

He shook his head. There was no point in kicking the hornet's nest. "Let's focus on this mess for the time being." He said, gesturing towards the thick, dark oak door they'd stopped in front of. "Lelouch is on his own for now. Until he brings Area Eleven under control, there's not much I can do with him anyway. I just wish he'd hurry up."

"As you wish." Kanon said, before reaching up and straightening Schneizel's tie, pulling it uncomfortably tight. But Kanon had always been a stickler for the details and if he thought it looked neater when he could barely breathe around the tie, then it looked neater. Schneizel knew enough by now just not to argue with it. "Remember, if your future mother-in-law is in there, it's _Frau_ Augusta, not _Fraulein_." Kanon coached.

"Fantine's not here today, is she?" He asked hopefully.

"She's not. She called to inform me that she would regretfully be unable to make it this evening because she had a rehearsal."

He breathed a sigh of relief before composing himself. He was the Prime Minister of the Britannian Empire and he needed to maintain that front. He couldn't let paltry 'personal' matters like his supposed engagement to the President's daughter interfere with his business here.

When Kanon had deemed him presentable enough, he stepped back to Schneizel's shoulder to maintain the facade of prince's assistant, rather than prince's best friend and bodyguard. He knocked on the door, taking one more second in which he didn't have to gauge how his every movement would be interpreted, then opened the door.

"Ah, Prime Minister el Britannia." The President of the E.U. greeted warmly as he rose from his desk to shake Schneizel's hand.

"President Lemeaux." He greeted in kind, surreptitiously glancing around the room to confirm that the man's robust and overly tactile wife was not in attendance. "Thank you for inviting me to your home."

"Of course. It's my pleasure. Please, come sit." The middle-aged Frenchman said, gesturing towards the two high-backed armchairs next to the fireplace.

Schneizel sat, thenwaited until the older man was seated before gesturing towards Kanon. "I'm sure you remember my attendant, Kanon Maldini."

"Yes. It's a pleasure to have you with us again, Mr. Maldini." The President said, though the darting glance and the wane smile suggested it was anything but a pleasure. The President was one of the few people who had seen Kanon in action and knew that the man served as more than merely his manservant.

It was a snub in a way, but it reinforced his position here. This was about business, even if the President had insisted on an informal setting.

"The pleasure is mine, Mr. President." Kanon said, bowing at the waist. The gesture was a little too reverent for Schneizel's taste and a silent glance ensured that it wouldn't happen again.

"I received your message, Schneizel. Though I had hoped that you'd come to visit for more personal reasons. Fantine has been asking about you." Lemeaux said chidingly.

"Unfortunately, my duty as Prime Minister must come first. I'm sure you understand, Mr. President." He deflected.

"Of course. What is it that you travelled halfway around the globe to talk about?" The President asked with a frown, visibly put off.

"I'm here to discuss the E.U.'s involvement in the establishment of Area Eighteen." He said, smothering his triumphant smirk at the way the man blanched then forced himself to recover. There was a part of him that loved this aspect of his job – holding all the cards and watching his opponents crumble.

"I'm not sure what you mean, Schneizel." The President said with trepidation.

"We found supply caches in rebel fortifications filled with weapons made in the E.U., along with shipping manifests from Germany, England, Hungary and Russia."

The President let out a disbelieving half-laugh, more of a half-gasp. "I can assure you that I had no knowledge of these treasonous activities. Surely you don't expect the E.U. to be held accountable for the actions of a few individuals?"

At least the President knew the first rule of politics – deny, deny, deny. But it wouldn't help him. "Of course not. I do, however, expect the E.U. to be held accountable for the actions of it's government. The manifests were accompanied by a _lettre de course_, if you will, signed by government officials sanctioning the covert aid of the Area Eighteen resistance."

Again the man blanched as Schneizel gestured for Kanon to hand over the documents they'd prepared. Each naming a government official and their crimes against Britannia. There were a few names in there that he'd thrown in with the bunch for their particularly rabid anti-Britannian stance, but most of them were legitimate. Of course, President Lemeaux undoubtedly knew this all already, since one of Schneizel's spies had uncovered documentation revealing that the President himself had sanctioned his subordinates to obtain the help of otherwise questionable entrepreneurs to delay the Britannian victory in Area Eighteen.

But Lemeaux didn't need to know that he knew that yet. The revelation of such knowledge would leave them with no choice but to immediately go to war – a process that would no doubt be long and bloody though he figured Britannian would still end up the victor. No, Schenizel's way was so much cleaner. He would take out the pivotal supports of the European war machine before the conflict even started.

"The Britannian Empire demands justice for the crimes committed against it."

"What are you suggesting, Schneizel?" Lemeaux asked, dejectedly slumping back in his chair as he stared at the documents in his lap. This was Check and they both knew it.

"That all those complicit in these crimes, namely those listed in your hand, be charged with treason for jeopardizing the security of your nation. Honestly, if the Emperor had been the one to find this out, you'd be already be at war with the Empire. I'm trying to prevent that from happening, but I can only hide so much from His Majesty before I begin risking myself, Mr. President. We need results. We need you to show that your country condemns these people's crimes and that you are still an ally of the Holy Britannian Empire." Schneizel explained.

The President hesitated for a long moment before nodding quietly. "I will see to it that these criminals are taken care of and restore the integrity of the European administration. Though, Schneizel, I would be more convinced that you're doing everything in your power to maintain peace between our nations if you followed through on the commitment you made to my daughter."

He bit back a sigh and wondered if the Emperor had ever really thought about how much more difficult negotiations were going to be because of his engagement with the President's daughter. Now the man wasn't just a foreign leader, he was also Schneizel's future father-in-law. And that made negotiating with the man all the more difficult.

"I will . . . consider it." He said slowly.

It wasn't that he didn't like Fantine. Sure, she was unattractive and had ridiculous life goals, but he didn't hate her. In fact, he respected her spirit. The first time he'd been given the chance to speak with her in private, he'd told her quite bluntly that she could just go ahead and abandon any kinds of thoughts she had about marrying some Prince Charming-type, because he had no intention of actually following through on the agreement.

Instead of crying or getting angry, she'd laughed and said, "Well, as pretty as you are, I wasn't really looking forward to marrying you either." She'd then proceeded to explain how their marriage would require her moving to Britannia and becoming a princess, which would effectively put an end to her career in theatre – a fact he could readily admit was true. To preserve their respective freedoms, they'd mutually agreed to avoid each other as much as possible and to do everything in their power to delay the wedding. Hence why her rehearsal had taken priority over meeting with him today.

Thus far, the system had worked pretty well. President Lemeaux was in the final year of his last term in office. If Schneizel and Fantine could continue delaying for just one more year, they could freely dissolve the agreement without suffering political backlash. After all, there would be no viable gain in their marriage.

Of course, that assumed that the Emperor didn't declare war on the E.U. before then. One could never be too sure with the Emperor.

* * *

". . . Sir Kururugi?" A voice asked, drawing him out of his thoughts and his concentration on Lelouch and Princess Abigail seated in a secluded booth on the other side of the restaurant.

He glanced at the person on the other side of the bar, somewhat disturbed that his identity had been discovered so quickly. He was supposed to be here incognito. It was the reason why he was here in his civvies. It was also the reason why both Lelouch and Abigail were 'dressed down' (though you could still tell that they were rich, they didn't quite look like royalty) and the reason why Lord Gottwald was covering the exits with a sniper rifle from the roof across the street.

But then, the person on the other side of the bar had met him personally before. "Mr. Cardemonde." He greeted in surprise.

The boy across the counter held up his hands then made a "T" out of them. "Woah. Timeout. 'Mr. Cardemonde' is way too formal. Just call me Rivalz."

". . . Rivalz." Suzaku hesitated, then examined the other boy's attire. "You work here?"

"Yeah. Mind telling me what the heck is going on? I'm pretty sure that's Lelouch over there, along with Bridezilla." Rivalz said, nodding his head towards Lelouch's table.

Suzaku choked on his water, spluttering uselessly for a second as he tried not to make a spectacle of himself. "Bridezilla?" He finally choked out, causing Rivalz to grin.

"Yeah. Well, I'm sure you've met the lovely lady. She went off on Milly and Shirley at the wedding. Seriously, I've never seen Lelouch so close to slapping a girl. So I never thought I'd see them out on a date. That is what this is, right? And why did they come here? They could have gone somewhere way nicer." Rivalz asked, clearly curious.

Normally, Suzaku would have told whoever was so interested to take off, but this was one of Lelouch's closest friends. So he shrugged instead. "He lost a bet."

"You're joking!" Rivalz exclaimed, drawing glances from a few of the restaurant's patrons – Lelouch included. Rivalz coughed, embarrassed, before lowering his volume and continuing. "He never loses at anything."

"I don't know all the details. Something about the nobility." Suzaku shrugged. He'd been with Euphy when the bet was being made, and so all he knew about it was that Lelouch had lost and that the terms had been a date at Lelouch's favorite restaurant.

"Hilarious. I can't wait to tell Milly." Rivalz chuckled.

"Hold off on that until we're gone. We don't want to risk too many people knowing we're here, okay?"

"Sure." Rivalz said with a nod, before gesturing to the bar behind him. "Hey, anything you want, buddy. It's on me."

Normally, Suzaku would have declined the offer since he was technically on duty. But Lelouch had been watching him all day – waiting for an answer – and he'd felt it stressing him out more and more by the second. A single drink wouldn't impede his ability to protect Lelouch and Princess Abigail, but it would take the edge off his stress level.

So he ordered a beer, despite being underage - something nice, cheap and familiar that he knew his limits on - and savoured it slowly with the rest of his meal as Rivalz went about making drinks for the rest of the restaurant's patrons.

He looked out over the other patrons of the restaurant. Two tables away from Lelouch and Princess Abigail was another couple, a bit older than the prince and princess, though just as awkwardly in that first date stage. It occurred to Suzaku that it had to be really weird having your first date _after_ the wedding, but he was sure Lelouch would manage his way through it without being too damaged.

Next to that table sat a group of business men discussing something work related. The nervous first-date couple kept sending them dirty looks whenever their discussion of budgets or whatever it was they were talking about infringed on the 'mood' that was being set by the ambient lighting and low, jazz music.

In a booth by the window sat a family of four – Mom, Dad, and two fussy boys only a couple years apart. For some reason, during his idle sweeps of the room, his gaze tended to pause longer on the family than on any of the other patrons.

This was what family was supposed to be like – Mom trying to get the kids to sit still and eat while Dad watched the scene play out with a contented and amused smile. It wasn't supposed to be about honour and pride. It was just supposed to be about love.

'Supposed to be' being the main part of that sentence, he supposed. But then, even if he hadn't killed his father, and even if there hadn't been a war with Britannia, that wouldn't have been his family sitting in a restaurant enjoying a meal together.

His family wasn't 'normal'. It had never been warm and loving. It had been about pride and expectations. He'd been expected to be the perfect child, as a model of Japan. From as young as five years old, he'd known that he would be expected to follow in his father's footsteps, just as his father had followed in his father's footsteps. His family would have done everything in their power to see him made into the Prime Minister when the time was right.

They wouldn't have cared about his own dreams and ambitions. As long as he was the good, model son that was bringing honour and glory to their family, he would have been loved. However, he'd seen firsthand what happened when that trust was broken and expectations were dashed.

They'd revoked all claim on him. He'd become the child that no one spoke of and had spent his days plotting out the route between Point A and Point B that would involve meeting the least amount of people because it hurt too much when he ran into his family. His mother especially.

Lelouch would probably laugh his ass off if he knew, but Suzaku was actually afraid of his mother. She'd been so quick and unrelenting in her condemnation of him that he couldn't even stay in the same room as her without flinching every time she'd spoken.

It had only gotten worse after Genbu had been born – a constant reminder of the crime he'd commit. It was a pity, because Genbu was the only member of the family that loved him. Somehow, he'd become the brat's hero.

But everyone else – his mother, grandparents, great-aunts and great-uncles – would have rather that he'd died in the invasion. Or better yet, before the invasion, because then at least his father would still have been alive.

So the question that begged to be asked was why was he protecting them? Why was he standing between them and Lelouch like some kind of guardian when they hated him? Why did the very thought of Lelouch using his Geass on them make him feel physically ill – a so much more visceral reaction than him considering Lelouch using Geass on anyone else?

He sighed, watching Lelouch and Princess Abigail out of the corner of his eye. It seemed to be going well. Lelouch was talking with his hands, which meant he was interested in whatever it was they were talking about and the princess was watching him raptly, nodding slightly in agreement with a small smile on his face. She'd recovered remarkably well from being kidnapped mere weeks ago.

Was it wrong for him to want to protect people from his best friend? Could he even call himself Lelouch's friend if he had these kinds of reservations about him? If he didn't trust him?

But he did trust Lelouch – with his very life. Wasn't that what he'd told Nakata just days ago? So what was the hang-up here? Did he love his family more than he loved his own life?

. . .

Did he really? Even after years of mistreatment and disrespect, did he really care more about his family than about himself? Had the lessons they'd drilled into him before the war – family first! - really stuck that well, or was this an indication of his own self-worth? That he loved himself even less than the family that openly despised him?

Could he allow that to hamper Lelouch? He was Lelouch's Knight. Could he allow his own personal issues to get in Lelouch's way?

He knew why Lelouch wanted the Kururugi family firmly in pocket. It was the same reason why Lelouch had asked to Knight him. Meeting with Jin Nakata must have only reinforced that fact for Lelouch. Even a two-bit criminal like Nakata had looked to him for guidance because of his name – because of who his family was.

If it came to light that he'd been disowned, Lelouch stood to lose some of the credibility he'd built up with the Japanese. Not all of it, since Suzaku was still Japanese, as were roughly a third of the members of the ATTF, but a significant chunk of the population was putting faith simply in the Kururugi name.

He sighed again, nursing the beer Rivalz had treated him to. He knew, in the end, that he wouldn't disrupt Lelouch's plans for anything. Maybe Lelouch had known it too. In any case, he figured he'd be facing his fears soon enough and coming face to face with his mother.

And maybe, just maybe, a small part of him was looking forward to it. Not for the sake of reuniting with his family, but rather for the sake for proving them wrong. They'd condemned him for joining the Britannians (among other things), but now it was he who was going to restore the family back to his former prominence.

There was a bit of vindication in that.

* * *

AN: Apologies for the lateness, I have to finish my coursework before the end of March and so basically I did three big projects in little over three weeks. And then Mass Effect 3 came out, so there went the rest of my free time. But I'm back in the game now.

If there's any fans of Mass Effect reading, I also started a ME fanfic. You can find in on my profile.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Don't forget to review. I hope you enjoyed it! Got to go to work now.

Allora


	83. 83:Successful Men Create Favourable Cond

Chapter 83: A Successful Man Creates Favourable Conditions

Euphy ran a hand over her hair to make sure it was in order before fidgeting with the sleeve of her dress. She didn't know why she was this nervous. It wasn't like she was shy. She'd never been shy. She'd always been the charming little girl that could win over even the grumpiest of her father's stoic advisers and generals with her cute smile and earnest inquisitiveness.

So why was she so nervous now?

Maybe Lukas' rejection had affected her more than she'd thought. Though it was primarily for him that she was even doing this. Cornelia had agreed that she was allowed to stay in Area Eleven if she had a Knight. That had been the deal. So all she needed was to do was to get a Knight. Then she could go back. And this time, she wouldn't put anyone else at risk.

"Your highness, Dame Nu is here."

"Show her in, please." She said, clasping her hands together in front of her to keep herself from fidgeting before realigning the saucer from the tea service in front of her anyway. She didn't know anything about the woman that had come to meet with her. She'd simply asked someone to summon the Knight for her, trusting in Lelouch's suggestion.

So she wasn't fully prepared for the woman who came through the door a few moments later, giving one quick, anxious glance around the room before sinking to her knee a few feet away. "Your highness."

Euphy supposed that she'd developed a certain image of women in the military that was based after her sister. Cornelia was clearly a woman, but had forsaken the majority femininity in favour of becoming more authoritative to her men. Everything from Cornelia's gestures to her manner of speaking while she was in uniform had been tailored to appeal to her men as a military officer rather than as a woman. Lelouch's Royal Guard Amanda had been much the same.

Villeta Nu was not cut from the same cloth.

The Knight was all long lines and feline grace with long silvery hair drawn up in a high ponytail and piercing amber eyes. She couldn't imagine any man not finding the woman's appearance appealing, even despite her profession as a pilot. Even the cut of her uniform couldn't hide her womanly figure.

"Rise. Come, join me." She ordered, gesturing to the seat across from her.

The woman did as she was told; swiftly rising to take the seat across from her, though it was obvious she was ill at ease. The Knight's gaze darted to the door on the other side of the room, then to the window before finally settling on Euphy.

Euphy smiled and poured the tea for them as she tried to think of something to say. Villetta didn't seem to be able to think of anything to say either. Either that, or she was too intimidated by her royal status to speak.

"So . . ." Euphy said after a moment. "Tell me about yourself, Dame Nu."

"What would you wish to know about, your highness?" Villetta asked softly.

"Anything." She said quickly. "Just anything you don't mind sharing."

She just wanted to get to know the woman so she could determine if she wanted her as her Knight of Honour. If she had Lelouch's recommendation, then she knew the woman's ability to protect her shouldn't be questioned. So really, all it came down to was personality.

"I was born in Area Seven to Britannian parents. My father was a politician and was made a Baron for his efforts in stabilizing the area. I grew up on Oahu before transferring to the Colchester Institute here in Pendragon with full scholarships. After graduation, I joined the military and made it into the Knightmare Corps. Until recently, I was stationed in Area Eleven." Villetta answered awkwardly.

"You didn't ask why I wanted to know." Euphy noted.

She also noted the way that the woman had skipped the part about losing her noble title. If her father had been a Baron, she should have been introduced as Baroness Nu, instead of Dame. That she hadn't, suggested that she had been one of the unfortunate nobles that had fallen victim to Lelouch's ire. There had been a scandal about it at court – that the Emperor had allowed the 'peasant prince' to take the titles of bonafide nobles! She supposed that explained why Lelouch had told her that Villetta probably hated him.

"It's not my place to judge you, your highness."

Sometimes it disturbed her how ingrained obedience to the royal family was in the military. Villetta was obviously curious, but she would never ask the questions she so desperately wanted the answers to. Euphy didn't like that.

"My brother Lelouch suggested that I meet with you." She said in answer to the unspoken questions.

The reaction was slight but instantaneous. For all of half a second, the woman's spine stiffened and eyes narrowed slightly, partnered with a quick, surprised inhale. Then the emotion was reined in and replaced with the Knight's warily passive gaze.

"I see." Villetta said hesitantly before exhaling slowly and asking a question. "May I ask why Prince Lelouch wanted you to meet with me, your highness?"

"You could ask, but I wouldn't answer. Not yet, at least. I want to know you better first." Euphy answered.

Villetta's brow furrowed in confusion for a moment, but she said nothing. Instead, she took a sip of her tea – plain with no sugar, milk or honey – and held her silence.

"Tell me about Oahu." She said when it became apparent that the Knight wasn't about to speak without being spoken to.

Villetta gave her one more uneasy glance before launching into the story of her life growing up on the island. It sounded thrilling and exotic and very much not like the drab, dry landscapes of Pendragon. It made her long for the ocean and greenery – or a gorgeous lake nestled at the foot of Mount Fugi.

It just reinforced the reason behind all of this. She wasn't going to spend the rest of her life in Pendragon because she was too afraid of what might happen if she left the protection of the capitol. But she would be prepared next time. She would be conscientious to those around her. She would come with protection and, much as she disliked the idea, she would keep the people she couldn't protect at arm's length.

She spoke with Villetta for an hour, prompting her to continue speaking when she ran out of something to say on a certain topic. She didn't want to make the interview process too long or overwhelm the woman that would likely be her Knight, but she needed to know what the woman was like before she made her choice.

"Thank you for coming to speak with me today." She said, a few moments of silence after Villetta finished speaking about her first impressions of Pendragon after moving away from Area Seven.

"It was an honour, your highness." Villetta said, with a bow of her head.

"Just 'Euphy' is fine. I've never been much for formality."

"I see. Princess . . . Euphy. . ." The Knight said, slightly scandalized. "Um . . . I wonder if you might tell me the purpose behind this visit?"

She shook her head slightly and smiled. "Not today. But I'd really like it if you could come back on Thursday. Around ten o'clock." She proposed hopefully. It wasn't an order. It was a request, but the Knight didn't seem to make the distinction.

"I will be here, your - . . . . Euphy." The woman promised, stumbling over the way to address her.

"Wonderful!" She said excitedly. "I'll look forward to meeting you. And then we can go shopping. I went to this one boutique with Abigail and they had a dress that I really liked, but I didn't buy it. I want to get it."

Villetta's brow furrowed in confusion for a moment. She likely couldn't figure out why a Princess of Britannia wanted to go shopping with her. But this would serve dually as her field evaluation and as a more relaxed setting for her to get to know the Knight better.

Euphy was looking forward to it.

* * *

Lelouch was working and trying to ignore the way Suzaku was leaning against the door frame to his office watching him. Normally, that wasn't a problem. But normally, Suzaku only observed him while he was on duty at the Viceroy's Palace. They were currently at home and Suzaku was currently off duty.

It was going on forty five minutes now that Suzaku had just been lurking in the door to his office. At first, he'd set his work aside and waited expectantly for Suzaku to let him know his decision. But as the minutes had dragged on, in had become increasingly apparent that Suzaku hadn't made his decision yet.

So he'd gone back to work, immersing himself a report Adrian had sent him about the progress in Osaka. The construction of his massive decoy palace was ahead of schedule, which was fortunate since it would let him get through with this charade more quickly, but the Commander suspected the Kenshiki of hoarding. There had been a number of break-ins outside of the Protective Zones that suggested the Kenshiki were preparing for a full scale attack – including a smash and grab at the Knight police's supply depot, where all of the police's KMF munitions and energy fillers had been taken.

There were also reports of looting and general lawlessness from the Elevens that hadn't had the proper leverage to get into the Protective Zones, but casualties were frankly less than he'd predicted. Which he was thankful for. It seemed that while the ostracized Elevens were desperate for the goods they required to survive, they weren't so desperate that they'd begun turning on each other yet.

Actually, ironically enough, it was the safely ensconced away Britannians that were voicing the most discontent. As though saving their lives wasn't good enough. They wanted to go home and check on their material assets to make sure they'd still have the wealth that had let them sit at the top of the food chain for years.

Lelouch was of the secret opinion that it was good for them. It was good for them to see what it was like to have everything taken away. To be shown just how fragile their vaunted superiority really was. Of course, the correspondence he sent to the Protective Zones let none of those sentiments leak through. On paper, he was consummately regretful and determined to bring an end to the hostilities in Osaka.

Which he was. But it didn't hurt for them to learn some humility along the way. To get a taste of Britannia's own medicine and see what the Japanese and every other conquered people had been through.

Osaka was a mess. He could freely admit it. But at least the situation was now contained. He didn't have to worry about Kei moving to Tokyo or some other city and opening up shop there too. It was only a matter of time now. He'd spring his trap, make a bloody example of the Kenshiki and move on with stabilizing the area.

His letter of goodwill seemed to have stalled the JLF for now, which was exactly what it was intended to do. He just hoped they'd hid their tracks well enough so that Cornelia wouldn't catch onto their scent too quickly. He couldn't very well have denied her the right to go after Euphy's kidnappers.

She would have turned on him in an instant and he couldn't afford yet another enemy at this point in the game. He'd love to have it out with Cornelia, but he had two Kenshiki factions to worry about, the ruling of a country, Schneizel's master plan and he didn't think for a second that the Knights of Three and Six wouldn't show up to pester him again sometime in the near future.

Butting heads with Cornelia would require more attention than he could devote to it at the moment. So he'd let her play with the JLF for now. It was a part of his mandate, after all. And much as he'd have liked to spare the effort of going after them, if she kicked the hornet's nest, he'd have no choice but to respond.

He would let bygones be bygones, but any terrorist that was active under his reign would have to be dealt with. It was the only way he could fulfil his mandate and quell the terrorist movement in Area Eleven.

"Lelouch."

He blinked, glancing up at Suzaku near the door. His Knight wasn't exactly glaring at him, but his eyes were narrowed slightly.

"There are conditions."

"Okay." Lelouch agreed. It was only fair. Though he did notice that Suzaku had never felt the need to tell him that he would allow Lelouch to meet his family, as though the conclusion had already been determined. Suzaku just wanted control over how the situation would play out and Lelouch had no problem with giving Suzaku that control.

"First, it's just me and you going. Gottwald can't come. Neither can C.C. or anyone else." Suzaku said, laying down his first demand. "I can still protect you fine by myself. You don't have to worry -"

"I'm not worried about my safety, Suzaku." Lelouch cut him off. "And I agree with it just being me and you. _You_ are going to reclaim your inheritance. I'm just going to be there to back you up."

Suzaku frowned, but nodded a second later. "You absolutely cannot use Geass on them." He said firmly.

Lelouch nodded. That was a given. Just as he would never use Geass on Suzaku, he wouldn't use it on Suzaku's family either. Whatever his personal sentiments were to how they had treated Suzaku over the years – scorning him instead of giving him the comfort and love he had no doubt needed after making what was probably the worst mistake in his life – he would let them keep their free will.

"You can't threaten to hurt or kill them if they don't agree with you either."

Lelouch blinked. "Believe it or not, Suzaku, I am capable of negotiation without resorting to threats of violence or Geass."

"I know. I just thought I'd . . ."

"Clarify that the Wolf of Britannia is not welcome in your family's home?" Lelouch finished.

They glared at each other for a moment before Suzaku nodded slightly.

"What about your childhood friend, Lelouch?" He asked almost spitefully.

It was almost beyond him how Suzaku couldn't seem to reconcile the prince he had to play as now with the kid he used to know. He hadn't changed that much, had he? Sure, he'd had to get tougher, stronger, smarter, but he was still, in essence, the same bratty princeling that had goaded him into chess games just so he could win.

"That's . . . fine. Just don't be too upset when they shoot you down. I don't see them agreeing with you, Lelouch."

"Suzaku, this is for you. You're going to reclaim your rightful place as heir. We'll be in an advantageous position by the time we're ready to go." He promised. He was going to give the family everything that had been taken from them seven years ago. All they had to do was accept the clearly better choice for the head of the family. He'd never met Genbu, but by the time the boy was old enough to inherit, the country would already have changed again and the Kururugi clan would have lost their chance to regain a foothold in the power structure of Japan.

No, Suzaku was the only realistic option as the heir of the family.

"When do you want to go?" Suzaku asked with a sigh.

"Give me a few more days. I still need to finalize some of the transactions."

"Let me know when." Suzaku shrugged before pushing off the door frame and leaving.

Lelouch stared after him for a moment, frowning. Things had gone his way. He'd figured they would. And he'd figured that there would be conditions to Suzaku's approval as well. It just bothered him what they were.

He trusted Suzaku implicitly. Not only with his life, but with his secrets as well. Hell, he trusted Suzaku with Nunnally – the person he loved the most in the world. So it was kind of unfair of Suzaku to trust him so little.

But then, if Suzaku hadn't trusted him at all, he wouldn't have agreed to let Lelouch near his family in the first place. Clearly they had some issues and Lelouch wasn't exactly sure how to go about remedying the situation. His cavalier disregard of the safety of the Japanese in Osaka probably hadn't helped things.

He sighed, turning back to Adrian's report. Right now wasn't the time to worry about problems that couldn't be immediately solved.

* * *

Kaguya was growing concerned. Despite her best efforts at not getting her hopes up, she found that she had indeed gotten her hopes up. She'd wanted so badly for Lelouch to be the kind of ruler she wanted him to be. He'd started off doing everything right. He had a Japanese Knight. He'd allowed Japanese soldiers admission into his militia and preached equality of heritage to his men. And he'd revitalized Shinjuku after the massacre, giving hope back to people who had been wrongly victimized. She'd even had a report of the prince unleashing Suzaku on a corrupt cop at one of the medical stations in Shinjuku, though she'd yet to confirm the information.

So she didn't understand what had happened and why it had changed - why all those acts of kindness towards the Japanese had suddenly stopped and been replaced with the current megalomania. Did the prince really need another palace when the country he was supposed to be running was in the throes of a civil war and the nation's economy had taken a sudden dive thanks to the riots after Clovis' murder?

She understood the method of building in a time of recession in order to stimulate the economy, but a palace in the middle of a war zone seemed a little bit excessive. Especially when she considered that the funds behind the mega-structure had been pilfered from the Honorary Britannian system's administration budget and the funds that had been set aside to help keep Shinjuku from falling into ruin.

What had gone wrong?

Or was it that Lelouch was so scared of the thought of Japanese in Knightmares that he'd overreacted? He was going to be in for a surprise when the JLF decided to make their move if that were the case.

Well, even she had to admit that the thought of Kei with squads of Knightmares under his command was a bit terrifying since he had no restraint, but surely there had to have been a better option than cutting off Osaka from the rest of the country. And cut off they were indeed. The city had gone completely silent.

The Six Houses had had no word from any of their agents or informants within the city. For all she knew, everyone in the city was dead. Sure, that was a bit of doomsday pessimism, but they really didn't know if that wasn't the case. It was kind of scary how ruthless Lelouch had been in shutting down all communication going into or out of the city. Even the internet hadn't had any reliable rumours about the state of the city inside the blockade line. Wild speculation was one thing, but verifiable fact was a little harder to come by.

"Sumeragi-sama, now is not an opportune time for your thoughts to wander."

She snapped back to the present, flushing slightly as she bowed her head. Kirihara Taizo didn't chide or reprimand her. Nothing further was said to her and they continued to make their way to the Britannian Treasuries Office at a pace slow enough that the old man could keep up. He didn't walk with a cane, though that was primarily due to his stubborn pride than due to necessity.

"I'm sorry, Kirihara-san."

Kirihara sighed, patting the hand she had linked around his arm. "You look tired. You haven't been sleeping well?"

"I'm just worried about the audit. But it will be all over today." She almost added 'one way or another', but didn't want to come off as pessimistic.

Every year, they were subjected to an invasive audit in search of any wrongdoing. Creative accounting was a requirement, since if any of her dealings with the resistance movement were to be uncovered, she'd be immediately executed. Kirihara was accompanying her as her adviser in this ordeal since this was her first audit since her father's death and he wanted to make sure the Britannians didn't try to take advantage of her because of her age.

Not that she'd have let them, but she was aware that her fourteen year old self didn't cut a very intimidating figure. It helped to have a stern old man looking out for her well-being at her side.

They eventually made their way into the building and up the elevator the the fourteenth flour where her auditor's office was situated. The man looked none too impressed when she showed up to her appointment five minutes late, but she could hardly have urged Kirihara to move faster. That wasn't how she'd been raised. She respected her elders before she respected any pushy Britannian accountant, whether he held her fate in his hands or not.

"How good of you to come, Miss Sumeragi." The man said, tone barely polite. "It's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance."

This was her first time being in charge of the audit and therefore her first time meeting the man who tried jto hold them accountable for their spending. Last year, her father had gotten up and forced himself to go despite being sick. He'd wanted to spare her the hassle, even though she'd already taken over most of their House's other duties. He'd died shortly after.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Mr. Cornish."

"And I'm surprised to see you here, Mr. Kirihara. It seems you've got your fingers in even more pies than I'd suspected, unless your taste in women is more outrageous than your taste in clothing." The accountant continued.

Kaguya pursed her lips into a thin line. Kirihara had worn a kimono and hakama because it was easier for him to get dressed into than Britannian-styled clothes with how stiff his legs had gotten with age. She'd wanted to mirror the man's dress and wear her own kimono, but he'd advised her against it. So she was dressed in a prim looking black skirt and a white blouse of the Britannian fashion. But no matter what they were wearing, it didn't merit insidious suppositions about their relationship.

"Kirihara-sa-" She cut off and pursed her lips again. She'd made a mistake so easily. "_Mr. _Kirihara has been a close friend of the Sumeragi family for decades. I requested that he come with me today to act as an adviser since this is my first audit. Don't insult him for acquiescing to my request."

"Of course. I apologize, Miss Sumeragi." Cornish said, though his tone was anything but apologetic. Damned egotistical Brtiannians, always so full of themselves.

She smiled politely instead of voicing her internal sentiments. "Shall we get on to the results of my audit, Mr. Cornish?"

The man frowned, but gestured towards the thick folder on his desk nonetheless. "Everything seems to be in order. We could find no evidence of wrongdoing." He said, though he sounded displeased with the results. "However, we will be renegotiating your contract."

"Oh?" She asked. The contract was the agreement her father had made with the Britannian government during the invasion. They'd been labelled traitors, but someone had had to do it to ensure that those who continued resisting would have the funds they needed to fight. She supposed it was only natural that the Britannians would want her signature on the documents to hold her legally accountable. "Let me read your draft then."

The man nodded and handed her a document from the top of his desk. It was seventeen pages of Britannian legalese, but she powered through it. She understood most of the clauses, and those she didn't, she asked Kirihara about. When she'd finally powered her way through the entire document, she set it down on the accountant's desk instead of signing it.

"I'm afraid the contract is unacceptable, Mr. Cornish." She said calmly. Though the document looked legitimate enough, it was lacking any official seals. The man had also made a mistake by claiming it was drafted by the Viceroy himself - as if he'd have time to deal with this kind of business. It was a clumsy attempt at extortion.

"What exactly is it that you find unacceptable?" He asked.

"If I adhered to the terms of your contract, I'd have to let half of my staff go and the employees in the Sumeragi Corporation's mines would have to undergo a wage cut. The increased taxation is too steep for me to adapt to. I cannot accept, but I'm willing to renegotiate the contract. I'm sure if I was given the chance to explain the consequences of this contract to the Viceroy, he'd be willing to renegotiate the terms."

The man gave a disbelieving little choke of a sound before laughing in her face. "You think that Prince Lelouch would have the time to deal with an Eleven like you?"

"Well he's obviously taken an interest in the Sumeragi Corporation, or he wouldn't have drafted the contract." She said unassumingly. It might have been too late to adopt the naive, fourteen year old girl act, but it was better than letting the man know she'd seen right through his petty attempt to wring more money out of her. It was better to be underestimated.

"I received the contract via courier." The accountant said pompously. "If he didn't have time to explain its details to me, he certainly wouldn't have time to explain it to you. Besides, why would the prince care if you couldn't afford the massive house in Kyoto, or the luxury cars or the yacht? It's only due to your people murdering Prince Clovis and descending the country into chaos that such measures are required."

She frowned. "Why should I be penalized for the actions of terrorists? My family has been a staunch supporter of the Britannian Empire for the last seven years. The death of Prince Clovis was terrible and troubling. I grieved for his loss just as you did."

"It's not a matter of whether or not you grieved for the late Viceroy. It's a matter of the current Viceroy requiring more from you." Cornish said waspishly.

"I've already said, I can't sign your contract until the terms have been renegotiated."

"And I've already told you, the Viceroy won't care enough about you to renegotiate. You'd be better off just signing it, than risking him getting angry at you."

"He wouldn't risk getting angry with me."

The man paused for a moment, as though trying to reconcile what he'd just heard with the girl in front of him. "Was a threat?"

She smiled innocently. "No, certainly not. But surely his highness wouldn't do anything to upset his Knight? I wonder if you know, but Sir Kururugi is my beloved cousin. I don't think the Viceroy would risk angering his Knight by threatening his family. So, we'll leave the contract for now and I'll talk to Suzaku tonight and ask him to talk to the prince on my behalf. I'm sure we'll be able to come to an agreement that's beneficial to everyone involved."

Cornish paled to a sickly white colour. "That. . . won't be necessary, Miss Sumeragi. I'll send back the contract and let the prince know of the problems you have with it. There's no need to involve Sir Kururugi."

She smirked inwardly. "Oh, that's so kind of you, Mr. Cornish! Then I won't ask Suzaku to talk to his highness about it when I talk to him tomorrow. Thanks so much!" She said happily as she collected her audit results off the man's desk. "Was there anything else we needed to discuss?"

Cornish shook his head listlessly, likely wondering just how it was that he'd been bowled over by a fourteen year old girl.

"Good then! I have piano lessons this afternoon and I don't want to be late, so we'll be heading out now, if that's alright with you?"

Cornish nodded, then cleared his throat and snapped back to present. "Ah, yes, that's fine, Miss Sumeragi. I'll contact you when I receive the new draft of the contract. Enjoy your lessons."

"Oh, I will!" She said with a bright smile as she rose from her seat and helped Kirihara to stand. "Bye bye, Mr. Cornish!" She waved over her shoulder as they left the office.

It wasn't until they were in the elevator that Kirihara chuckled softly. "As formidable as ever, Sumeragi-sama."

She grinned. "Well, I did learn from some of the best."

* * *

Villetta was, if possible, more confused by her second visit with Princess Euphemia than she had been with the first. And that was a fairly significant statement, considering that she still had no idea about the purpose of their first meeting.

When she'd received the summons that Princess Euphemia had requested a meeting with her, she'd been none too pleased with her prospects. Sure, recent events might have left her a little jaded, but in her experience, when a member of the royal family singled a soldier out, it usually wasn't for a good thing.

So she'd gone in expecting the worse, an expectation that had been compounded by the princess' revelation that Prince Lelouch was actually the mastermind behind their meeting. She'd assumed that the prince had decided that she hadn't been punished enough and had tasked his sister with seeing to the details of her further punishment..

So she hadn't quite been prepared when instead of condemning her, the princess had cheerfully offered her tea and asked her about her herself. As she'd methodically worked through her life's story, omitting any events that might have displeased the girl, it had become increasingly unlikely that she'd been asked here to submit to more punishment.

Which left her with the big question of just why the princess had wanted to meet with her at all?

The question was not answered when she arrived for her second meeting with the princess to find the girl already excitedly waiting with her coat on in the foyer.

"Your highness." She said reverently as she sank to her knee.

"Oh, stop that. It's not necessary. Come on, get up!" Princess Euphemia said in embarrassment as she pulled her back up to her feet. "It's lovely to see you again, Dame Nu."

"And you, your highness."

"I told you to call me 'Euphy'." The girl chided without any real heat before gesturing towards the door. "Let's go!"

And this was another mystery. How had she become the princess' new shopping companion? Why shopping? Despite being a woman – and fairly fashionable, if she did say so herself – shopping had never really been her favorite past time. She'd been blessed with a figure that thankfully fit into almost everything she tried on, and therefore could order the majority of her clothes online or from catalogues.

Perhaps Prince Lelouch knew that and had orchestrated this as another part of her punishment for daring to try to stabilize Area Eleven in the wake of Prince Clovis' death? It was a light punishment, more of an annoyance really. She couldn't really picture the scowly prince letting her off so easily. No, this had to come from Princess Euphemia instead of the Viceroy of Area Eleven.

"As you wish, Euphy." She said deferentially, swallowing down her own feeling of impudence at addressing royalty so informally to her face. She followed the girl halfway to the door before she noticed something out of place and paused. She glanced around the room and frowned. "Where is your protection, your highness?"

The princess stilled and glanced over her shoulder at her, her face surprisingly serious for once. "Do you think I need it?" She asked.

Villetta's brow furrowed in confusion. "Of course you do, your highness."

"But surely you're enough to protect me from any bad guys that might be lurking in the dress shop?"

She stilled, feeling her heart race and her palms begin to sweat. Princess Euphemia was a beloved daughter of His Majesty himself and the girl was asking her to protect her? The very idea was thrilling and heady and reeked of power and prestige. To be asked to protect a member of the royal family was a great honour.

_But_ she doubted she could survive the fallout if something were to go wrong. Just weeks ago, Euphemia had been targeted by terrorists. While the likelihood of the Kenshiki Faction following the girl back to Pendragon was slim, Villetta knew that if the princess was targeted again and if she was in charge of protecting her at the time and failed, she'd be executed.

She'd already been disgraced and had lost the vital contacts she would need to keep her head off the chopping block. Even if it was an honour, even if it was a chance to redeem herself, the risk was too high. She didn't like entering a situation in which there was no way out.

"Be that as it may, there is no point in risking yourself unnecessarily. Considering the tragic events at Ashford Academy and your recent debut, it would be prudent to keep yourself protected at all times, Euphy."

The girl's smile faltered for a moment then softened. "You're right, of course. The Knight of Six will be joining us."

Anya Alstreim, the youngest Knight of the Round, was hardly a figure that inspired confidence. But she was a Knight of the Round, had been handpicked by the Emperor, and therefore shouldn't be doubted.

She nodded in agreement. "As you wish." She said as she followed the girl through the door, past a garden and into the multi-car garage owned by the li Britannia family. Her own car was parked on the tarmac outside, a relic of the high-profile life she'd once led as a Baroness. It was flashy and red and stuck out like a sore thumb in the array of stately black and silver luxury sedans and limos.

"Oooh!" The princess practically squealed when she saw the car. "Can we take yours?" She asked excitedly, pointing towards the red sports car.

"If you prefer." She acquiesced, because what else could she say? No? Sorry, princess, but I don't want to take my car?

They made their way to the car and before they'd even left the li Britannia compound, the game of twenty questions had begun again. What was her favourite food? Her favourite colour? What was it like being in the Knightmare Corps? Had she known Prince Clovis well? Did she have a husband or boyfriend or lover? What about children?

The interrogation was no less personal than it had been the first time, but somehow it was easier now that she had something else to do. She drove them to an exclusive dress shop in the downtown core and parked in the handicap spot right in front of the door. If the parking police wanted to give her a ticket for the minor infraction, she'd let them, but she wasn't going to make the princess walk any further than she had to. Besides, she doubted many cripples would be clamouring to get into the dress shop while they were there.

The Knight of Six was already there waiting for them, but despite the princess' overly warm welcome, Alstreim remained quiet and aloof as they made their way into the shop and endured the princess' eagerness to be shopping.

It took less than fifteen minutes for Euphemia to overwhelm the shop's assistant with dresses that caught her eye. Within thirty minutes, she'd also picked out an assortment of garments for Anya and Villetta.

She swallowed her sigh and took the articles the princess had chosen for her to the change room along with Euphemia and Anya (who was positively buried beneath the clothes that had been chosen for her).

"I'll go first and you guys tell me what you think, okay?" Euphemia said cheerfully as she disappeared behind the curtain. Anya sighed and slumped against the wall. She already looked exhausted. Not that she could blame the other Knight. Once Princess Euphemia got on a roll, it seemed like nothing could stop her.

"So what do you think?" Euphemia asked, throwing the curtain open wide as she emerged in a cocktail dress that was probably the most hideous thing Villetta had ever seen. It wasn't just that the colour was something between a peach and an orange and clashed horrible with the princess' hair, but everything about it, from the puffy shoulders to the abundant amounts of lace, sequins and crinoline skirt was downright torturous to the gaze.

"Um." She stumbled over her reply. Why did the princess want her opinion on this _thing_?

"This is that dress I told you about the other day." Euphemia clarified, spinning around and examining herself in the mirror. "So . . . what do you think of it?"

This was like shooting herself in the foot, wasn't it? If she told the princess she hated it, she'd offend the girl. But on the other hand, if she didn't tell her and she actually bought that monstrosity, it would be offensive to everyone who had the misfortune of witnessing this crime against fashion.

Anya took a picture.

"Perhaps one of the other dresses would compliment your features better." She said hesitantly.

The princess frowned, examining herself in the mirror for a moment before squeezing the puffy shoulders of her dress and bursting out laughing. "God, I'm so glad you said that or I'd have been forced to buy it. I've never seen an uglier dress in my life!" Euphemia laughed, then had the good grace to blush and look sheepishly at the shop attendant standing a few feet away. "I'm sorry! It's just . . . not to my taste."

She was still giggling when she disappeared behind the curtain, leaving a shell shocked Villetta and a still stoic and silent Anya in her wake. Villetta blinked. Had the Third Princess of the Imperial family just played a prank on her?

She smirked wryly. And she'd actually been sweating it. As if the princess would have actually found that dress attractive. No one with eyes could have found that dress attractive.

Euphemia tried on another half a dozen dresses before shoving Anya into the dressing room. When the Knight of Six had dutifully tried on the garments Euphemia had chosen for her, all without looking even the slightest bit happy, she insisted that Villetta try on the dresses that had been chosen for her. She abided the princess' request and showcased a number of expensive ballgowns that she'd never have the occasion to wear.

Euphemia purchased two dresses for herself, four for Anya and, against her protests, one for Villetta. Just when she thought she was through with the shopping trip however, it became apparent that the princess was anything but done as she dragged them further down the street into another store where she had a similar experience with different clothes, then onto another store after that.

By late afternoon, they had canvassed most of the street and were in an expensive jewelry store looking at earrings. The store's owner was only too pleased to let the young princess run wild all over the store, trying on pieces that most people didn't even get to see out from underneath the glass.

The day had been a learning experience, but she couldn't say it hadn't been fun. The princess had a natural charm about her that just seemed to draw people to her. Euphemia had spent the entire day chatting happily, if not to her, then to various shop owners or the rare other shopper. It had been fun, they'd joked, they'd laughed and even though the princess' questioning had continued throughout the day it hadn't seemed too invasive.

But after spending the day with the girl, she was still no closer to understanding the purpose of today's excursion. Why exactly did Euphemia feel the need to know so much about her? Why was she collecting so much data? More importantly, why did Prince Lelouch want Euphemia to have so much data about her? She doubted the young Viceroy's wrath had completely abated if he'd asked Princess Euphemia to look into the matter.

She was still bracing for the worst, even though she found that she actually liked the pretty pink princess. And Euphy had only told her that she wouldn't tell her the purpose behind their meeting on the day that she'd asked. But this was a whole new day and so perhaps the same rule didn't apply.

"Euphy," She said hesitantly, if only because the girl seemed to prefer the nickname. The princess tilted her head to the side to indicate that she was listening as she admired a pair of glittering teardrop diamond earrings in her ears. "I was wondering if you'd tell me what this is all about."

For a moment, the princess didn't say anything. She stared at herself in the mirror, turning her head slightly one side to the other as she admired the gleam of the diamonds against her hair. "I'm looking for a Knight." She finally answered, eyes still glued to her reflection in the mirror.

Villetta was pretty sure her heart actually stopped. She was also pretty sure that her eyes had widened comically, like one of those little squeeze toys that bugged the eyes out when you squished it.

She let out a shaky breath. "You highness . . ." But she didn't know what to say. What could she say? Though the princess might be considering her, she obviously hadn't made her choice yet. Acting confident about the decision, or pleading her case on why she thought she'd make a good Knight of Honour was just crass. She didn't like to beg.

"It's 'Euphy'." She chided, smiling over her shoulder.

"Euphy . . ." But she still hadn't come up with something to say that would be fitting in this situation.

"I haven't made my choice yet." The princess said, "But I think it's only fair to tell you that you weren't my first choice. My first choice . . . . refused my offer."

"You'd have to be a fool to turn down an offer of Knighthood." She said in surprise.

"He's not a fool. He's just . . . loyal. Lukas Zimmerman is a member of Lelouch's Royal Guard. Even though my brother was willing to release him from service, Lukas wasn't willing to foreswear his oaths." Euphemia corrected wistfully. "He's a good man."

"Of course, Euphy. I didn't mean to offend. But I still don't understand. Why me?" She asked desperately.

"Lelouch recommended you." The princess answered with a shrug.

"I don't understand how. Prince Lelouch and I did not part on good terms." She admit reluctantly. She wasn't exactly trying to talk the princess out of making a decision in her favour, but it was only best if the girl knew the details from the start. It would only be awkward if Euphemia chose her and then later found out about her differences with Prince Lelouch.

"Because you tried to have Suzaku executed, right?"

She shifted nervously. 'Suzaku' sounded like she knew the Eleven pretty well. "Yes." She admit. There was no point in denying it when the princess could confirm the details in any newspaper from Area Eleven.

"I don't approve of the actions you took. Suzaku is a charming, kind, and goodhearted gentleman. But I also don't intend to extend the punishment my brother saw fit to bestow upon you. I accept his decree, but don't see the point of leaving you in a position that doesn't befit your skills." Euphemia explained.

Villetta let out a deep, almost relieved sigh. "I still don't understand why Prince Lelouch would recommend me for such an honour."

"Oh, that's simple. He asked Sir Gottwald who he thought would make a good Knight for me and he answered with your name. I think Lelouch thought it was a little funny, but he went along with it." The princess answered with a shrug.

Jeremiah.

Even here, even now, he was still looking out for her. The one man she respected above all others, and the one man that she may have slightly fallen in love with (not that he'd known it) before he'd rolled over on the Purist Faction. She wasn't exactly sure what she felt about him now.

He'd merrily walked with them all to their doom, then had jumped ship into Lelouch's entourage at the first chance. Though she guessed she couldn't really blame him. She'd have done the same thing if Lelouch had given her the same ultimatum. 'Forsake your friends and become my Knight, or die'… yes she would have done the exact same thing.

But it still left a bitter taste in her mouth. They'd served together for years. She'd been his second in command. His LT and he'd just bailed. She hadn't even seen him since the day he'd sworn fealty to Prince Lelouch. He'd never called or emailed or even sent a letter. It was like the man she'd once known was dead. Which was probably true.

After all, the prince hadn't been looking for anything more than a meat shield.

"You look troubled." Euphemia noted.

"No. I'm just . . ." She trailed off. She didn't quite know what she was.

"Surprised?" The princess asked.

"Yes. I'm very surprised."

* * *

AN: *cowers* Sorry for such a long wait! *bow* *bow* I'll try to work faster from now on, I promise.

In any case, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I've been trying to pick up the pacing a bit, but I'm finding it difficult to write.

In other news, Francis D. Saber, had begun writing more Dauntless sidestories for all of your enjoyment. So go check it out! You can find it by searching his name, Dauntless Side Stories, or by trying to make this link work - http:/w t/s/8 095315/1 /Dauntle ss_Side_Stories (I put a bunch of spaces in it, so I don't know if it will actually work)

Thank you for reading. Please don't forget to review. Reviews totally kickstart my writing motivation, which means I end up writing faster when I get a bunch of them. I hope you enjoyed!

Allora


	84. Chapter 84: An Unwelcome Homecoming

Chapter 84: An Unwelcome Homecoming

Lelouch was a cruel boy. But then, she supposed she'd known that from the start. He was selfish and focused on his own goals above all else. Even his best friend's wellbeing took a backseat when it came to the ruling of the country or his master plan for revenge. Or maybe, for all his vaunted closeness to his Knight, Lelouch hadn't been able to see that Suzaku's stress levels had continued to rise over the last week.

Either way, Lelouch's success depended on Suzaku's stability. And he wasn't going to be very successful if Suzaku cowered every time his mother spoke. Which is where she came in.

C.C. made her way through the garden, silently padding down the cobblestone paths that carved their way through the foliage. She wound her way around the house and to the furthest corner of the garden where a lone sakura tree stood sentinel – invisible from any of the houses' windows.

Kururugi glared at her from where he was slouched at the base of the tree. "How'd you know I was here?" He grumbled. Apparently the fact that she had found him at all was currently more important than the reason she'd trekked all the way out here to see him.

"You always come here when you're upset." She answered with a shrug.

"I'm not upset." He said petulantly, glancing away.

"Ah, that's right. You're not upset. You're scared." She corrected, smirking arrogantly. "Facing your mother terrifies you."

Kururugi snorted disbelievingly. "You wish."

"Then why are you hiding out here instead of sleeping peacefully in your bed?" She goaded.

"Have I recently been outlawed from enjoying the garden?" The Knight asked bitterly. "It's funny, Lelouch didn't tell me."

"And of course, Lelouch always tells you everything." She quipped.

He sighed heavily. "Did you out come here for a reason other than for your own entertainment?"

"I did." She admitted, flopping down on the grass next to him.

"And that reason was?" He asked impatiently.

"I came to tell you to get your shit together, Suzaku Kururugi." She answered evenly, watching from the corner of her eye. The Knight had been visibly distracted all week.

The boy snorted, but didn't say anything as he stared up into the barren branches of the tree above.

"Lelouch needs you to get your shit together. He didn't ask you to visit your mother because he's hoping for some kind of joyous family reunion. He's asking you to visit her because as the head of your family you will be able to hold Japan in hand. And that means Lelouch will be able to control the Japanese." She argued.

"I'm aware." He snapped, the edges of his patience fraying.

"Lelouch needs a strong, fearless Knight right now. Not a boy that's afraid of his mother." She continued.

Lelouch probably wouldn't be pleased with this conversation if he ever heard it, but it wasn't something she planned on sharing anyway.

"I'm not afraid of her." He growled.

"Aren't you?" She asked sharply, turning to face him. Her hand made it halfway to his face before he roughly grabbed her wrist and twisted it back. But if he thought that that would stop her, he was mistaken.

She let the power of her Code rush through her, searing synapses as she tore Suzaku Kururugi from the only world he'd known, replacing it with an endless stark white existence. He looked around wildly, but she didn't allow him to see her as she delved further into his mind.

"C.C.? C.C.!" He shouted. "Stop this! This isn't funny."

But she didn't stop. Instead, she conjured the image of his mother.

"What's all this shouting about?" The spectre demanded behind him.

Suzaku flinched and whirled around. "Haha-ue."

"Haha-ue. Haha-ue." The woman mimicked scornfully. "If you'd respected me at all, you wouldn't have killed your father."

"I'm sorry!" Suzaku cried.

"I'm sorry too. I'm sorry I didn't have you killed for your crimes before you could turn into a damned traitor."

Lelouch might be cruel. But C.C. was crueller. She could turn his mother into a far worse monster than she'd ever been in real life.

"Haha-ue . . ." Suzaku said breathlessly, as though the words had physically wounded him.

"Is that all you're going to say to her? What happened to your fearlessness?" C.C. asked.

Suzaku whirled around, furious. "C.C.! What are you doing to me?"

"I'm proving a point, Sir Kururugi." She answered. "Either you're a Knight or you're this woman's victim."

"Stop trying to manipulate me." He growled.

She smiled. How ironic. It seemed he had no problem with Lelouch manipulating him, but when it came to her it was a different story.

"Does that mean you're not even going to try?" She asked. "What are you going to do when your mother says to you -"

"You're no son of mine!" The spectre shouted. "You're a murderer! A filthy criminal! I never want to see your face again!"

He grimaced.

"I can make you stronger. I can give you an edge." She offered when he didn't say anything.

"With Geass?" He asked.

"Yes." She answered.

"Just like that? You'd hand something like Geass out like it's a coupon to a nearby restaurant when it has power to cripple lives?" He sneered.

"No. Not 'just like that'. I would enter into a contract with you, Suzaku Kururugi. I would give you Geass – the Power of Kings." She said calmly.

"Why?"

Why indeed? This wasn't how she did things. What did she want from Suzaku that she didn't already expect to get from Lelouch? Ah, but in order for Lelouch to fulfil his contract, he needed to survive long enough for his Geass to mature. Which meant that Suzaku was necessary. And therefore, she was really just helping herself. He needed to get stronger if he was going to continue helping Lelouch.

"If you swear to protect Lelouch from any and all harm, be it physical or mental, I will give you Geass." She bargained.

"Haven't I been doing that already?" He asked in a deadpan.

"Thus far. And now you're wavering."

"I am _not_ wavering." He snapped. "My loyalty to Lelouch is absolute."

"Then why did you feel the need to protect your family from him?"

He grit his teeth, glaring at her.

"Do we have a deal, Suzaku Kururugi?" She asked, holding out her hand to him across the stark white backdrop of his consciousness.

"No. We don't." He said firmly. "I don't want Geass. Now let me out of here."

She cocked her head to the side in surprise. Well . . . that hadn't gone quite as planned.

Suzaku came back into reality like he was coming out of a nightmare – with a gasp and a shiver. His hand clamped even tighter around her wrist and if she were anyone else she might have winced. When he realized what he was doing, he jerked his hand away as if she had burned him.

"Don't ever do that to me again." He snarled.

"It seems unlikely that I will ever have to do that again, Suzaku. You made your position on Geass quite clear." She said evenly, then pushed herself to her feet. "Though I still feel like I should remind you, nothing will change for Lelouch whether things go the way he wants them to or not. Even if your family reveals your crimes and the fact that you've been disowned to the masses, he'll still be a Prince of Britannia, a Viceroy and a military commander. And he'll still have a mandate from the Emperor to destroy the terrorists in Area Eleven.

"All that will really change is that he will lose the respect of the Japanese people. And what do you think he'll be forced to do when that happens?"

She turned away from him before he could answer. They both knew what would happen. The only thing separating Lelouch from ruling like Clovis had was his love for the Japanese.

* * *

Suzaku had thought about blindfolding Lelouch, but then had remembered their visit to Nunnally when Lelouch had been tempted to do the same thing and hadn't. If Lelouch trusted him with someone as precious as Nunnally, surely he could trust Lelouch with the family that he barely liked.

Well, it had turned out to be a moot point anyway since Lelouch had fallen asleep about half an hour after they'd gotten into the car and even when he'd eventually woken up, he'd immersed himself in some paperwork he'd brought along and didn't pay attention to his whereabouts anyway. In fact, the only time Lelouch seemed to take any interest in his surroundings was when they'd boarded a ferry bound for Hokkaido.

But that had been over an hour ago and Lelouch had fallen asleep again shortly after. Well, actually, he couldn't tell if Lelouch was actually asleep or was just closing his eyes and pretending to be asleep to let him keep the secret of his family's location. It sounded like something Lelouch would do.

But it was a misguided kindness, because right now all he wanted was to have someone to talk to – someone to take his mind off the dread that was growing with every passing kilometre.

He sighed, changing the radio station to something else. Lelouch kept saying he was doing this for him. Lelouch had arranged all of this for him, but he still wasn't sure if he wanted to thank or punch his prince for his thoughtfulness.

He could have gone the rest of his life without ever seeing his mother again. He could have been happy with that. And he really could have been happy with just being Lelouch's Knight – with abandoning his family completely.

Now, he'd be seeing her any minute now. He grimaced and tightened his grip around the steering wheel, watching as his knuckles turned white.

Lelouch gave a sleepy yawn and rubbed at his eyes as he sat up straight and took a better look at their surroundings. They were on a remote road with only untamed wilderness on either side. "Where are we?"

"Almost there." He said quietly, keeping his eyes glued to the road in front of him. He could feel Lelouch watching him, but declined to comment on it.

"Breathe, Suzaku." The prince ordered tolerantly. "Things will go exactly how we want them to, I promise."

"And if they don't?" He asked bitterly. "They're going to condemn me for what I did to my father, Lelouch. They're going to say that I don't deserve to inherit anything, and I tend to agree with them."

"Then back out." Lelouch said exasperatedly. "If you really have no interest in reclaiming your rightful inheritance and validating everything you've spent the last two years doing, turn the car around and take us back to Tokyo."

Suzaku grit his teeth and slammed on the breaks, stopping the car on the side of the road. "I'm tempted to do it just to prove you wrong. Stop pushing me. You have no idea what I went through growing up there and you're asking me to willingly jump back into it. I'm _going _to do it. I am. For no other reason than because you want me to, because you are my prince and I'm your Knight and because you're my friend.

"So I don't need you to manipulate me into doing this. I don't need you to try to twist it around and make it sound like it was my idea or that you're doing this for me. We're doing this for you, Lelouch, so I can be a better tool for you."

He glared, and then put the car back into gear, trying his best to squash his guilt. He probably shouldn't have snapped at Lelouch like that, but his patience was completely fried at the moment.

Lelouch sat in silence next to him for a few minutes before finally sighing and staring down at his lap. "Sorry." Lelouch said remorsefully. "But you're not just a tool to me, Suzaku. And I want this for you just as much as I want it for me."

Suzaku nodded mutely, but any further chance for apologies, explanations or doubts was robbed from him when he turned the car down a familiar lane. The driveway was just as rustic and undeveloped as the rest of the road until you followed it for a few minutes and came upon the immaculately landscaped Japanese-style garden that surrounded the Japanese-style villa hidden out here in the wilderness.

This was the last bastion of the Kururugi family.

He parked the car out front and took a deep breath. Lelouch watched him silently from the passenger seat. It was apparent that Lelouch wasn't going to make a move until he did. Lelouch was really serious about coming as his back up – of following his lead.

"Well . . . let's get this over with then." He sighed, stepping out of the car. Lelouch followed suit, face blank and composed as he prepared to meet Suzaku's family for the first time since the invasion.

But before Suzaku could even get around the car, let alone get up to the door of the house, he heard an excited squeal from the bushes beside him, along with a just as excited "Nii-san!" before his younger brother burst out of the foliage and hugged his waist tightly. "I knew you'd come back!"

Suzaku sighed heavily, staring down at the boy grinning brightly at him, before patting his brother's head. He was a terrible person, but he hated this kid. "Genbu."

"This is him?" Lelouch asked beside him, scrutinizing the child. "Your half-brother?"

He nodded mutely. "This is Lelouch." He introduced to the child who was staring at the prince curiously.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Genbu-kun." Lelouch said pleasantly, crouching down to shake the boy's hand.

"Don't touch him!" Another voice shouted.

Suzaku caught movement out of the corner of his eye, something moving fast and hard aimed straight for Lelouch. He didn't even think, didn't even allow himself the half-second it would take to identify the weapon being used on his prince before he moved to block the blow.

A wooden bokken landed heavily on his forearm. It hurt, but he didn't allow himself to acknowledge the pain as he grabbed the assailant's wrist and twisted it back, forcing him to drop the wooden sword.

"Get away from the Britannian, Genbu!" The furious eight year old struggling in his grip shouted.

Suzaku sighed. "Katsurou-kun. You're getting better at that, but don't try to practice on my prince." He said as he released his grip and pushed the boy back a step.

Lelouch quirked an eyebrow at him curiously. "Two brothers?" He guessed.

But before he could explain the situation, the brat had already pulled himself back together, standing up straight and puffing his chest out a bit. "I'm Todoh Katsurou, the son of Tohdoh Kyoshiro, Britannian. It's only a matter of time before my father kills you and takes back Japan!"

"Oh?" Lelouch said, tone halfway between amused and pissed off. He realized that Lelouch was actually more than half pissed off when he pinned Suzaku with a glare. "I seem to recall you telling me that you'd had nothing to do with the JLF."

"I haven't had anything to do with the JLF. He's not a terrorist, Lelouch. He's just a kid."

Lelouch sighed.

"I'm not just a kid!" Katsurou protested, exhibiting that his temper hadn't changed at all since he'd seen the boy last. "I'm going to surpass even you, Onii-sama! Just watch."

"You know this complicates things, right?" Lelouch asked him, evidently annoyed.

"He doesn't have anywhere else to go, Lelouch."

"On the contrary, he has a father." Lelouch said sharply.

Before Suzaku was given the chance to plead Tohdoh's son's case, the front door of the house slammed open and his mother was there, looking somewhere between thunderous and thunderstruck. He stiffened, curling his fingers into fists behind his back to hide the slight tremble the adrenaline rush of her anger always brought with it and went forward to greet her.

"Haha-ue." He said respectfully, bowing.

She slapped him.

Her opened palm collided with his face with a resounding clap, forcing his head to the side and no doubt leaving an angry red mark on his cheek.

_"Either you're a Knight or you're this woman's victim."_

He let out a slow breath, staring at his feet for a moment before raising his gaze to meet her's, steady and determined. "You haven't changed at all, Mother."

"How dare you come here! I told you to never come back. And _worse_! You brought that Britannian with you! What the hell are you thinking?" She snarled.

"I see the hospitality of the Kururugi house hasn't changed much either." Lelouch said calmly behind him. "Lady Kururugi, I'd say that it's a pleasure to see you again, but under the present circumstances, I'm sure you'll forgive me if I don't. And you _do_ realized that that's a Knight of Honour that you're assaulting there, right?"

He sent Lelouch a warning look, which the prince met passively. Lelouch had promised that he wouldn't threaten his family. Reminding them how Britannian law punished those who attacked Knights of Honour fell into that category.

But Lelouch's warning was enough to change his mother's tone.

She bowed resentfully. "My Lord Viceroy, to what do we own the honour of your visit?"

Lelouch smirked. "I've come at Suzaku's behest. I believe he has business to attend to."

"Gather the family." He said firmly.

While it was true that the game of succession for head of the Kururugi house had been narrowed down to just himself and Genbu, he did still have surviving family members. His grandparents were still alive, along with a great-uncle and two great aunts. None of them had any surviving children of their own, or this wouldn't have been a problem in the first place.

His mother narrowed her eyes at him, at the order he'd just given to her, before her gaze travelled briefly to Lelouch and back. "As you wish, Knight-san." She said spitefully.

She would never acknowledge him as a son. He knew that already. Even if things went as Lelouch wanted them to, even if he was named heir of his family, he would never be her son again.

* * *

Kallen was in the middle of lunch when Edith Cardston strolled into her house like she owned the place. She didn't apologize for the intrusion. She simply sat down at the table opposite of Kallen and began laying paperwork out on the table.

"Hello to you too." She grumbled under her breath and took another bite of sandwich.

"I'll need you to fill out and sign these documents, Miss Wallbridge." Edith said.

"What are they?" She asked without taking her attention off the food in front of her. If Edith wanted to be a bitch to her, she could be a bitch back.

"Registration forms." Edith answered.

"For what?"

"Enlistment in the military." The prince's assistant answered evenly.

"What if I don't want to?" She asked.

Edith paused in her activity of organizing the paperwork she needed to sign and stared back at her. "Do you think you have a choice?"

"My brother once told me that I always had a choice. That no one could force me to do something that I didn't want to." She countered, finally meeting the gaze of the woman.

She wasn't exactly sure what it was, but something about this woman just rubbed her the wrong way. She just didn't like her.

"Very true." The older woman conceded. "Though he obviously didn't teach you that there are consequences to not doing what you're told."

She glared at Edith, fingers curling around the dull butter knife that had been resting on her plate. The assistant's gaze dropped to the makeshift weapon then back up to her face, smirking slightly. "I've had the blade of a professional assassin coming straight for me, Miss Wallbridge. Do you think I'm going to cower at the sight of you and a butter knife? A better question is, do you think I really came here alone? Or unarmed? I will put you down myself if you don't put that knife down."

"And disappoint your precious master?" She countered. "Who do you think the prince would value more? An Ace Knightmare pilot, or a pencil pusher?"

Edith actually smiled and reached into her pocket for her cellphone. "Should I call him and ask?"

Kallen glared. Would she actually do it? Drag the prince into a confrontation between the two of them? She couldn't imagine that not pissing Lelouch off, no matter who he chose in favour of. And she didn't really feel like being on his shit list again. She still remembered what it felt like to have Gottwald slowly trying to break her fingers.

She glanced away.

"That's what I thought." Edith said confidently. "And while we're on the subject, I'll tell you that it was Lelouch that stepped between me and the assassin, risking his own life to save me. I wouldn't disregard my value to him if I were you. Now sign the damned papers. You start your training next week."

* * *

Well, they were off to a spectacular start. So far, a child had tried to assassinate him, Suzaku had been assaulted by his mother and they were going to have to wait until tomorrow to begin their business with the Kururugi family. Things were going just . . . swimmingly.

Lelouch sighed and fidgeted with the robe he had been graciously lent by the Kururugi's for the night while they laundered his other clothes. "Am I even wearing this right?" He asked in annoyance. Having to wait until tomorrow to meet with the rest of the Kururugi family put him in an uncomfortable position. Basically, he was at their mercy, and Lady Kururugi had already voiced her disdain of him. It had made Suzaku uncomfortable enough to insist that they share a room.

And so here they were, dressed in glorified bathrobes while he waited to find out if Lady Kururugi had guts enough to try to have him killed under her own roof. Jeremiah hadn't been too impressed with the situation either and had demanded the location of the Kururugi's sanctuary. Lelouch had given it to him, much to Suzaku's displeasure, but had ordered him not to make a move unless he went more than twelve hours without checking in.

Twelve hours was a long time, but he was willing to give the Kururugi's the benefit of the doubt, if only for the sake of Suzaku.

"It's fine, Lelouch." Suzaku said, smothering a chuckle.

He pulled at the swath of fabric that had been draped around him again, feeling distinctly uncomfortable. It wasn't that he had anything against kimonos in general, but he didn't want to wear them. They made him feel vulnerable and unprotected. Not to mention that if anyone happened to snap a photo of him in this get up he'd lose credibility with his Britannian support.

"It's not fine." He grumbled, staring at the futon that had been laid out on the floor. It was already late into the evening and he _should_ go to sleep. "If someone sees me. . ."

"No one's going to see you dressed like an Eleven." Suzaku said patiently.

"You're not an 'Eleven'." He retorted. "You're Japanese."

"Does that really matter?" Suzaku sighed.

"It does matter. If you don't -" He cut off when Suzaku made a quick shushing movement and sat up a little straighter. Then he gave a signal Lelouch knew; eavesdropper.

Lelouch frowned as Suzaku slowly and silently made his way to his feet. Then, to cover any sound Suzaku's movement might make, he began talking again. "Fine. You're right. Whatever you want to call yourself. What do I care? Oh, I know why I care. I care because no noble is going to respect you if you go around calling yourself an Eleven. And if they disrespect you, they disrespect me."

"Already Lord Calares has petitioned me to release you from service, or more likely to have you executed just to get you away from me." That was a lie. He was just making shit up now for the sake of continuing to cover the sound of Suzaku's movements as he slinked towards the door. "That was probably under Cornelia's influence, but he is the voice of the nobility. As much as Abigail is, in any case."

Suzaku threw open the sliding door partitioning their room from the hall and grabbed the eavesdropper, gun already cocked and ready. Actually, Lelouch was surprised about that. Suzaku had demonstrated a marked reluctance to use guns since he'd begun his service, so it was surprising that he'd brought one here at all.

In any case, all thoughts of stealthy assassins akin to Sayoko fled his mind when Suzaku dragged in a six year old boy. Genbu Kururugi let out a startled yelp when Suzaku grabbed him. A half second later, Tohdoh's son grabbed the young heir too and dragged him out of Suzaku's grip.

Lelouch sighed and relaxed back against the cabinet he'd been leaning on. "To what do I owe this inestimable honour, Kururugi-sama?"

"Um . . ." The boy said awkwardly, glancing sheepishly at his feet.

"He didn't come here for you, Britannian." Katsurou spat angrily.

"Ah, of course. Your brother." He said, gesturing vaguely to Suzaku. "Come in then. And shut the door behind you. There's no point in waking everyone in the house up."

Katsurou hesitated for a moment on the threshold, but Genbu had already toddled further inside, sitting down quietly halfway between Lelouch and Suzaku. Tohdoh's boy sighed and closed the door before moving quickly to sit down next to him. It was cute. Actually, it reminded him of when he and Suzaku had been kids. Suzaku had always been hovering in his and Nunnally's shadows, protecting them from anyone who would have done them harm.

For a moment, Suzaku looked like he didn't know what to do, then he resignedly sighed and sat down. About five seconds after his ass had hit the floor, Genbu shuffled over closer to him. "Did you get to go on any adventures, nii-san?"

"A few."

"Is it true that you get to pilot that Knightmare?"

"It's called Lancelot."

"Were the Britannians mean to you?"

"Not all of them."

"Are you going to stay home now?"

"No." Suzaku answered, glancing in his direction. It was a clear call for help.

"Would you like him to?" Lelouch asked.

Genbu turned to look at him, wide-eyed and hopeful. "Yeah! More than anything." The boy said quickly.

"Even more than your inheritance?" He asked.

Genbu frowned in confusion for a moment, but nodded nonetheless. "Yeah."

"Because that's what it would cost. Do you know what your inheritance is?" Lelouch asked.

"Don't listen to him, Genbu." Katsurou hissed.

"I'm heir to the Kururugi family. I'll be the leader of the family when I grow up."

"That's right." He nodded. "That used to be Suzaku's inheritance. But then your mother gave it to you when he left home. But if you were to give up your inheritance, Suzaku might be able to reclaim it. And then you might be able to be a real family again."

"Would I have to leave home?" Genbu asked in concern.

"No. All you have to do is tell your mother that you don't want to inherit the family and that you want Suzaku to instead. We're going to have a meeting tomorrow with all of the rest of your family too. That's when you'd have to tell her."

Suzaku frowned at him, no doubt he didn't consider this fair play, and the boy in front of him mirrored the expression. He hadn't been able to see much of a family resemblance before, the boy was dark haired and dark eyed like his mother, but he could see it now as they both wore the same frown.

"And you'll let him stay?" Genbu asked.

"Me? I don't _let_ Suzaku do anything. He does what he wants to do." He chuckled.

"That's not what Mother says." Genbu pouted.

"I'm sure your mother says a lot of things about me." Lelouch nodded.

"She says you keep nii-san like a dog on a leash and only let him off to sleep and to pi-"

"Enough." Suzaku interrupted. "You shouldn't spy on Mother when she's having adult conversations."

Genbu had enough good grace to look sheepish.

"There are plenty of things your mother could hate me for, but her accusation that I keep your brother leashed is unfounded. Suzaku has never had to ask me for permission to do anything." Lelouch finished.

"That's enough for tonight. You two go to bed now. And try not to wake anyone up while you go." Suzaku said firmly.

Genbu pouted a bit and looked like he wanted to argue, but he dutifully got to his feet. "Good night, nii-san . . . and Lelouch-san."

"Pleasant dreams, Kururugi-sama." Lelouch said politely as he watched the two boys leave.

Suzaku glared at him as soon as they were sure the kids were really gone. "Did you plan for that?"

He snorted. "How could I have planned for that? Frankly, I'm surprised your mother even allowed him in my sight, though I suppose the situation was a bit out of her control anyway."

"So it just came to you on the spot to manipulate a six year old." Suzaku sighed.

"An opportunity presented itself and I took advantage of it." He shrugged.

"This is just going to make my mother hate you. How is aggravating her going to get you what you want?"

"Your mother already hates me, Suzaku." He explained. "Our plan never rested on me winning her over with my charming personality."

"Then what does it rest on?" Suzaku grumbled.

"Logic. You're the only logical choice as heir." He said simply.

Suzaku sighed and flopped down on his futon. "I don't even know why I try to argue with you."

"I don't either."

Suzaku laughed then went quiet for a moment. "Thanks for coming, Lelouch. You're the only thing making this trip bearable."

Lelouch smiled softly, curling up on his own futon. "You're welcome."

* * *

AN: :D Genbu-kun is just so cute I want to squeeze him. lol.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don't forget to review. Also, I just want to mention that I have no idea what my updating schedule will be like for a while. Shit pretty much hit the fan in my life and a lot of things are kind of uncertain at the moment. So if I don't update for a while, it might mean that I've moved or that I've taken a 10-week job opportunity at an excavation or something like that.

Thanks for reading. Since WMD is the next story I'll be updating, further info about that will probably be posted in an AN on that story.

Allora


	85. Chapter 85: Qualities of a Good Hostage

Chapter 85: The Qualities of a Good Hostage

Somehow this was even worse than his court martial.

Somehow sitting across from his family, somehow facing down his mother's scorn like this was worse than awaiting his own execution. He let out a slow breath, back straight and posture perfect as he knelt seiza-style in front of his family. Even Genbu was present, sitting next to their mother with a frown on his lips.

"Well, what was so important that you had to have us gather together like this?" His mother demanded.

"I'm here to reclaim my inheritance." He said calmly.

It was all he could do to keep his composure. If he could just keep calm, they'd have a chance for Lelouch's logic to play out.

"You don't have the right to ask for such a thing." His mother countered firmly.

"I am the only son of my father, Genbu Kururugi. I am the only -"

"How _dare_ you speak his name in front of me." She hissed at him. "You malicious little beast. After everything you've done -"

"What a miserable end to the once prodigious Kururugi family." Lelouch said with a bored sigh from where he was kneeling half a foot behind his shoulder. "Ruined by something as insubstantial as pride."

It broke off his mother's rant , but focused her anger at Lelouch instead.

"Genbu is the only heir of the Kururugi family." She said firmly as she set her hand on the boy's shoulder. "It's already been decided."

"Genbu-kun is a Kururugi in name only. You are a Sumeragi and your husband is a Sasaki, correct?" Lelouch asked. "You'd really ruin the family just because you hate Suzaku? Do the elders agree with this? An end to the bloodline? This is their family you're driving to ruin."

"This matter does not concern you, Viceroy." She snapped. "You shouldn't speak of matters you don't understand."

"But I do understand. I learned all about the real reason why the war ended." Lelouch said enigmatically.

Suzaku grimaced. Of course he'd known that it was going to come up in this conversation. It had to. But it didn't make it any easier to hear. It didn't make it better that Lelouch could just accept his crime and sweep past it as though it didn't matter. Because it should matter. This was his _father_ they were talking about. It mattered a lot.

"Of course someone like you wouldn't mind being in the company of such a killer. He's just like family, right?" She sneered.

"Mother, Lelouch's family isn't the point of this visit." He interrupted.

"It's already been decided." She said firmly. "Genbu will become the leader of this family."

"Hahaue . . . I don't want to."

For a moment no one spoke as everyone in the room's gaze was drawn to Genbu. How had Lelouch known that he'd give up the inheritance that easily? Or had he just been lucky?

"Genbu . . ." His mother said, visibly shocked.

"I want nii-san – I mean Aniue – to come back and be the heir. And I want to be a family again, together like we used to be."

The declaration was met with silence for a moment before his mother turned a murderous glare on him. "You did this."

He felt bad. He really did. They'd manipulated a child. But Lelouch probably wouldn't forgive him if he let this opening pass by. In fact, Lelouch was already pushing the briefcase he'd brought towards him. He needed to strike while the iron was hot.

"I am the only child of Genbu Kururugi, I come of age in seven months, and I hold all of the Kururugi's traditional holdings." He said, popping open the briefcase and pulling out a handful of deeds, the topmost of which was the deed to the precious and ancient Kururugi shrine.

For the first time since he'd come home, his grandfather cleared his throat and spoke. "Let me see them."

He slid forward and handed the documents to his grandfather before returning to his place beside Lelouch. The deeds were passed around until they were all sure that they were authentic, then set down on the floor in the center.

"I cannot forgive what you did to my son." His grandfather eventually said.

Lelouch scoffed behind him. "You're so hell -bent on punishing him that you can't even see that he's been punishing himself all this time, even to the point of giving his life for someone like me. This is likely the only chance you will get to restore your family to prominence."

His grandfather glared, "So you just expect us to forgive a crime so heinous -"

"Forgive him, or don't. What the hell do I care? But you do what you have to to survive." Lelouch snapped. "This is the end of your bloodline. The end of your family. Tacking a name on a child without Kururugi blood doesn't make him the future of the family."

"What is your interest in this matter, Prince Lelouch?" His grandfather asked.

"Suzaku is my best and oldest friend. It's natural that I would do everything in my power to help him regain his inheritance. As for a personal interest, I'm sure you've guessed it already." Lelouch answered nonchalantly.

The declaration was met with silence. No doubt they hadn't been expecting Lelouch to admit to his less than altruistic motives, even if they were obvious. But Lelouch was, as always, a shrewd negotiator and knew what would get him what he wanted.

". . . We must discuss this in private." His grandfather said after a moment of consideration.

"What is there to discuss? It was already decided that Genbu would become the heir." His mother snapped.

"Chiho-sama, this is not a matter we can leave unattended. It was fine when Suzaku was nothing, but now he has power. This isn't something we can deny out of hand." His grandfather said firmly, like he was reprimanding a small child instead of the woman they had trusted with managing the Kururugi family.

He could practically feel Lelouch's smug satisfaction oozing off of him. If it was like this, it was practically guaranteed that they would take him back.

He let out a slow breath at the thought of it. If they took him back . . . if he could have a family again . . . -

He cut that line of thought off before it could get too far. There was no point in senselessly hurting himself like that. Even if they took him back, it would be in name only. They would still hate him. They would still know of his sins. And they would still fear him. The only thing that would change would be that he owned their name. Things would never go back to the way they had once been.

His mother seethed for a moment, chin raise and eyes narrowed. It was like all of his nightmares about her over the last seven years had been made into real life. But before she could argue any further, Lelouch cleared his throat softly.

"Of course, we'll give you some privacy to discuss the matter. Call us when you've come to your decision." Lelouch said quietly, already backing his way out of the room.

Suzaku bowed his head and followed, reconvening with the prince out in the hall after closing up the door. He sighed heavily as Lelouch stretched out his legs awkwardly.

"I don't know how you sit like that all the time." Lelouch grumbled under his breath. "It's terribly uncomfortable."

He chuckled softly then frowned. "Is it okay leaving all of the deeds in there with them?" He asked in concern.

"Of course it is. They're all written in your name. Without you, they're nothing but pieces of paper. And until you write a will, all of your assets would pass to me if you ever died. So there's nothing they can do with them at the moment."

"I see." He said quietly. He hadn't really known. Lelouch had dealt with all of these acquisitions even if they had been made in his name. And of course he'd never owned property before. It wasn't really something an Honorary Britannian could afford. Frankly, he wasn't exactly sure if he was ready to own property, but it wasn't like he'd really been given the choice.

They stood in silence for a few minutes, listening in vain to the muffled voices behind the door. Lelouch didn't seem interested in what they were saying. Well, he probably thought he already had this in the bag so it didn't matter. And he was pretty sure he didn't want to hear what they were saying either after hearing his mother's voice raise and catching the tail end of something that sounded like 'unforgivable'.

"So you'll have to get rid of Tohdoh's kid as soon as they agree. You can't afford that kind of tie to the JLF. If anyone were to find out, it would cast doubt on everything you've done to date. You know that right? You'll be labelled a traitor again. My ability to protect you only stretches so far." Lelouch eventually explained.

"He's just a kid." He argued awkwardly.

"That's irrelevant. His father is a terrorist. Worse, his father is a very famous terrorist. It's not like it's something we can just ignore. I'm being merciful in telling you just to abandon him. He has all the qualities of a good hostage."

And that was it. That was crossing the line. That after everything that had happened to Lelouch, he could still consider doing the same thing to someone else? A child no less. A child that was even younger than Lelouch himself had been when he'd been parcelled out as a hostage.

"I thought you of all people would understand him, Lelouch. What it's like to find sanctuary only to have it ripped away by someone who doesn't care for you at all. And you'd do it to him? The exact same thing your father did to you eight years ago?" He snapped.

Lelouch's eyes actually widened in surprise. He looked like he'd been slapped. But he knew it was only a momentary advantage. Lelouch would regain his composure in a second and would be even more stubborn.

"This is my family and my business. Even if you're my prince, even if I'm your Knight, and even if you're the only friend I have in this world, I won't let you dictate what will happen to Katsurou-kun. That's final, Lelouch."

Lelouch grit his teeth, eyes narrowing into a glare. But before he could say whatever seething retort he'd come up with to prolong the argument, he heard a slight thump from around the corner down the hall. He moved automatically to put himself between Lelouch and the intruder.

"It's rude to eavesdrop." He said firmly. "Come out."

He wasn't surprised when a head peeked around the corner a moment later. But it was unfortunate that it was Katsurou that was the eavesdropper. How much had he heard? He hated Lelouch enough already as is, but if he'd heard the prince tossing around notions of taking him hostage or abandoning him that would only get worse.

Judging from the glare he sent Lelouch's way, he had heard.

"Katsurou-kun, you don't have to worry." He said reassuringly, but before he could say anything more, the door behind them slammed open and Genbu was crashing into him, hugging around his waist.

"Nii-san! They're ready! Come on!" The child said excitedly, any hint of propriety or decorum completely destroyed by the boy's excitement. He assumed that meant things had gone favourably for them.

He glanced back at Katsurou who was still glaring at Lelouch, but Genbu was already dragging him back into the room, dancing around him like an unruly puppy. Lelouch followed at a dignified and refined pace behind and knelt back down at his shoulder as though they hadn't just had an argument.

His mother's face was emotionless as she stared him down, not even reprimanding Genbu for his behaviour, even when his brother settled down in seiza right next to him instead of at his rightful place at her side.

"Before we agree to anything, we will need a promise from Prince Lelouch that our family won't come to harm after being exposed." His mother said leadenly, her gaze staring down the prince instead of the son she hated most.

"Of course." Lelouch said smoothly, completely composed. "However much I might feel like you deserve it, I would never have my Knight's family harmed."

"Lelouch." He growled under his breath.

The prince sighed. "On my honour, none of the Kururugi family will ever be harmed on my command, even Genbu-kun."

His mother didn't seem to register the promise, her expression never changing as she continued in the same tone. "Then we will accept you as the heir of the family. When you come of age, you will take up the mantle of the leader of the Kururugi family."

The relief that came with the announcement was mingled with regret. Things had gone exactly as Lelouch had planned, but a part of him had hoped that they would fail. A part of him had hoped that he'd never have to deal with his family again.

"I'm honoured." He said, bowing formally to his mother before collecting the stack of property deeds that had been placed between himself and his family. He handed them back to Lelouch who already had the briefcase waiting. "We'll take our leave then. I'll come again after my birthday to finalize everything." He said, backing out of the room.

"Suzaku . . .san."

He froze, heart constricting in his chest. When was the last time his mother had addressed him by name? Granted, it was distant and cold and ended with a '-san' honorific, but it was better than 'you', or 'that child' or 'beast'.

"Haha-ue?" He asked, almost breathless.

She glanced away from him, never meeting his eyes. But he was used to that by now, thankful for it even since she couldn't look at him with anything but hatred. "Genbu-kun has expressed an interest in moving to Tokyo. May we use one of the properties within the city?"

Tokyo. The same city he and Lelouch lived in. The central hub of Area Eleven and the largest city in the country. Even if they were that close, the chance of him running into them there was slim. He wouldn't have to see them any more than was necessary.

"Of course. Do as you like." He answered indifferently. It had nothing to do with him.

"You'll come too, right, Nii-san?" Genbu asked hopefully.

Unbidden, his gaze cut across to his mother, to the way her jaw had clenched at the mere suggestion, to the way she was radiating visible disgust at the very thought of sharing a house with him. It should have hurt him more than it did. But after enduring years of living under the same roof as her, he was no more anxious to live with them than she was.

"No." He answered easily. "I'm too old to live with my mom now, Genbu-kun. Besides, Lelouch needs me."

His brother was visibly disappointed, but didn't throw a tantrum. It was an improvement from the last time he'd seen him, though the boy had been much younger then. "You'll come visit though, right?"

"Sure." He promised halfheartedly.

He would come visit. But only when it was absolutely necessary for family business.

* * *

"Lord Gottwald, do you know Lord and Lady Mars?" The princess asked, perusing through a pile of photographs and news clippings.

"Not well. We've met at a few times at state events and the like, but we never moved in the same circles. Lord Mars is . . . sympathetic towards the Elevens. As the leader of the Purist Faction, it was understandable that he didn't think highly of me." Jeremiah answered to the best of his ability.

Abigail nodded absently, reading over an old newspaper article. "I'm not fond of him. But he's one of Lelouch's staunchest supporters. He's outspoken about equal rights for the Numbers and living conditions in the ghettos. As though the country doesn't give Elevens the chance to become citizens of the Empire. The Honorary Britannian system is progressive enough compared to the other Areas. They should be happy with what they've got." She grumbled quietly.

"People always want more than what they already have." He said with a slight smile. She never voiced these kinds of sentiments when Lelouch and Kururugi were in the house.

She chuckled softly as a wistful smile fell on her lips. "I suppose I'm no different."

"Please don't compare yourself to Elevens, your highness." He said.

"Of course not. But even Lelouch is like that. Always wanting something more than he has." She murmured, setting the article aside before picking up a photograph of a handful of members of high society posing at the opening of a museum.

Had Lelouch revealed something to her? Something about his plans for the Emperor? The plans he'd overheard the prince revealing to Kururugi? Did he trust her that much? Of course he'd noticed the marked improvement in their relationship recently, but he hadn't thought it had progressed that far.

"Everyone's like that. Even you, probably." She continued, then paused thoughtfully to look at him for the first time since she'd begun researching the Mars family. "So what's the goal you're striving for, Lord Gottwald."

"I wish only to earn Lelouch's trust." He answered. It might seem sycophantic, but it was the truth. He'd always noticed the difference in regard that the prince held him in compared to Kururugi, even despite being the senior Knight. He wasn't trusted as much as Kururugi was. The very fact that he'd been left behind while they'd gone off on their own business was testament to that fact.

"Somehow, I knew you'd say something like that." The princess sighed, turning back to her work.

He smiled slightly. She didn't seem to resent his loyalty to Lelouch as much as she once had. In fact, things had come a long way from their first meeting.

"Do you know anything about Lady Mars?" She asked, turning back to her work.

"Nothing. It was never my habit to keep up with women's gossip." He answered with a slight shrug.

"You and Lelouch both." She tsk'd and shook her head. "Always discounting the benefit of a woman's influence. Haven't you ever heard that behind every good man is a good woman? We can accomplish things men can't even dream of."

"Then I must not be a very good man, since I've never married. Much to my father's dismay." He replied teasingly.

"I could find you a wife." The princess offered sifting through the stack of mismatched papers on the table in front of her before laying two of them out on top. "What do you think of Lady Pate or Miss Brahn?"

He couldn't stifle his laugh. Two candidates off the top of her head just like that. She was definitely becoming a major manipulator amongst the nobility in the country. "I have no intention of marrying. My only motivation is to serve as Lelouch's Knight. I will leave the continuation of our family to my sister."

Abigail frowned and for a moment her composure broke and she looked downright displeased, then the expression was gone as she was as calm as she'd been all morning. "Of course. That's your prerogative."

"Pardon the intrusion, your highness." Edith interrupted as she approached. "Sir Zimmerman is here. Would you like to greet him or shall I?"

"Which one is it?" Abigail asked in surprise. Her reaction was understandable since the younger of the Zimmerman brothers was still undergoing treatment for the injuries he'd sustained at the Ashford bombing and the older one was supposed to be in Osaka on an important mission.

"Hector." Edith answered.

"I'll go." The princess said, getting to her feet before gesturing towards the scattered photos and articles. "Have one of the maids clean this up for me."

Jeremiah followed behind her like a shadow. Before leaving, Lelouch had ordered him to protect her. Actually, Lelouch had been way more protective of her since the kidnapping. Though that was to be expected when one of his weaknesses had already been exposed. Still, he hadn't really needed the order to make sure that he'd keep her safe.

"Sir Zimmerman." Abigail greeted cheerfully as she entered the foyer at the same time that the Captain was let into the house.

"My Lady." Hector bowed before standing to attention and sending a salute Jeremiah's way. He returned the gesture absently. He still didn't really like the Captain. The man doted on Kururugi too much, taking him under wing like they were old friends instead of a Knight and a subordinate.

"I didn't know you were back from Osaka already." The princess said in surprise.

"I only just returned. Is Lelouch here? I went to his office first, but they said he hadn't come in today." Hector asked.

"He's not here." The princess answered with a regretful smile. "Is there something I can help you with instead?"

"No, but thank you. I just need to discuss something with Lelouch." Hector answered with another slight bow. "May I ask where he is?"

Abigail pursed her lips for a moment before glancing away. "Lelouch has gone with Sir Kururugi to visit his family."

"_Suzaku's _family?" Hector asked in surprise, jaw tensing.

Interesting. And here he'd though that the brat had won over the Captain completely. But it seemed like there was still some tension between them. Some mistrust at least.

"They went alone? Just the two of them?"

"Yes." Abigail answered.

The Captain turned a murderous glare on him in response. "You sent a Britannian prince into the Japanese Prime Minister's widow's house with only one Knight to protect him?" He demanded harshly.

"Lelouch and Kururugi made the arrangements themselves. My protests were ignored." He argued.

"What was so important that they had to go there personally? Surely a phone call would have sufficed." Hector protested.

"I wasn't made privy to the details. All I know is that it was family business." He said firmly.

Well that wasn't all he knew, but the rest was just speculation. If Kururugi really had murdered his father, then it was unlikely that the boy would be eager to go back home. It was probably the reason he'd joined the Britannian military in the first place. And it had seemed a little off when Lelouch had told him what would be happening. Like going to visit the Kururugi's was more of the prince's idea than the Number's.

So he could guess what was so important for the brat that Lelouch had referred to as a 'prince of Japan' on more than one occasion. But since he didn't know for certain, it wasn't his place to say.

"Lelouch called me less than two hours ago. He said they were just about to go into their meeting and that he would call again when they got out of it. If he doesn't contact me again before five, then I have his full permission to initiate a strike on the Kururugi residence. I'll have the strike team in position well before that." He explained.

He didn't like the situation. He didn't like the thought of being helpless to protect his prince, of being nothing more than the retaliatory strike – the prince's revenge – but this was all Lelouch had given him. He . . . wouldn't disobey an order from Lelouch again. Even if he didn't like it. Even if he hated the very thought of it, since Lelouch had told him wait, he would wait.

"If it comes to it, I'd like to be part of the strike team. The entire Royal Guard will be at your disposal, Lord Gottwald." Hector promised tensely.

"Of course." He agreed. If they came down to it, he'd make sure that there was nothing but rubble left of the Kururugi's sanctuary. And, conveniently, they'd just received word a couple days ago that Lloyd Asplund was finished with their Lionel frames. If Lelouch didn't come back safely, their first field test would be annihilating everything that was left of the Kururugi family.

"Lelouch will be fine." Abigail said confidently. "He always has a plan."

Which was true. Lelouch wouldn't just let himself be killed. And he had Geass if things got out of hand.

"In the meantime, would you like to stay for lunch, Hector?" The princess offered graciously.

"I'm honoured, your highness." The Captain said with another polite bow, "But I have a lot of business to attend to with the prisoner transfer. I'm afraid I'll have to decline for today."

"Then next time you come, you'll have to stay for dinner."

"Of course." Hector nodded. "Well, I've got to get back. Please, keep me informed, Lord Gottwald."

Jeremiah watched him go as the princess sighed in disappointment. "They're all like that." She said as soon as Hector was gone. "I'm just a doll they have to be polite to since I'm Lelouch's wife. Any time I've tried to start a conversation with them, they've always blown me off like this. Bastards. Why doesn't my charm work on soldiers?" She grumbled.

He chuckled. "Don't worry about it. No matter what you try, you probably won't be able to win them over because they're only loyal to Lelouch. If the nobility were as simple to control as the military, he wouldn't need your impressive social skills."

"I suppose you're right." The princess said with a shrug. "I'm thankful for small blessings, I guess."

* * *

Lelouch let out a slow breath and leaned back against the car. Very soon now he would be able to leave here and get back to business as usual, where his very life didn't rest on the whims of a woman who had always hated him. It had been a stressful two days for him, but it was finally over. And everything had gone just as he'd planned, with the exception of this endeavour taking two days instead of one and of Lieutenant Colonel Tohdoh's son being fostered by the Kururugis.

Actually, Suzaku was attending to that matter right this moment. The solution his Knight had come up with had plenty of flaws, but Suzaku had been quite clear that he wasn't allowed to interfere with the boy. Still, adding Katsurou to the family register, essentially adopting him without Tohdoh's consent, hardly seemed like an adequate solution to the problem. Yes, it would hide his surname, but the little brat would gladly tell anyone who asked him that the great Kyoshiro Tohdoh was his biological father.

And to the Colonel, no matter how he looked at it, it would still seem as though Suzaku had taken the boy hostage. Of course Suzaku didn't see it that way. Suzaku saw it as taking the boy under his wing – as saving him from the big, bad Britannian prince who wanted to do what was right for the kid and send him back to his family.

In short it was a mess. He'd briefly considered using his Geass on the boy, but since Suzaku was intent on adopting the boy as a brother, his Knight would probably consider that under the proviso not to use Geass on his family. So he would leave it for now. But if it ever got out that Tohdoh of the Miracles' son had been taken in by the Kururugis, he'd have no choice but to be ruthless and take the boy hostage, Suzaku's feelings about the matter be damned. Saving his Knights face was more important than the happiness and wellbeing of an enemy's child.

Still, that was only a bridge he'd have to cross if they got to it. Maybe Suzaku would be able to impress the importance of secrecy on the brat. Maybe he would respect Suzaku enough not to betray him. He didn't know the child well enough to judge his character and kids were hard to peg anyway.

Lelouch sighed. He couldn't wait to be away from here. He'd just gotten off the phone with Gottwald again. As expected, his Knight was already coming up with contingency plans and had the garrison in nearby Sapporo on standby, along with the Knightmare transports that would be able to drop his entire Royal Guard right on top of the Kururugi residence.

Though of course he couldn't really blame Jeremiah. He was also feeling the effects of paranoia after having to stay here. He had already reached his limit and so had opted for waiting out by the car, where there wasn't the perpetual threat of someone sliding a knife into his back, while Suzaku concluded his business.

He shifted, bunching the collar of his jacket closer around his neck to ward off the cool, late November breeze as Suzaku finally emerged from the house with both of his pseudo-brothers in tow. Genbu was smiling happily and chatting about something, while Katsurou walked on Suzaku's other side wearing a serious frown that matched Suzaku's own.

"Nii-san! Will you take me to an amusement park when we get to Tokyo? Will you? I read about them and saw them on the TV. Clovisland looks so fun. Can we go?" Genbu asked, his excited voice carrying much further than the words that accompanied Suzaku's shrug as a reply. Honestly, if he hadn't known, he'd have assumed that Katsurou was Suzaku's real brother and that Genbu was adopted. Genbu might idolize his brother, but it was Katsurou who tried to emulate him. They were just too alike.

"Goodbye, you two. Stay out of trouble." Suzaku said, waving farewell as he left the two boys on the porch in front of the house and made his way to the car.

"Um . . . Suzaku-nii." Katsurou called before he could make it even halfway back to the car.

His Knight let out what looked like a small, exasperated sigh before turning back. "Yes?"

"Um . . ." Katsurou said again, shooting a nervous glance Lelouch's way before closing the distance between them and speaking quietly for a moment.

He couldn't hear what was being said, but whatever it was that the boy had been asking about, the request was denied when Suzaku shook his head with a regretful, sad smile before ruffling the boy's hair and continuing to the car.

"What did he want?" He asked as Suzaku made his way to the driver's side door.

"My phone number." His Knight answered. As always, Suzaku didn't keep secrets from him.

Lelouch sighed, watching as the boy's look of disappointment morphed into a determined scowl. "Oi, Tohdoh-kun." He called, crooking a finger at the boy.

Katsurou approached hesitantly, like he was approaching a wild dog rather than another human being, before crossing his arms over his chest with a standoffish "What?"

Lelouch snorted at the behaviour. It really did remind him of the arrogant Suzaku he'd first met eight years ago. "My number." He said, holding out a business card to the boy. It was the same nondescript looking card that he'd given Jin Nakata and it connected with the same phone that only his Knights, Edith and Nakata had access to. "Anytime you want to talk to Suzaku, call me and I'll hand it over to him."

The boy snatched it out of his hand, clutching the card closely, like it was a precious artifact. "I . . um . . . Thank you . . . your highness." Katsurou said, begrudgingly adding the honorific.

Only time would tell if Katsurou realized the value of the card he'd just been given. At least, the value outside of it being a direct means of contacting Suzaku. But then, he had a plan for that as well.

"Let's go, Suzaku."

* * *

Tohdoh pinched the bridge of his nose and wilfully forced back the headache that was throbbing there. The JLF was preparing for the worst. All of their agents within Osaka had gone dark with the Viceroy's quarantine of the city. For all they knew, they were already dead. All they knew for sure was that all of their communications into the city had been intercepted. It was likely that all attempts to get a message out to them had suffered the same fate.

So with the Viceroy taking such harsh steps, and with all attempts at establishing contact with Suzaku failing, General Katase had finally decided that an armed confrontation would likely be inevitable. Though, of course, the niggling whispers they'd gotten out of their spies about Cornelia li Britannia investigating the location of their secret base in Narita had only cemented Katase's decision to fortify their defences.

The Goddess of Victory was preparing for war against the JLF. Whether she was acting on her brother's orders or of her own volition to avenge the mess at Lake Kawaguchi was anyone's guess, but it didn't really matter. Cornelia was a threat no matter who's benefit she was working toward, and in the end she was still a Britannian. Whether she was in conflict with the Viceroy for the embarrassing snub he'd handed her in Area Eighteen (no General would be able to tolerate such a show off) or not didn't change that fact that she was Britannian, just as the Viceroy was Britannian and so would always work towards the glory of their empire.

So they were preparing for war – tightening their defences and putting their soldiers through harsh training regimes. When the Britannians came, they'd be ready for them. Of course they knew better than to strike first at this point, even if the prospect was appealing. Anti-Japanese sentiments were at an all time high in the wake of the Kenshiki Faction's reign of terror. The Ashford bombing was an especially heated subject at the moment.

But while they didn't really have to be afraid of the backlash of their actions, he knew it wasn't they who would suffer for them. Instead, it was the voiceless masses of Japanese living on the outskirts of Britannian society that would he harassed and abused as a result of any aggressive move they made. They hoped to minimize the suffering of their people as much as possible, which included abstaining from unprovoked military operations when there was no clear chance at victory.

After all, Cornelia wasn't the biggest obstacle between Japan and its freedom, and disposing of the soldier princess would only incite the Britannians to even harsher treatment of the Japanese. If they could get them both together, if they could get Cornelia and Lelouch in one operation at the same time without giving the Britannians the chance to react, _then_ it was possible that they'd be able to seize control of their country again and have the time to fortify their strength around the borders before Britannia was able to send reinforcements.

But that was an altogether unlikely scenario since their agents hadn't been able to uncover the two royals anywhere even approximately close to each other. And of course pulling off the assassination of the two royals wouldn't be easy. They each had Knights and a Royal Guard under their command, none of which could be taken likely. He wasn't fool enough to think that just any soldier from the JLF would be able to dispatch a Knight like Guilford, or even Suzaku for that matter. It would require skill that only a few of his soldiers could match.

He startled slightly when his phone rang next to him, drawing him out of his depressing thoughts and even more depressing task of reading the inventory report he'd been given. They didn't have enough resources to engage in a prolonged war with the Britannians even despite the way they had been hoarding.

Sighing his picked up the phone, holding it to his ear without speaking. The name Tohdoh was too well known. If by chance the call was overheard orif this was a wrong number, he didn't want to give his identity away.

". . . Um . . . Father?"

Tohdoh stiffened in surprise. Katsurou never called him. It was a rule. He couldn't afford to be seen taking personal calls during work and in the seven years since he'd left his son with the Kururugis, there had never been an emergency serious enough for him to break that rule. Even when he'd broken his leg last year and even when he'd contracted bronchitis when he was younger, they had never broken that rule.

"What happened?" He asked immediately. It could only be something dire.

"Nothing!" The boy said quickly, then amended the statement. "Well, lots of things. But I'm okay. We're all okay here."

"What things?" He asked, fighting back the sigh of relief. For a moment, he' been bracing for the worst – for invasion forces or assassinations, all of which he was too far away to be of assistance with.

"Well . . . Suzaku-nii came back." Katsurou answered. "Along with the prince."

He brief moment of relief was traded once more for tension, he could feel it seizing up his shoulders and the back of his neck. "What?" He breathed in disbelief and for a moment wanted to believe it was nothing more than a childish ploy for attention. But that wasn't Katsurou. His son wasn't like that. His son wanted to earn his approval and knew that such antics would only lessen his regard.

"They . . . well, Nii-san reclaimed his inheritance." The boy revealed." And then . . . he adopted me as a Kururugi."

For a moment he said nothing as he allowed his brain to try to make sense of the statement. And then it all was revealed to him with crystal clarity. Lelouch knew he had a son. Worse, Lelouch knew exactly where that child was and just how vulnerable. And now the prince had taken him in in a way that he could always keep an eye on him.

He needed to get Katsurou out of there. He didn't care if it was a trap. He would go and get Katsurou out of there before the Viceroy ruined him.

"I'm coming to get you." He said, already moving away from his desk and towards the door. He was still several hours away from the Kururugis' secluded sanctuary, so it would be late before he got there but this wasn't something that could wait.

"You can't."

"Excuse me?" He asked incredulously. He'd expected the boy to be overjoyed. Instead, he got a refusal.

"You're not allowed. Suzaku-nii said you weren't allowed to come here anymore. That you weren't allowed on any Kururugi properties anymore." What Kururugi properties? They'd all been seized during the invasion. "And . . . I don't want to leave Genbu." The boy admitted in a quiet voice, as though shamed.

But what had he really expected? He'd been nothing but an absentee father to the boy while Genbu and even Suzaku had been with him day in and day out for years. They were more family to Katsurou that he had ever been.

"We're moving to Tokyo. Suzaku-nii has a house there that he said we could stay in." The boy revealed. What house? They'd investigated all of Suzaku's assets when they'd tried to make contact with him. He didn't own property and he even lived in the Viceroy's house. Surely they weren't taking his son there? Into the lion's den? But what better place for Lelouch to keep a hostage. Especially a hostage as harmless as an eight year old boy. The child probably wouldn't even understand his situation.

This was it. The weakness he'd so carefully hidden away out of sight to ensure that he could continue his crusade against the Britannian occupation had been exposed to the most deadly of enemies. Exposed and masterfully exploited. Did he dare engage in an act of war against the Viceroy now that he knew his son's life was in the prince's hands?

"Actually, Suzaku-nii said I wasn't even supposed to phone you, that I'm not supposed to have anything to do with you from now on, but I still wanted to tell you what happened. And . . . well . . . since you came all the way out here for it, I was just wondering if you'd ever gotten in contact with Nii-san or not? He didn't say anything about it when he was here, but I didn't ask. He was being really serious while he was here and Lelouch-san was always lurking around too closely." Katsurou rambled.

"I didn't." He admit, though it hardly seemed important now. What did he care about Suzaku when Lelouch, the cunning little bastard, had taken his only family from him?

"Well . . . Lelouch-san gave me his phone number. He said that if I phoned him and asked to talk to Suzaku-nii that he'd definitely let me. So . . . well . . . maybe I can ask Suzaku the questions you wanted to ask him for you?" The boy suggested hesitantly, already knowing that it was unlikely that he'd be trusted with such adult work.

"You have the prince's phone number?" He asked slightly in surprise.

"Yeah. I tried to get Suzaku-nii's phone number for you, but he wouldn't give it to me. He probably knew I'd tell you. But Lelouch-san gave me his number no problem." The boy answered easily and honestly.

He took a deep, steadying breath and returned to his desk, snatching up a pen and flipping over the most recent sheet of the inventory he'd been perusing. "Give me the number, Katsurou." He said evenly, though his heart was hammering in his chest.

The boy did as he was told, rattling off the digits and even going to far as to describe the appearance of the card the prince had given him - suspiciously blank and inconspicuous.

"Ah, I've got to go." Katsurou said suddenly in a panic. "Kururugi-sama is coming."

Without further ado the phone was hung up on him, leaving him with a ten digit phone number and more pent up rage than he'd felt since his wife had been slaughtered.

They'd taken his son from him. On the other end of that innocuous string of ten numbers was the young man who had taken his son's life hostage. He'd have already been on his way to Hokkaido if he didn't know the Prince and hadn't suspected just how far the little bastard would go if he stepped out of line. It was entirely possible that Lelouch would kill Katsurou to make a point. He didn't know what the prince was capable at this point and there were all of those disturbing reports of civilian casualties in Area Eighteen. Many of those deaths had been woman and young children, just like his son.

There was no telling just what Lelouch might do. But he had an out. An opportunity in the form of a ten digit phone number that had been smuggled to him from his son. It was a direct line to the prince. He could barter for Katsurou's life . . .

He stopped himself there and brought himself crashing back to stark reality. The only thing he could barter for Katsurou with was the JLF. It was the only thing the prince could possibly want from him, but if he compromised the JLF to get his Katsurou back, many good men and women would lose their lives.

He couldn't make a decision. He was a mere phone call away from bartering for his son's life, but he couldn't force himself to do it. He was too close to this. He needed perspective. Or maybe that wasn't even it. He already knew what would happen, he already knew what the decision would have to be.

Katsurou would be discarded. An unfortunate but unavoidable sacrifice. In the end, his country had always come first and he was a commanding officer that was used to making decisions with lives hanging on the line.

He let out a long, slow breath, his normally stoic composure completely shattered. But he slowly and determinedly rebuilt it, forcing the usual hawkish frown onto his face before snatching up the piece of paper with the phone number on it and heading for the door.

His office was down the hall from General Katase's and the trek was altogether too short for him to fully sort out his thoughts. But this was what he had to do. This was his duty. As an officer within the JLF, it was required that he would bring important information to his superior. Katase would have to decide what to do with it. He was just a field commander. He just planned the battles.

He knocked on the door, the two young soldiers standing guard outside the door giving him flustered and clumsy salutes. He was a bit of a legend and, despite the relative proximity to his own , he rarely showed his face in Katase's office.

"Come." The General called from inside.

Tohdoh entered without waiting for the guards to acknowledge the invitation to find the old General seated behind his desk, which was covered with a mountain of paperwork similar to his own. He saluted stiffly, finding comfort in the routine gesture.

"Ah, Lieutenant Colonel Tohdoh, what can I help you with?" The General asked, his tone friendly but tired. They were all tired and he was no exception except for the adrenaline spiking through his veins right now.

"A possible windfall." He said, hating it. Hating the way he was throwing away his own son like this. He tried not to think about all of the hopes he'd had for the boy. He tried not to think of just how proud he'd been as a father when he'd seen what his son had become just weeks ago.

"Oh?" Katase asked, curiosity piqued.

"Prince Lelouch's private phone number." He answered, setting the piece of paper he'd scribbled down the number on in front of the General.

Katase let out a low, appreciative whistle before glancing up at him. "You look a little haggard. Where did you get this from?"

He hesitated for a moment, wondering whether or not to burden the man with the knowledge that the number was bought with his son's blood. But if Katsurou was going to be sacrificed, he was for damned sure going to be acknowledged for his sacrifice.

"From my son." He answered stiffly. "The prince has taken him hostage."

" . . . I see." Katase said after a moment of quiet, a sympathetic frown on his face before glancing away uncomfortably. "We'll put it to good use."

"Of course." He answered leadenly, saluting his superior officer before dismissing himself. He'd return to his quarters and drown himself in whatever hard liquor he could get his hands on, and then he'd try to forget about the child that he'd had all of his hopes riding on. His own son, who he'd left to die.

Just an unfortunate but unavoidable sacrifice.

* * *

AN: I'm back! I have moved and begun my new job as an archaeologist in the province of beautiful British Columbia. Sorry but my life is kind of scattered all over the place, hence why it's taken so long to update. I'd like to promise that updates will come quicker, but I can't. My new job requires working like . . . 11 hour exhausting days after which all I want to do is sleep instead of write. BUT I will try my hardest to continue both Dauntless and my other story Weapons of Mass Destruction in as timely a fashion as possible. WMD is up next for an update. I've already started on the chapter, not that it's anywhere near finished, but at least it's started!

Also BIG NEWS. Francis D. Saber has written another side story for Dauntless. I command you to go read it. It should be easy to find. It was updates just minutes ago so it should be right underneath Dauntless on the main page. READ IT. ('cause it seriously makes me giddy)

Also also, I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Dauntless. Don't forget to give me a review now that the website has made it SUPER easy to do so, what with having it on the same page and all. :)

Thanks for reading!

Allora


	86. Chapter 86: Pulling the Strings

Chapter 86: Pulling the Strings

Who would have guessed that taking a mere two days off would have left Lelouch with a line of callers waiting to meet with him upon his return? Jeremiah watched with faint amusement as the prince attempted to refrain from rolling his eyes as Edith listed off all of the appointments he had for the day.

First on the list had been Lloyd Asplund, who had practically demanded the return of Kururugi for Lancelot testing after completing the Lionel frames for the prince's entourage. The engineer had had the gall to actually come to the prince's house at shortly past six in the morning to take the Eleven to the A.S.E.E.C.'s lab.

The second meeting on the list was more surprising. They arrived at the prince's office in the Viceroy's Palace to find the man already waiting for them outside the door. Diethard Reid, the news producer that Lelouch had used during the quarantining of Osaka, was already passed through security and leaning up against the wall outside of Lelouch's office, mutely examining one of Clovis' art pieces on the wall.

"Your highness." The man said tensely, standing up straight before bowing formally to the prince. "Good morning."

Lelouch sighed. "Bring tea please, Edith." He ordered his assistant who was following along behind them, before opening the door to his office and gesturing for the reporter to follow him in. Jeremiah took up his usual post next to the door. Reid waited until Lelouch was seated behind his desk before following the prince's silent instruction and sitting in the chair across from him.

"Good morning, Mr. Reid. What can I help you with?" Lelouch asked, his tone cold and professional.

For a moment, the reporter showed his anxiety, glancing nervously around the room - from Lelouch, to him to the door and back again. And then any sign of tension was lost as the reporter leaned back in his chair with an amused snort, all confidence and arrogance.

"Well, it took me a while to figure it out, your highness. You hid your tracks well, but I've been doing this for a long time and was finally able to determine why all that information about your recent transgressions seemed so suspicious." Reid revealed with a slight smirk. "You're the one who sent all of that incriminating evidence to me at Hi-TV about embezzling funds from the Honorary Britannian system and the Osaka Relief Fund."

For a moment, Lelouch didn't move. The prince merely stared at the reporter, his face a guarded mask of impassivity until Reid shifted uncomfortably under the scrutiny. Then the prince smirked, letting out an amused chuckle.

"Continue, Mr. Reid, while I try to decide whether you're extremely smart and cunning, or extremely stupid and careless." Lelouch ordered.

Diethard grinned. "Perhaps I'm a little of both, your highness."

"Perhaps." Lelouch agreed with a silent signal to Jeremiah. He took a step to the side, planting himself in front of the door and silently locking it behind him. Reid wouldn't leave this room until Lelouch was satisfied or the man was dead. "So what is it that you came here to do? Blackmail? Expose me for my wickedness? Just what are you after?"

"Nothing so cliche, your highness. Honestly, do I seem like the type of man that would go alone into another man's territory just to expose his secrets?" Reid asked rhetorically. "Of course, I'm well covered in case I don't return. People know where I am, and everyone in the country will learn about your secrets if I don't get back to the tape I left on a timer."

"Then tell me what you came here for. I won't ask you again." Lelouch said, tone sharpening.

"I want to be of assistance to you, your highness. You're an enigma – a marvellously ruthless, smart and charismatic prince that has taken to manipulating the entire country like a marionette. You're changing things thought impossible to change and fighting battles thought impossible to fight. I want to be a part of it." The reporter answered passionately. It was obvious just from looking at him that his excitement was real.

Lelouch quirked an eyebrow in surprise.

"I can help you, your highness. If you need a handle on the media, I'm just the man you need. And if I know what I'm supposed to be doing, rather than having you trick me into action, I can work for you so much more precisely."

"And what about your journalistic passion for finding and exposing the truth?" Lelouch asked coolly.

"Truth is a relative concept." Diethard answered easily. "It's all a matter of perspective. And the perspective that I'm interested in is yours, your highness. I would like to be the one to share your truth with the world."

Lelouch was quiet for a moment, fingers drumming on the desk in front of him as he considered the proposition. Basically, he was asking to access to Lelouch's secrets, wasn't he? With how closely Lelouch played his hands to the vest, there was no way that he'd risk an information leak like this obviously crafty news reporter.

The staccato of Lelouch's fingers on the desk came to a sudden halt and silence reigned for a moment before the prince smirked. "I can make use of you."

Jeremiah actually let his surprise show openly on his face, earning an amused glance from his prince. What was the boy planning this time? How did he plan to use Reid?

Diethard smiled widely. "Do you have instructions for me, your highness?"

"Not as of this moment. But I'll be contacting you soon." Lelouch answered with a shrug. "The next step requires some media usage."

"I understand. I will work hard to prove my usefulness to you." Diethard promised.

"Let him go, Jeremiah." The prince said with a lazy wave of his hand in his direction, drawing the reporter's gaze to the door and the fact that the only exit had been blocked.

"Of course, my prince."

Surprisingly, Reid's grin only widened. "As expected from the formidable Wolf of Britannia." The man said as he levered himself up from his chair and bowed deeply. "I look forward to seeing what else you have in store for this country, your highness. Good day."

Jeremiah watched the man go with a frown, closing the door firmly behind him before glancing back at Lelouch. "Are you sure you can trust him?" He asked

Lelouch laughed quietly. "Who ever said anything about trusting him? He asked to be used, and I can do that much."

"If he reveals what he knows . . ." He hesitated. Essentially, Reid had blackmailed the prince, hadn't he?

"Reid knows as well as I do that he has nothing. He might know what I've done, but he has no way to share that with the rest of the world. He'd be dead before he could even begin the broadcast and I can censor the media in a matter of seconds." Lelouch explained.

Further conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door. A moment later, Edith let herself in, bearing a tea service. She frowned at the empty seat in front of Lelouch's desk for a moment before setting out a cup in front of Lelouch and preparing his tea for him.

"Will your guest be returning for tea?" She asked politely.

"No." Lelouch answered impassively. "We've already concluded our business."

* * *

Lelouch let out a long, slow breath and let his eyes drift shut for a moment. It was the first time he'd had a moment to himself all day. He'd been on the go ever since Lloyd had shown up this morning to drag Suzaku off for Lancelot testing.

The most taxing of his appointments all day had been the four and a half hour meeting he'd been stuck in with his Minister of Finance. Area Eleven as a whole was more or less broke, thanks to the marked decline in production following Clovis' death and the effective loss of an entire city's income with the quarantine of Osaka. He'd been urged to raise taxes to make up for the deficit, but it was a move he was reluctant to make. He wondered if he could pawn the issue off on Calares and therefore excuse himself from any responsibility on the matter, but he knew himself well enough to know that he wouldn't.

On the plus side, it would only reinforce the image of corruption he'd been trying to emulate since he'd put Osaka under martial law. If he raised taxes now after blatantly misusing funds for his own personal expenses, it would only make the point he'd been trying to make all the more clear and make him into an even more acceptable target.

He jumped slightly when someone knocked on the door before letting themselves in, and let out a sigh of disappointment that his well-deserved moment of reprieve had been disrupted. It was Hector. Edith had mentioned to him that his Captain had come looking for him at the house while he'd been away, but he hadn't give it much thought. He'd assumed the man had merely been attempting to debrief him of the situation with the Kenshiki hostages, all of the details of which would be in the more than thorough report that was sitting somewhere in the stack of papers waiting for him to read on his desk back in the Viceroy's Palace.

"Hector." He greeted tiredly, gesturing to the couch across from him. He was in the library. It was one of the lesser used rooms in his villa and therefore one of the least likely places in which he'd be disturbed. Or so he'd thought.

"Lelouch." The Captain greeted with a stiff, formal salute.

Lelouch frowned, eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Sit." He ordered.

Hector didn't get formal with him very often. And even though the means of addressing him had been casual, Hector's body language had been anything but. He was tense and nervous and it didn't bode well.

Hector followed the order without hesitation, sinking onto the couch across from him with a straight back and stiff legs. He looked like some new recruit being called in for a reprimand. He hadn't seen Hector like this since he'd begged forgiveness for abandoning him in Area Eighteen.

He sighed. He could have done without another complication to bother him today, but if something was worrying Hector, then it had to be important. "Well?"

"About the hostages . . ." His Captain began after a moment of hesitation. "They're all civilians. What do you have planned for them?"

He smiled slightly. This was one of the reasons why he'd chosen Hector as the Captain of his Royal Guard. It was also one of the reasons why he'd briefly considered Hector as his Knight. The man had a conscience. Sure, he'd commit atrocities in his life, but he'd never accepted or approved of them. Hector followed orders, even when he hated them. But he wasn't below speaking his mind about what he hated about it.

For this trait alone, he'd always have Lelouch's respect.

"Do you trust me, Hector?" He asked, instead of answering the question. It was one thing for Hector to swear to risk his life to protect and serve him, but it was another to trust in Lelouch's morality.

Hector took a deep breath and averted his gaze to the ground as he thought the question over. Whatever the thought processes going on his in Captain's mind were, he had no idea, but he waited patiently for the answer. Maybe Hector was remembering Lelouch's horror at realizing he'd been slaughtering escaping refugees in Area Eighteen, or maybe he was just remembering Lelouch's rage upon witnessing the devastation at Ashford.

In any case, Hector eventually sighed. "I hate involving civilians in military operations and I believe you feel the same way. I trust you."

Lelouch smiled slightly, warmed by the man's faith in him. He did hate involving civilians in military operations, but in this case, he'd do it anyway.

"I'm going to have them executed as members of the Kenshiki Faction." He revealed, watching the man's eyes widen in surprise and devastation.

"Lelouch . . ." Hector said in protest, before he paused and his shoulders slumped slightly in defeat. He stared at the ground for another moment before his resolve solidified and he raised his head to meet Lelouch's gaze. "I understand. Please allow me to be the one to execute them."

Sometimes he felt completely undeserving of the blind loyalty and devotion his subordinates showed him. That Hector was even willing to offer such a thing to reaffirm his loyalty, even though Lelouch knew it would traumatize him and bring up bad memories from Area Thirteen, was incredible.

"No." He answered. "Jeremiah will be the one to do it."

Hector grit his teeth and bowed his head again. "Of course, your highness."

Lelouch let out a disparaging sigh before smiling and deciding to throw him a bone. He trusted Hector more than most. There was no way the man would ever betray him, even if he hated this situation.

"I denied the request because you don't need to do that to prove your loyalty to me, Hector." He revealed as he stood up. The library was no longer much of a sanctuary, which meant it was time to move on and get some work done. "And also, your trust isn't completely misplaced."

He left his Captain with that, watching the look of disappointment morph into confusion as he tried to work out the puzzle. Lelouch had almost made good on his escape when the phone in his pocket began ringing.

He froze, heart leaping into his throat. Neither Suzaku, Jeremiah or Edith would call him on this number unless it were an emergency. And that left only three other possibilities. Either Jin Nakata had come across more information about the Kenshiki, Katsurou already missed Suzaku, or Tohdoh's son had figured out the value of the card he'd been given even faster than he'd anticipated.

"I have to take this." He said quickly as he reached for the phone, already hurrying out of the room.

* * *

Kallen had been none too thrilled with Lelouch's _genius_ idea of having her enlisted in the Britannian military. It made her skin crawl. It was one thing to spend months pretending to be a properly patriotic Britannian student, but it was something completely different to have to do this. To join with the very enemies she'd hated for so long.

But that was what she'd done, wasn't it? She'd agreed to join Lelouch. She could make herself feel better by saying that she'd been blackmailed and coerced, but it didn't change the fact that she was currently on a Britannian military base receiving Britannian military training so that she could fulfil her part of a bargain in which she had agreed to serve under a Britannian prince.

"Move your asses!" Her sergeant bellowed somewhere behind her as she continued her sprint up and over a climbing wall in the obstacle course. Most of the rest of her training group was behind her, but that didn't stop the shout from making her push herself a bit harder. She'd never been able to ignore it when people yelled at her.. And while in any other situation she would have been in the person's face and telling them to shove it, she knew better to do such a thing here.

When she cleared the course, she was panting and slightly lightheaded. But her time came in third and she actually felt a little smug about it, even despite the fact that this was Britannian Basic Training. The two recruits who were able to finish the course faster than her were Janelle Grier and the only Honorary Britannian in their group, Kasumi Watabi.

She took one more deep breath before trudging over to stand at attention next to the Japanese girl, along with the others who had already finished the course. Just a little while longer and they'd be dismissed for the day. Then they could go shower and eat and blissfully get some sleep. She was exhausted. These freakishly early mornings and long, gruelling days were catching up with her.

When the end finally did come, when her last, sluggish training mate finally got through the obstacles and earned a mandatory five mile run for coming in last, they were dismissed. Her sergeant turned away without sparing them so much as another glance and disappeared somewhere back in the direction of her office.

Kallen waited until the woman was out of sight before she slumped, letting her posture fall as she closed her eyes in relief. She'd made it through another day of this hell. Was it bad that she was already counting down the days until she was done here? She was only four days into her Basic Training, but already she couldn't wait to be done with it.

She caught movement out of the corner of her eye and glanced over just in time to witness Janelle knee Kasumi in the stomach before executing a high-kick that sent the Japanese girl sprawling.

"Stupid Eleven. What the hell did you think you were doing? Trying your hardest? You're not going to be anything but cannon fodder no matter what you do. And you dare to surpass full-blooded Britannians?" Janelle demanded with a snarl, sending another kick to the downed girl's side. "Do you think you're better than them? Do you?"

Kasumi didn't answer, staring resolutely at the ground as she slowly began to sit back up.

"Stay down!" Janelle ordered, sending another kick and earning a pained grunt from the Japanese girl. "Answer me, you filthy Eleven. What were you hoping to accomplish? Learn your place."

And that was it. That was the last straw. Any thoughts she'd had of restraint and keeping her head down and not creating a commotion that would possibly make Lelouch want to dispose of her fled her mind. Even here? Even here after sacrificing her pride and applying for Honorary Britannian status, even after joining her oppressor's military, Kasumi still couldn't get a break? No one would acknowledge what she'd given up and treat her decently?

Of course Kallen had known it would be like this in the military. Of course she'd heard the rumours and horror stories about the Honorary Britannians who endured the military. Of course she'd heard about the abuse and the hardships they'd have to suffer for only the most menial and demeaning of jobs, but to see it right in front of her and do nothing about it?

No way.

She definitely wouldn't just sit by and watch some arrogant Britannian bitch beat on a Japanese girl just because her coveted first place spot had almost been taken from her.

Kallen moved without thinking. It was like all those months ago when she'd killed that cop in the ghettos. It was like her body had a mind of its own that wouldn't abide for watching such injustice. She stepped over Kasumi, shoving Janelle back and off balance as the other girl tried to get in another kick.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Kasumi beat the others fair and square. There's no excuse for this kind of behaviour." She snarled, well aware that the rest of her training group was staring at her like she'd grown another head.

Janelle stared at her wide-eyed for a moment, as though she couldn't possibly believe she'd been opposed.

". . . why?"

_". . . why?" The man asked as he stared up at her face under the brim of her hat, his voice a choked, hoarse gurgle that raised the bile in her throat just listening to it. "You're . . . Britannian . . ."_

She grit her teeth and forced the memory back. This time, she wouldn't be able to get away with loudly proclaiming that she was Japanese. This time, she was Kallen Wallbridge, Britannian recruit and the daughter of parents that had been murdered by Japanese terrorists.

"What are you? A Number lover?" Janelle demanded, eyes narrowing.

"I just think your behaviour is out of line." She countered.

There was a lot she wanted to say. She would love nothing more than to berate this woman for her blatant lack of human decency, but once she got started, she knew she wouldn't be able to stop herself. And it would inevitably turn into an anti-Britannian tirade.

There was a moment in which no one moved. She stayed where she was, standing between Kasumi and Janelle like a sentinel as she met the Britannian girl's glare with her own.

And then Janelle's boot collided with her face in a roundhouse kick that sent her to the ground right next to Kasumi and left black spots in her vision. She hadn't seen it coming. In hindsight, she should have. Obviously, Janelle wasn't the type of person to talk things through when her kicks could do that talking for her. Kallen wasn't either, but she preferred to let her knife or Knightmare do the talking for her, and she was currently unarmed and unmounted.

She wiped the blood away from her newly split lip with an irate glare. She could take a hit, but it had been a long time since she'd had to. She'd gotten soft while playing Britannian student, then captive. It had been a long time since she'd been in a physical confrontation that didn't include her wholly one-sided arrest.

She was probably going to regret this later. She was sure the consequences for this would be severe, but at this point she didn't care. She'd never been one to go down without a fight. And she never would be.

"You dare . . ." She began, then cut herself off. She wasn't Kallen Stadtfeld any longer. She no longer could claim the privilege of nobility and act like any physical assault was an affront to her bloodline. Not that that had ever really mattered to her, but she'd been getting used to her role as the Stadtfeld heiress before her arrest.

She dove at Janelle, catching the taller woman around the waist with enough momentum to knock her down. She got a knee into the woman's side before punching her straight in the face.

She would regret this later. But she'd never been one to hold herself back because she was afraid of the consequences. She'd cross that bridge when she got there.

* * *

Tohdoh's knuckles were white as he grasped the edge of the table in front of him and listened to the dull ringing of the phone on Katase's desk. Because he was the one who'd brought this information forward, the General had granted his permission to witness this call. But he was the only one aside from Katase's secretary who had been granted such an honour.

He was well aware of the damage it could cause to morale if it became widely known that the General was in contact with the Viceroy, especially after the allegations Kusakabe had brought forward only weeks ago. While the meeting in which Kusakabe had doubted Katase's dedication to their cause had been limited in its audience to only the highest ranking officers within the JLF and had been quickly rebuffed, there was no telling how many other people Kusakabe had voiced his thoughts to.

Tohdoh held his breath when the ringing stopped, his whole body tense as they waited in silence. When another minute passed without interruption, the person on the other end of the line sighed.

"May I ask who's calling?"

That really was the prince's voice. He hadn't simply passed Katsurou a decoy card to appease the boy. He slowly let his breath out and forced himself to calm down.

"I am General Katase of the Japan Liberation Front." Katase said firmly into the receiver.

There was another moment of silence before the prince let out a disappointed little huff. "Tohdoh is even more ruthless than I'd anticipated."

The words felt like knives being plunged into his chest. Was he ruthless? Yes, probably. He'd never really considered it before, but what else did you call a man who unhesitatingly gave up information that would inevitably lead to his own son's demise?

"Did you have business with Lieutenant Colonel Tohdoh?" Katase asked with a frown.

"Nothing of the sort." The prince answered easily. "It was merely one possibility amongst many. But the better question would be if you have business with me, General Katase? I'm not in the habit of taking social calls."

The General frowned, eyes narrowing in displeasure. "Before that, is the boy still alive?"

"Of course." Lelouch answered immediately. "Are you willing to surrender the JLF in return for his continued safety?"

He caught Katase's momentary glance in his direction and deliberately averted his gaze. He knew the outcome, he didn't need to see the man he respected above all others feeling guilty about something that was inevitable.

"We are not."

"We?" The prince enquired. "Do I, perhaps, have the honour of addressing the entire ruling body of the JLF?"

"No." Katase answered with a scowl.

"Hmmm." The prince said, amusement evident in his voice. "Then I'll guess. Contacting an enemy prince isn't something you'd trust with just anyone. It would have to be someone you explicitly trust, or someone already familiar with the situation."

"That's irrelevant." Katase interrupted.

"Is it? Lieutenant Colonel Tohdoh, right? You don't need to confirm it. I'll just say this, Katsurou made an attempt on my life. You know what happens to someone trying to assassinate Britannian royalty, right?"

Against his better judgement, he found himself on his feet, chair scraping against the floor with a loud screech. He wanted to jump through the phone and kill the prince himself.

The prince chuckled. "Well, we can call it an attempt on my life, but the reality is that he didn't even get close. So I could just as easily call it a young boy being rowdy."

"What do you want?" He demanded through grit teeth despite knowing that it wasn't his place to ask.

"What I want?" Lelouch repeated. "I just want to be sure that the JLF isn't going to get in my way anymore."

Katase glared. "So you want us to disband in return for the life of a single boy?"

However callous, it was the hard truth that that wasn't an even exchange.

"Disband? No. How to say it more precisely? Well, I suppose what I want is to be the one that controls the JLF's actions." Lelouch said smugly.

"_I intend to deal with resistances in an entirely different fashion than the terrorists."_

Is this what the prince had meant in that letter he'd sent when he'd returned Lieutenant Colonel Chiba's body after Lake Kawaguchi? That he was going to take them over?

"What absurdity is this?" Katase demanded.

"Of course it all sounds very absurd in a phone call. You should meet with me, General. It would be easier to negotiate in person. And I can make it worth your while."

"You mean it would be easier to assassinate me if I agreed to meet with you." The General said in a deadpan.

"Well, that is true, but it goes both ways. After all, I'm also putting myself at risk by suggesting such a thing. Besides, I've never had anyone assassinated before."

"You killed Chiba and the others." Katase growled.

"Those were hardly assassinations. They were executions. That's different. And if you want to blame anyone for that debacle, you can blame your Lieutenant Colonel Kusakabe." Lelouch said darkly. "I told you before, you forced my hand."

Katase was quiet for a long minute. "Where would you suggest we meet?"

Tohdoh tensed. Katase couldn't be serious, could he? This was madness! Of course he'd be killed or captured. Of course he would be. There was no way the Viceroy would pass up using this opportunity to dispose of the man who was leading the biggest resistance faction in Japan.

And even excusing the sheer stupidity of meeting with the prince, the purpose behind the meeting was an even greater reason not to go. Lelouch said he wanted control over the JLF. The demand was in no way acceptable. That Katase was even entertaining such thoughts was disturbing.

"Obviously, only neutral ground would be acceptable to you and your compatriots." The prince mused. "The problem is that it's difficult to find neutral ground in a country I control."

"Then, the Chinese Federation's embassy?" Katase suggested.

"No." Lelouch denied immediately. "I'm not going to be showcasing my backdoor dealings with you to the Chinese."

There was another moment of silence except for the sound of shuffling papers coming through the telephone line before the prince made a satisfied sound and rattled off a set of coordinates. "Its an uninhabited island, little more than a promontory of rock. It should be private enough and neutral enough for our purposes, no?"

Katase frowned, no doubt not liking the fact that he wouldn't be the one to choose the meeting place. The person who chose the terrain was always at an advantage. The prince seemed to follow their train of thought, because he added with a chuckle, "I picked it randomly off a map just now."

Whether or not that was true, they couldn't afford to send Katase into such an uncertain situation. It was an unnecessary risk.

"I will meet you there at noon three days from now. And if you come with only your Knights in attendance, I will negotiate with you." Katase bargained.

"I'll be there, General. I look forward to meeting you. Or rather, I suppose I should say I look forward to seeing you again."

Before the General could come up with a suitable response, the line went dead. Katase let out a sigh and leaned back in his chair, showing his age for once.

"Send a team to scout out the island. I want a presence on it within the hour. If the Viceroy was telling the truth, we need to get there before his people do." Katase ordered.

"Sir, are you really taking this seriously? You can't actually be considering meeting him?" He demanded.

The older man chuckled mirthlessly. "You're a field commander, Tohdoh. You fight your battles with guns and Knightmares. I don't have the luxury of that simplicity. I may be a soldier, I may have fought wars, but even I know that half of the time, the battle is fought with words while sitting across from your enemy. Clovis never gave us a chance to negotiate. That Lelouch is willing to isn't a chance that I'm going to pass up."

"It's too dangerous." He protested. "If we lose you -"

"Then you will be able to govern the JLF as you see fit." Katase said firmly. "I'm not too blind to see that this isn't a war we can easily win."

He grit his teeth. "We're the Japan _Liberation _Front. If we're not trying to liberate Japan -"

"Then we should at least aim to liberate the Japanese." Katase interrupted. "Besides, it's not like I intend to let him use us without bleeding him dry first. I'll see to it that every demand I can think of is met before I let a Britannian prince move JLF soldiers."

Tohdoh frowned. He didn't doubt Katase's loyalty or dedication to their cause. And more importantly, he trusted the man. Katase had been in charge of the JLF since before the invasion, since before they were the JLF. Katase had been hand-picked by Genbu Kururugi to serve as his Chief General and had never steered them wrong before.

"I understand, Sir." He said begrudgingly.

"Good. Then get our men on that island. As for me, I need to discuss this development with the Six Houses."

* * *

"My Lady . . ."

Cornelia ignored the interruption, rubbing tiredly at her eyes as she continued to sift through the information she'd gathered. It was all old information about the JLF from before they'd lost their balls at just hearing that the Wolf of Britannia was after them. They were the most useful records she'd found thus far.

She'd find the JLF's little hideout and then she'd raze it to the ground. It was only a matter of time now. She'd already narrowed it down to being somewhere on the main island of Kyushu and she was narrowing her search radius by the day, like a net being drawn in by a fisherman.

"Princess Cornelia." Guilford tried again.

"What?" She snapped, still not looking at him and the no doubt concerned expression on his too handsome face.

"Please retire for the evening." He requested.

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Go then." She said dismissively, gesturing towards the door. "I'm sure I'm keeping you from something important."

She'd caught him with another woman again just two days ago and he was no doubt due to meet with her again. Though to be fair, she knew she was nothing to Guilford but a princess that needed to be protected. Whatever she thought of him, it wasn't a line he'd be willing to cross.

Besides, Guilford was a handsome, stoic noble, with one of the most prestigious occupations in the Empire. He was still young, still single and it was only natural that women would flock to him in droves. She couldn't blame them.

But she could blame him. And so she did.

He sighed heavily and resumed his post for a few more minutes of silence. She returned to her investigation, pushing thoughts of the woman she'd seen with him – soft and delicate and everything she was not – out of her mind. She didn't have time to be worrying about Guilford's love life anyway.

If she could just find the sons of bitches that had taken Euphy hostage, she could annihilate them and discredit Lelouch in a single blow. And then . . . well, she'd find something to do after that. Maybe by then their father would have decided that she'd been punished enough and let her come back to the homeland. Or maybe, she'd take the Kenshiki out from under Lelouch's nose as well. That would be . . . satisfying. If she bagged the two biggest problems in the country for herself, Lelouch would be thoroughly shamed.

She'd show her smug little brother that she wasn't someone to be scorned and dismissed so easily.

She grit her teeth at remembering Lelouch's casual dismissal of her, and the cunning smirk, as if he were toying with her. She wasn't someone that could be toyed with. She'd show Lelouch. She would definitely show him up.

"My Lady -"

"Leave, Guilford." She snapped.

He pressed his lips into a thin line before letting out a slow breath and remaining where he was. She rolled her eyes and turned to glare at him.

"I'm concerned for your health, Cornelia." He finally said quietly.

She bit back her instinctively pleased reaction to him addressing her merely by name – like a woman and not like a princess – and kept her face as impassive as possible.

"I'm fine." She said, airily brushing off his concern.

"You're running yourself ragged. You're exhausted. I can see it. Please retire for the evening. It pains me to see you battling something I can't protect you from." He pleaded.

She frowned, letting her displeasure show, before reluctantly relenting and standing up. If he said it like that . . . She scowled at herself for her own silly weakness.

"Good night, Gilbert." She said sharply as she head in the direction of her chambers.

"Sleep well, my princess." He said softly.

She paused and almost turned back. If he could only treat her like an equal when he was trying to get her to do something she didn't want to, then she was well within her rights to fight him. But . . . well she was tired. It had been another long day of disappointment and only hints that were barely hints. The JLF had well and truly gone to ground. There had been no mention of them since the Lake Kawaguchi hotel jacking.

She sighed heavily before continuing on her way. He followed her at a distance until she turned into her room and closed the door behind her. She knew that he would remain for another hour or so outside her door until he was sure that she was asleep and wouldn't need him again until morning. Then he'd go to his own chambers down the hall and sleep for few hours before, usually, waking before her and taking up his post outside her door again.

He was really far too dedicated of a Knight, as if she wasn't perfectly capable of taking care of herself. As if Marianne the Flash hadn't personally trained her into a damned fine soldier. She didn't need to be constantly watched over like this. Not if he couldn't see her as anything other than some delicate princess.

She shrugged out of her clothes, tossing them in the nearby laundry hamper before collapsing onto her bed. Tomorrow would be another long day. But if she kept this up, there was no way the JLF would be able to elude her for much longer.

It was a pity Lelouch had already had those JLF prisoners executed. She would have been interested in interviewing them herself and making them talk.

* * *

AN: :D Well, here I am again. I hope you enjoyed it. It turns out that due to a depressing lack of contracts, I have more time to write than anticipated. Go figure. So I'll be spending until the 1st probably writing as much as I can before I get back into the swing of things with field work again. Weapons of Mass Destruction is next up on the update schedule, like always.

Also I should mention that this chapter and every chapter that has a title has been beta'd by the wonderful SplitIce. Thank you! Even though I'm scatterbrained and forget to acknowledge it every chapter it's been a tremendous help.

Thanks for reading. Don't forget to leave me a review and let me know what you think.

Allora


	87. Chapter 87:Buying Is Cheaper Than Asking

Chapter 87: Buying is Cheaper Than Asking

This was a terrible idea.

No, this was the mother all terrible ideas. This was the worst idea Lelouch had ever come up with, and yet somehow it had managed to sneak its way through all of the 'hey, that's a fucking stupid idea' filters in Lelouch's mind and had been given the go ahead by the logical, rational part.

Suzaku took a deep breath, fingers tightening slightly around the controls of the Lancelot as he tried to calm himself down. Not that it was working. Because this was a terrible idea.

Hadn't Lelouch, just days ago, told him that they couldn't afford a link to the JLF? That was why he'd had to go through such lengths just to ensure that Lelouch didn't use Katsurou as a pawn in his game. And now Lelouch was rushing off to meet General Katase like a schoolgirl going on a date.

. . . Okay, well that was an unfair description. To be fair, Lelouch was less giddy than a schoolgirl, but the rest was accurate. He'd dropped appointments that had been made weeks in advance so he could go off gallivanting with known terrorists on a remote island that was already in JLF control. It was stupid. It was dangerous. And nothing he'd been able to say had been able to talk Lelouch out of it.

'It's necessary.' was the only answer he ever got out of the prince.

"You're up, Suzaku." Lelouch said, his face appearing in the top right hand corner of his screen. Well, half of his face showed up on the monitor. The other half was obscured by C.C.'s head getting in the way.

That was another thing that didn't make sense. Why the hell had he insisted on bringing C.C. along instead of Lord Gottwald? Once again, Lelouch was walking into a stupidly dangerous situation with only himself and C.C. for company. Just what did he expect the woman to be able to do for him? Especially like this; unmounted and squished in Lelouch's cockpit with him. She was more of a liability than anything else. If the JLF attacked, he'd be at a disadvantage.

"Yes, your highness." He said through grit teeth as he launched from the air carrier, MVS' already in hand.

He landed hard, feeling the ground shift slightly underneath the weight of the Lancelot, though it stayed steady and solid as he faced off against a full dozen Knightmares. He'd never seen the make before, but they looked something like Glasgows. If they performed like Glasgows as well, he'd be able to tear through them easily in the Lancelot.

For now, he held himself back from such a course of action, standing defensively with his thumb resting on the button that would activate his Blaze Luminous shields, waiting to see if they would attack.

The JLF's Knightmares bristled and shifted nervously, the tension so thick it could have been cut with a knife, but they didn't attack.

"Well?" Lelouch asked. "How is it?"

"I'm uncomfortable with you coming down here." He answered. "If they change their mind -"

"I'm hardly helpless, Suzaku." Lelouch said darkly. "I'm launching now."

Suzaku grit his teeth again and wondered if this might not have happened if he hadn't opposed Lelouch in the first place. If he'd taken Lelouch's advice and promptly kicked Katsurou out, they probably wouldn't have been in this situation. It wasn't much of a mystery to him just how the JLF had gotten into contact with Lelouch.

Katsurou, the little brat. He was going to kick the kid's ass next time he saw him.

Lelouch was right of course, though it was still difficult for him to reconcile the image. Lelouch was a Knight and a war veteran in his own right, not just a helpless prince. And should the worst come to pass and the JLF break this temporary cease fire, the Royal Guard was circling overhead just waiting to be called into battle, and Gottwald was in command of the _HMS Indomitable_, a marine assault carrier able to launch and land a hundred Knights within minutes less than a kilometre away. Well, the _Indomitable_ was ostensibly there for field exercises, but Gottwald's presence while 'touring the vessel' ensured that they could be called to action within a matter of minutes.

His entire body was coiled tightly, muscles ready to snap into action at the slightest of stimuli as he waited for Lelouch to land behind him. The felt the impact of the new and improved King Piece and risked a glance to ensure that the prince was still intact.

The new King Piece, built this time from a Lionel base frame rather than a Sutherland, was even more intimidating than the original one had been. It practically oozed authority as it stepped up to his side to survey the assembled Knightmares in front of them.

"So those are the JLF's Burais, hmm." Lelouch mused.

"Intimidated?" C.C. asked mockingly.

"Not even slightly." Lelouch replied before flicking on his external speakers. "I'm afraid that if you want me to come out and have a civil conversation with you, you'll have to recall your Knightmares, General."

For a few minutes, no one moved. Lelouch waited patiently while Suzaku watched their surroundings like a hawk. The slightest of movements from the other Knightmares had him tensing and readying to pounce. Then, as one, the Burais turned and retreated, falling back well past the large, white canvas tent that had been set up in the center of the island to take up position on the opposite shore.

It wasn't nearly far enough away for comfort, barely out of rifle range, but the terrain didn't allow for any further distance since this damnable island was so small. He grit his teeth again as the King Piece moved to stand directly behind him before depressurizing its cockpit. He watched the scene via his factspheres as Lelouch effortlessly slipped out of his cockpit and descended his tow line, holding C.C. tightly against his side, half like a dashing hero with a damsel in distress out of a movie, and half like he had a human shield.

His Blaze Luminous activated, instinctively guarding his friend as he stood vulnerable on the craggy island. There was no one else in sight except for the Burais standing guard in the distance. It made him more anxious than if there had been a platoon of enemy soldiers facing off against Lelouch. At least in that scenario he'd have known from which direction the bullets would be coming.

"Dismount, Suzaku." Lelouch ordered, his tone still calm and unaffected.

He was conflicted by the order. On the one hand, he'd never be able to defend Lelouch against those Knightmares if they decided to attack if he dismounted. On the other, if he didn't dismount, he wouldn't be able to stay close to Lelouch's side during the negotiation. He wanted to be in two places at once.

Sighing, he obeyed the order, powering down the Lancelot before jumping down to stand at Lelouch's side. C.C. glanced at him, for once actually frowning seriously instead of the blank mask she usually wore. She probably didn't like this situation much either.

Lelouch squared his shoulders, raising his chin slightly before stepping out into the no-mans-land between the canvas shelter and the refuge of the Lancelot and King Piece.

This was stupid. This was so stupid. Everything his in body and mind was screaming at him about what a _beautiful_ target Lelouch was making right now. He could see a dozen different deaths for the prince and it was impossible for him to guard against them all at the same time.

Seemingly refusing to be shown up by Lelouch's daring, General Katase emerged from the tent a moment later. Aloof and stiff-backed with his chin raised just as proudly as Lelouch's.

Suzaku had to wonder just what was wrong with them both. This was a stupid situation. They were _enemies! _They were supposed to be trying to kill each other and instead they were here, facing each other and posturing like a pair or territorial peacocks. Of course he didn't want them to try to kill each other, but he couldn't understand either one of them and their restraint.

Lelouch hadn't pulled any punches to date, and the JLF had taken Euphy and his friends hostage. They'd assaulted and shot Lukas, a man Lelouch considered a good friend. Lelouch shouldn't have been able to just stand here like this and propose a civil conversation. And as for Katase, didn't they hate everything about the Britannian government? Why weren't they attacking Lelouch?

In any case, it didn't change the face that he was a Knight. It was his job to protect Lelouch from anything and everything, even if that meant nothing more than taking a bullet meant for the prince. He stepped forward automatically, stepping between Lelouch and Katase before sending a silent signal to C.C. to watch their back. If they were flanked, they were dead.

The cape of his formal Knight uniform caught in the wind, flaring out to the side as he met Katase's gaze with thinly veiled suspicion. If worse came to worse, he wondered if he'd be able to sell himself to the JLF in return for Lelouch's safety? Lelouch probably wouldn't be pleased with the idea, but again, he was his Knight. It was his job to do whatever he possibly could to keep Lelouch safe.

Not that he'd be bringing up that possible avenue of action unless things went terribly wrong and only as a last resort. He'd worked too hard for too long to earn Britannia's trust to just throw it all away so easily.

Lelouch nudged against his back with an elbow, urging him to continue moving forward. He did so with reluctance, steadily closing the distance between themselves and Katase until only a few feet remained.

Then Lelouch was sweeping past him, ignoring the half-formed protest that fell from his lips as he stood face to face with the leader of the biggest terrorist organization in Area Eleven.

"General." Lelouch said smoothly, extending his hand to shake. "It's been a long time."

Katase glanced down to Lelouch's hand for a moment, then at Suzaku, almost like asking for permission, before going ahead and shaking Lelouch's hand. "Prince Lelouch. I'm surprised you remember me."

To Suzaku's knowledge, Lelouch had only ever met Katase once when they were children. The General wasn't a regular visitor to the shrine and so the only opportunity in which Lelouch would have had the chance to meet with Katase probably would have been at his father's birthday celebration the summer that Lelouch had stayed with them.

Lelouch smiled. "My memories of that time in my life are still sharp despite how long ago it was."

"Of course." The General said before turning his attention on Suzaku. "Kururugi-sama, it's good to see you well."

He bit back the immediate urge to just growl at them to get all these meaningless pleasantries over with already, but held himself in check. "Thank you, Katase-san." He said stiffly, but opted out of expressing the same sentiment to the man. Instead, he focused on not showing his discomfort at addressing the man in the Japanese fashion.

Lelouch had coached him to reinforce the image that he was still Japanese, which included using Japanese honorifics, but he'd have much rather have addressed the man only by the title General to enforce the face that he _wasn't _one of them. He was an Honorary Britannian.

The JLF General didn't comment on the snub, but rather turned to focus on C.C. instead. She met the man's gaze fearlessly, though that was to be expected with C.C. since she was always fearless.

"I expected you to arrive with Sir Gottwald." The General noted.

"Does it null our agreement? I should think arriving with only one Knight would only make you more comfortable." Lelouch said calmly.

"No. It just makes be wonder why you decided to forgo the security that was allowed to you in favour of this woman." Katase said suspiciously.

"She's good at reading people." Lelouch lied effortlessly. It would allow him to keep C.C. close to his side no matter what happened, which was some small comfort to Suzaku.

"I see." The General said with a frown before stepping back and gesturing toward the tent. "Come, let's get out of the open."

Lelouch followed the man back towards the tent, but before he could follow the General inside, Suzaku stepped firmly in front of him and entered first. It was the perfect set up for an ambush and he would be damned if he sent Lelouch into that without checking it out first.

The interior of the tent was open and uncrowded, though he quickly noted two armed guards standing in the furthest corners of the tent from the entrance. He also noted the presence of what looked like two norimono – Japanese palanquin that looked more suited to the Edo period than present day – with the covers down and the occupants hidden within. He frowned at them suspiciously; it would be only too easy to hide assassins in them.

But mostly his gaze was drawn to the center of the tent, where Tohdoh knelt in seiza on the tatami mats that had been laid out across the ground. He stiffened, feeling his whole body seize up upon falling under the guarded stare of his former instructor. Tohdoh had always had a way of making him strive for the man's approval and it wasn't a lesson that was unlearned so easily.

"Tohdoh-sensei." He greeted cautiously before hearing someone shift within one of the norimono. His gaze snapped back to the lacquered wood and gilded brass box and his hand automatically reached for the gun that should have been at his side. Instead, he met the hilt of the katana Lelouch had given him for his knighting.

Lelouch had insisted he wear it today, along with every other weapon he owned. Suzaku was armed to the teeth, with a full assortment of guns and knives. None of them was nearly as comforting as knowing that Lelouch and C.C. were both armed as well and capable of protecting themselves if they had to.

"Please come in, Kururugi-sama. The Viceroy won't come to any harm unless he makes the first move." Katase said as he knelt down next to Tohdoh.

"Even if you say that, I don't trust you. I want to be able to see the people within the norimono." He insisted.

"I'm afraid that's impossible." Katase said with a frown. "Our benefactors have expressed an interest in keeping their identities secret."

"Suzaku." Lelouch said behind him, his tone low and warning.

He closed his eyes for half a second, hating the situation, before letting out a slow breath and opening them again, gaze hard and determined, hand still resting on the hilt of his katana. "I'll kill everyone in this room without hesitation if Prince Lelouch is harmed in any way."

And he meant it.

Much as he loathed killing, much has he hated the very thought of getting blood on his hands, he'd still do it. He'd already killed to protect Lelouch, and he'd do it again in a heartbeat. Because Lelouch was the only one who had ever found out about what he'd done to his father and been able to still accept him despite of it. With Lelouch was the only place he could belong as himself without being loathed.

He heard Lelouch let out a grateful sigh behind him, before taking another step into the tent and allowing Lelouch to enter. The guards next to the norimono shifted nervously, but they didn't make any sudden movements. Which was good, because he was so on edge that he probably would have cut them down if they had.

Lelouch entered confidently, C.C. matching his stride as they moved forward to kneel on the cushions that had been laid out for them on the tatami in front of Katase and Tohdoh. His gaze travelled to the third cushion sitting next to Lelouch, the one meant for him, before he glanced away and took up position standing beside and behind Lelouch. Sitting would lose him precious seconds if he needed to strike them all down.

He probably wasn't making a very good impression on the JLF, but he didn't really care about that. This was a stupid idea to begin with. They should just take their leave and go before something went wrong.

Katase ignored the way he was looming over them and focused on Lelouch instead. He felt Tohdoh's gaze on him a little bit longer, but eventually that too was focused on Lelouch instead.

"Before we begin," Katase said, "I would like to know why you took Tohdoh Katsurou hostage."

Suzaku jerked in surprise and opened his mouth to protest the accusation, but closed it again with a snap when Lelouch turned to glare at him.

"I originally intended to use the boy to get Lieutenant Colonel Tohdoh to arrange this meeting for us." Lelouch said smoothly. "But his unanticipated devotion to his country made such measures unnecessary."

"Then we would like you to return him to his father since he's no longer of use to you." Katase said firmly.

"I'm afraid I can't do that." Lelouch said, expression never changing. "Lieutenant Colonel Tohdoh's son has been taken in by the Kururugis. My Knight's family falls outside of my sphere of influence."

Tohdoh's gaze cut to him, sharp and unforgiving. He glanced at Lelouch, but the prince's face was a guarded mask. No help there. "He's not a hostage. I . . . um . . . didn't want him to be kicked out of the only home he's ever known. So I adopted him as a brother." Suzaku explained awkwardly.

The explanation was met with silence and he suddenly felt like he'd just said something very stupid. Was thinking that Katsurou was a hostage the only thing that was keeping them from attacking Lelouch? If so, he'd just ruined everything.

Lelouch sighed quietly. "I merely took advantage of the situation my Knight created. Katsurou was never in any real danger."

Still, the JLF representatives didn't speak. Tohdoh looked halfway between incredulous and relieved, with maybe an ounce of guilt mixed in.

"Why would you risk yourself like that?" Katase asked. Suzaku wanted to know the same thing. Now that he knew that the JLF had thought they'd taken a child hostage, he was even more surprised that they hadn't been shot as soon as they'd dismounted. If Tohdoh was willing to give up his son for the JLF, they should have at least made it count.

Lelouch chuckled softly. "How else was I supposed to get you to agree to this meeting?"

"Why was meeting with me so important?" Katase demanded, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

Lelouch smiled beatifically. "I already told you why when we spoke on the phone."

"You want control over the JLF." The General said with a definite frown and visible disdain.

Suzaku stared at Lelouch like he'd grown a second head. What was Katase talking about? _This_ was the reason Lelouch was out here risking life and limb? Because he thought he could take over the JLF? Had he hit his head?

"Well, we could call it an alliance if it would make the idea more acceptable to you."

"Why would a prince of Britannia wish to ally himself with the Japan Liberation Front?"

It was a good question, but Suzaku wasn't thinking about that. His whole body had seized up and gone rigid with shock. That wasn't Katase that had asked that question. It wasn't even Tohdoh. But he knew that voice. He'd never forget it.

The person in the norimono on the right was someone he knew very well.

Lelouch didn't miss his reaction.

* * *

She probably shouldn't have spoken. In fact, she'd told herself that she wouldn't, but that resolve hadn't lasted long. She hated letting the JLF speak for her, but it was the only way Kirihara would give in to her demand to attend this meeting. General Katase was a smart man in his own right. Such men didn't make good mouthpieces. Plus, he would be expressing the interests of his organization, which did not necessarily represent the interests of the Six Houses.

Kaguya sighed quietly to herself. She couldn't even discuss this development with Kirihara to seek guidance because he was in the norimono on the other side of the tent and he wouldn't be anywhere near as quick to give himself away.

The prince was staring right at her. He couldn't see her, she was sure, but it didn't change that fact that she'd garnered his interest. Which couldn't be a good thing for her. Not with so much on the line. If her identity was discovered as a benefactor of the JLF she'd have to immediately go into hiding. If she was lucky, she'd be able to disappear while Lelouch was dismantling her family's commercial empire.

She had friends in China.

She watched with her hands curled into tense fists as Lelouch turned his gaze away to look at Suzaku instead. It was obvious just from watching Suzaku's reaction that he'd recognized her. It only took a moment of hesitation before Suzaku stepped forward and knelt next to the prince, undoubtedly selling her out as he whispered in Lelouch's ear.

Lelouch's gaze cut back to her for a moment before turning back to General Katase, face composed and impossible to crack.

"Why shouldn't I seek an alliance with the JLF? If I can resolve a conflict without throwing away human lives, I will." Lelouch answered, as if it had been Katase to voice the question instead of her.

Katase let out a half-amused snort. "Forgive me if I don't believe in the Wolf of Britannia being skittish about casualties."

Kaguya bit back her retort for the General to shut the hell up. If they were just going to deny the prince out of hand then there was no point in this meeting. But of course, Katase wouldn't be too friendly with Lelouch even if the prince did come in peace since it was that JLF that would have to pay the price in any agreement they came to.

"Believe what you will." The prince scoffed. "I was sent here for the single purpose of establishing peace and order. And I was given a carte blanche to do it as I saw fit. If I can achieve the same ends through negotiation as I can by war, only more quickly and less bloodily, I don't see a reason for avoiding that method, whether I'm the Wolf of Britannia or not."

Well spoken. But, of course, what else had she expected from Lelouch? He had always been well composed and eloquent, even when they were children. The more she heard him speak, the more she felt herself hoping that he was telling the truth.

It was the same idealistic hope she'd let go to seed when he'd first come to Japan, when he'd rescued Suzaku from what would no doubt have been an execution, and when he'd knighted Suzaku just a few weeks later.

The same hope that had led to her risking everything and insisting that she be present for these negotiations. Lelouch wasn't a monster like the rest of his family, not completely anyway.

"You said you would make it worth my while. I see no benefit in allying myself with the enemy." Katase said firmly, unwilling to give ground.

"I will make it worth your while." The prince nodded. "I will abolish the Honorary Britannian system."

She was surprised by the declaration. So, evidently, was Suzaku, who jerked in surprise and actually moved from his position at Lelouch's shoulder to turn and face the prince, expression shocked and dismayed.

"Lelouch, you can't!" The Knight protested.

"Quiet, Suzaku."

She could understand his adversity to the prince's plans. Suzaku was an Honorary Britannian. She herself was also an Honorary Britannian, though the oaths had been sworn only so that they could continue this ruse and lend support to those wishing to better Japan.

She watched her cousin's reaction, taking careful note of the dynamic between them. Suzaku had interrupted Lelouch more than once now, and had gone so far as tempting insubordination to ensure that the prince was safe. And Lelouch had tolerated the interruptions, more or less. It wasn't something she could picture Clovis having put up with.

So their relationship was still good. Lelouch really wasn't forcing Suzaku to be his Knight, and Suzaku wasn't completely without a voice in their master-knight relationship. Which was good.

So how could Lelouch so nonchalantly suggest something like abolishing the Honorary Britannian system when he knew it would affect his Knight?

"You're pandering to the wrong organization." General Katase said with a frown. "The JLF has never taken a stance against the Honorary Britannian system." In fact, the Honorary Britannian system was about the only policy Clovis had made that they hadn't outright opposed.

"True. But . . ." Lelouch conceded, reaching inside the breast pocket of his suit.

She felt her bodyguard shift anxiously and, had she not been carefully hidden away in her palanquin, she would have put a steadying, restraining arm on him to stop him from moving. Suzaku noticed the movement, snapping out of his disbelief as his hand once again strayed to his weapon.

"The Honorary Britannian system is nothing more than a band-aid that's been carelessly applied to a gaping, fatal wound. It's meant to make the Japanese feel better, it's not meant to be effective." Lelouch said disdainfully, pulling a sheaf of papers from the pocket within his jacket. The prince unfolded them carefully before handing them to General Katase.

The General took the papers, reading them over as silence fell over this little gathering of mismatched negotiators. She forced herself to be patient. Katase would inform them of the contents of the document the prince had just handed him.

"Y-you . . ." Katase said in surprise, flipping to the next page as he rapidly scanned through the document.

"I want to read it." She said firmly. Anything worthy of rendering the General speechless was worth taking a look at herself.

"Of course. The faceless benefactors of the JLF are more than welcome to read it." Lelouch said, though his tone was almost mocking.

He knew.

Lelouch definitely knew that it was her behind the screen. She pondered for a moment if she should just forgo this pretence and step out of the norimono, but decided against the risk. Maybe, if she was lucky, Lelouch didn't know. Or maybe she was just relying on his mercy that so long as she didn't flaunt herself, he wouldn't outright kill her. Maybe he'd turn a blind eye.

Her body guard stepped forward to take the first page of the document that Katase had already read through. He slipped it inside the norimono, careful that she was still completely hidden within. It was dim within the palanquin, but still light enough that she could read the letters on the page in her hand. They were typed and official looking.

She began reading immediately, shifting so that the paper was held closer to where the cracks of light were coming into the noimono. And with every word she read, she felt her heart begin to race in her throat.

It was a draft of what could be future legislation. Lelouch had been right, of course. The Honorary Britannian system had done nothing but try to appease them. A band-aid that had never solved the problem. But this document, this law that Lelouch had drafted to win the JLF over, was the real cure.

In the place of Clovis' Honorary Britannian system, Lelouch would set down new laws that went to the very heart of the issue. Every _resident_ of Area Eleven would gain Britannian citizenship status, whether they swore oaths to Britannia or not. Elevens would gain access to the Settlements, job opportunities, education and healthcare like any other Britannian citizen. Any segregation laws that were already in place would be abolished with the advent of this single piece of legislation that Lelouch was dangling in front of them.

They couldn't refuse.

Not if they wanted to continue telling themselves that they were working for the betterment of the Japanese. Such an opportunity wouldn't come to pass again. They could literally change the lives of millions. This would save so many Japanese who struggled just to survive day to day.

And all it would cost them . . . was the JLF.

* * *

Lelouch bit back the fiercely victorious smirk that wanted to creep across his face. He couldn't afford to offend them now, and he knew from experience that the one thing the Japanese hated most was arrogant Britannians lording themselves over them. So he kept his face politely neutral as the draft was passed from Katase, to Kaguya hidden within her pretty box (he'd been surprised at the revelation, though should have expected that a Japanese family with so much money wouldn't be letting it go to waste), to the other hidden benefactor in the other palanquin, before finally ending with Tohdoh.

He had them. He knew he would, even if he was playing this card earlier than he'd anticipated. He'd wanted to put an end to the Kenshiki before dealing with the JLF, but the discovery of Katsurou had been too good of an opportunity to pass up. Now he was forced to deal with them both at the same time, but in vastly different ways.

His ambivalence would probably become legendary. A tyrant in one city and a saint in the next.

He waited in silence, C.C. at his side and Suzaku at his back. He'd have brought Jeremiah, except he'd known the man would have likely ruined the negotiations. Even if he'd been able to keep his unbridled racism in check for the length of the negotiation, just his presence alone as the former leader of the Purist Faction would have put a damper of the exchange.

Katase was staring at him with an expression like he'd just swallowed something bitter. In a way, he had. Bringing the benefactors of the JLF to this meeting had been a good idea on the General's part to begin with, it would have allowed them to make more demands than a single organization would have been able to represent. But the plan had backfired. Whoever these benefactors represented – and he could make a few guesses, based on rumours he'd picked up on the course or his investigations and that fact that Kaguya was one of them – they didn't represent the JLF. But they did control it with their continued support and funding. And when he was offering such a good deal, the JLF became nothing more than another bartering chip.

It was now less a negotiation with the JLF than it was with the two hidden people behind them.

"Well?" Lelouch finally asked when it was clear that everyone was on the same page and knew what he was willing to offer. "Does such legislation buy the JLF's cooperation?"

"It doesn't"

Lelouch froze, composure actually cracking for a second, before getting his surprise under control. He'd thought he'd had them. He'd definitely thought he'd had them.

It took him another second to realize that it hadn't been Katase that had spoken. It had been the occupant of the other palanquin, the JLF's other benefactor. He glanced at Suzaku, but his Knight shook his head slightly; didn't recognize the voice of the man.

"Ah, that's too bad. I'm afraid that's the only piece of major legislation I brought with me to barter with." He said dryly, unable to hold in his scorn.

Perhaps he'd been overconfident. Perhaps he'd underestimated the value of the JLF to these people? Or perhaps they were just going to try to milk this opportunity for all it was worth? Well, he should have expected that.

"But it is enough to bring us to the table." The man in the palanquin said.

"Oh? Is there something else you want from me on top of an end to your people's suffering?" He asked, unimpressed. "Don't ask for the liberation of Japan from the Empire."

"We would like a representative of our choosing on your board of advisers." The unknown benefactor said again.

He frowned. "I'm afraid I don't have one of those." He answered, though his mind was already turning over possible candidates for such a thing. "I could create one. But I'd want something else in return for going through the trouble."

"What else would you demand on top of our greatest hope for liberation?"

"Lieutenant Colonel . . ." He began slowly, watching with slight satisfaction as Tohdoh stiffened. "Kusakabe."

The demand was met with silence. He was bargaining with blood, but it couldn't be avoided. He wasn't going to go through all of this trouble just to have Cornelia wipe out the JLF a month later. And the only thing that would drag Cornelia from her crusade was Kusakabe's head.

Surprisingly, Katase and Tohdoh looked grim rather than outraged.

"What would you do with him if we gave him to you?" Katase asked, eyes narrowed with a frown evident on his lips.

"Do you need to ask?" He said, arching an eyebrow questioningly. "As a soldier of the Japan Liberation Front, shouldn't Kusakabe be willing to lay down his life for the sake of his people?"

The question was met with silence. He let it linger for a moment before continuing on. "Or is the cowardice Kusakabe displayed at Lake Kawaguchi the norm for JLF soldiers?"

Tohdoh shifted, barely a twitch though it was filled with menace, and Suzaku took a threatening step toward his former teacher. Lelouch held out his hand towards his Knight, breaking the tension and silently reprimanding Suzaku. He could prod at their pride and dignity a bit, but if weapons were drawn this entire day was a waste.

"You're asking us to send a comrade to certain death." Katase said with a frown.

"I'm asking you to get rid of an insubordinate troublemaker. He took a Britannian princess hostage, had a member of my Royal Guard assaulted, and threatened the lives of over a hundred civilians all without your orders. Or was Lieutenant Colonel Chiba wrong when he told me that there was no way you would have sanctioned such an action? Were you behind the Lake Kawaguchi incident?" He asked, deliberately applying pressure. If it were true, negotiations would immediately be called off. But he didn't believe that in the slightest.

"I was not." Katase said firmly. "Kusakabe has already been reprimanded for his actions and will be stripped of his rank."

"That's not enough." He replied immediately. He wouldn't be able to get Cornelia off his back if Kusakabe was only stripped of his rank. She wouldn't care about that. She just wanted to make the man pay for daring to threaten Euphy. She was out for blood.

Katase pursed his lips, reluctant to meet the demand.

Lelouch glared. "You were willing to sacrifice the life of a child just to meet with me, but you're not willing to give up the life of a soldier?" He asked. No doubt they'd thought that he'd kill Katsurou when his initial demand hadn't been met, but they'd denied it anyway. If he brought up the comparison, there was no way that they could refuse him.

The General closed his eyes briefly and let out a defeated sigh. "We will give you Kusakabe. In return you will allow our representative onto your board of advisers and vouch for their safety."

"Yes. That was the agreement." He nodded. "And in return for the cooperation of the JLF, within the next year, you will see that draft made law."

"Three months." The man within the palanquin said sharply, tone leaving no room for negotiation.

He frowned. Three months would be pushing his luck. There would be obvious and vehement opposition from not just the nobility, but the Britannian populace in general. He'd intended to ease into it in a multistage approach that would take the greater part of a year to fully implement. Three months wouldn't give him the luxury of that gentle approach. No, it was impossible.

"Six months." He bargained. "Even I have a limit to how quickly I can bring change to this country. And you'll have your representative in my entourage once I get Kusakabe to make sure I plan to keep my word."

There was another long moment of consideration before the man in the palanquin spoke again. "Agreed."

He smirked and offered his hand to shake. General Katase hesitated only for a second before grasping it firmly. All in all, the extra demands they had made hadn't cost him too much. It was nothing he hadn't already planned for in the future, though maybe not with known terrorist sympathizers on the board.

"Now then," He said as he pushed himself to his feet and stepped back, letting Suzaku and C.C. take the foreground. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you. And as my new allies, I feel no remorse in telling you that my sister Cornelia is currently after your heads. To avoid suspicion, I couldn't exactly deny her request to hunt you all down. It's only a matter of time before she finds your base in the Narita mountains and if that should come to pass, I will have no choice but to take the field myself. I can't afford to give her a major victory in this country, and I assure you that the method I used in Area Eighteen would be only too effective on your mountain fortress.

"For these reasons, I would ask that you withdraw without engaging her. I'm sure you have allies within the Chinese Federation. Withdraw to there for now. She can't pursue you to China without risking a political incident."

"Why would you tell us this?" Katase asked suspiciously. "Wouldn't it have been easier to just let her attack us?"

"I have a use for the JLF." He revealed.

In the future, having possession of a military unit that would have no qualms with turning on Britannia would be only too useful. Schneizel could say whatever he wanted about winning over the troops with his charisma and daring, but it didn't change the fact that he would be ordering them to commit high treason. When he turned on the Emperor, he fully expected to have to use his Geass on the more reluctant of his subordinates. Having the JLF on board would save him some trouble.

"What use?" Katase asked darkly.

"Ah, that would be telling." He said with a smirk. Even if they were suspicious of his intentions, he'd promised them too much for them to back out. "Good day, gentlemen." He said with a brief nod, before turning and bowing politely to where Kaguya was sitting, still hidden away within her palanquin. "Lady."

* * *

Holy hell, her hamstrings were burning.

For the last hour (and she knew it was an hour because she'd been watching the clock on the wall like a freaking hawk), Kallen had been forced to stand in a squat in complete stillness. Her back was also aching, along with the sting of the scratches Janelle had left on her arms and neck, though they took a backseat when she compared it to the state of her legs. Her muscles were trembling, and she really wasn't sure how much longer she'd be able to hold out.

The activity had been made even less enjoyable by their stony drill instructor demanding trivia out of them as the minutes had dragged on – military history, weapon capabilities, protocol. She didn't know most of it because she didn't _care_ about the glorious military history of the Britannian Empire and its shitty traditions.

The unspoken sentiment didn't gain her any points with her already irate drill instructor.

She was exhausted. It was already getting close to midnight and she'd been up since five that morning, not to mention that she'd spent the entire day doing physical training, followed by her truly spectacular fight with Janelle. And she'd have to do it all again tomorrow (though preferably without another brawl). She doubted she'd get to sleep in just because she'd been up so late being punished.

Janelle was in the same position to her right, along with Kasumi, who had been dragged into this punishment by one of their training mates accusing the Honorary Britannian of provoking Janelle and instigating the fight. She didn't know which one it was that had accused Kasumi, but she intended to find out. The Japanese girl had been nothing but a victim in this. She hadn't even retaliated when she'd been attacked.

"Attention." Their drill instructor snapped.

Oh, thank God.

She snapped to attention, legs still trembling and exhausted, but it was a thousand times better than remaining in a squat.

"You will remain at attention until I tell you otherwise. If you drop your stance, if you fall asleep, if you leave here or if you _fight,_ all three of you will be doing this every night for the rest of your training. Understood?"

"Yes, Ma'am." She said stiffly along with the others. She'd hoped it was over, but it seemed that the drill instructor was a sadistic bitch.

The drill instructor nodded sharply before turning on her heel and leaving them alone. She was probably going to bed, which meant they'd be left standing here all night. She hoped she was wrong as she stifled a yawn and stood waiting in silence.

"I can't believe I got stuck doing this with a fucking Eleven and a god damned Number lover." Janelle grumbled eventually.

"Don't even start." She growled in response. "It's your fault we're here in the first place. If you hadn't attacked Kasumi -"

"That had nothing to do with you." Janelle snapped.

She turned her head to snarl that it had everything to do with her.

"She's right." Kasumi said quietly. "You got yourself needlessly involved, Wallbridge."

"What?" She asked in surprise.

Kasumi turned her head slightly to stare at her for a moment before facing front again. "I didn't ask for you to involve yourself."

Janelle snorted in amusement. "Even the Eleven knows her place better than you. If you enlisted to become a hero, you should just drop out now."

Kallen grit her teeth. She hadn't enlisted to become a hero. She'd enlisted so Lelouch would give her a chance to assassinate the Emperor. But she couldn't very well say that.

"My family was killed by the Kenshiki." She said, practically snarling the pre-made history she'd been given.

It shut Janelle up and they stood in silence for a few minutes before Janelle finally huffed. "That makes no sense. Your family was killed by Elevens and yet you took one's side?"

"Because Kasumi's obviously not a part of the Kenshiki if she's here." She grumbled. "Generalizations like that are akin to assuming that every Britannian is nobility."

Kasumi bowed her head in embarrassment. "Thank you."

She smiled back. She might not agree with becoming an Honorary Britannian and selling out to the Britannians, but she wasn't really in a position to criticize at the moment. "No prob. But why'd you join up if you knew you were going to be suspected of something like that and treated like shit by people like Janelle?"

That was what she couldn't understand. Why would anyone willingly submit themselves to such ridicule and torture for a country that wasn't even their own? It's not like it was patriotism.

Kasumi kept her head down, a frown evident on her lips. "The Britannian military pays steadily, regardless of ethnicity. The cheques are always on time."

"For money?" She asked, audibly appalled.

Kasumi smiled depreciatingly. "You've obviously never starved."

Which was true. She's spent the invasion in the safe confines of her father's estate, or watched from the safety of an escorted vehicle as they were moved to areas of Britannian control. And ever since, she'd either been taken care of by the Stadtfelds or by Naoto. She didn't know what it was like to starve, or to sleep out on the street without a roof over her head. But she still thought that doing something as reprehensible as joining the enemy over something as petty as food was wrong. At least in her own situation, there were lives on the line.

"Disgusting." Janelle huffed. "You're nothing more than a shameless, undignified vagrant. I can't believe I have to train with the likes of you."

"Pride and dignity don't pay the rent and put food in your belly." Kasumi replied evenly before raising her head again, spine stiff and hands clasped loosely at her sides - the perfect, textbook example of a person at attention.

* * *

AN: TADA! Another chapter in only like . . . 5 days. . . .. -.- God I'm so bored at home.

Soooooo . . . what did ya think? Let me know in a review, ya?

ALSO, in big, humongous, super exciting news, Francis D. Saber has JUST uploaded another chapter of his Dauntless side story that continues on from last time in Osaka and it's super exciting. You should all read it. Like right meow. It seriously puts military life to justice in a way I never could. So go click on it. It should be right below Dauntless again, or if not try to do something with this link - w ww. fanficti /s /80953 15/3/ (it's full of spaces but you might be able to google it). Or just look up his name - Francis D. Saber.

Right. Thanks again to SplitIce for betaing.

This chapter's title was almost 'Never Negotiate Out of Fear, but Never Fear to Negotiate', but in the end the current title fit the chapter better and was short enough to fit in the little chapter bar thingy. :)

Again, don't forget to review, don't forget to read Francis' side story and thanks so much for reading.

*going to watch a thunderstorm now*

Allora


	88. 88:Go Hunting For Rabbits, Be Eaten by W

Chapter 88: Go Hunting for Rabbits, Be Eaten By Wolves

Kaguya took a shallow, even breath, keeping herself as impassive and emotionless as the situation allowed while the argument raged on every side of her. She had had little to contribute to the conversation thus far. She had other things on her mind – like whether or not she should go with the JLF to China? Or if she should make her way there on her own? What was the likelihood that Lelouch would let the JLF leave the country unharmed? It might just be a ploy to destroy them all in one place . . . but then, he could have done the same thing just as easily by attacking their base at Narita.

"It was a foolish idea. The only reason the prince agreed to it was because it would give him a hostage."

"We'd just be sending our representative to their death."

"I agree, there's no guarantee that he wouldn't have them killed."

"It's not a risk we can take. And even if we did, do you really think that a Britannian prince would give up absolute rule to adhere to a council? It's a token gesture and nothing more."

Kaguya frowned. After fighting so hard for this opportunity, they were really going to back out of it? They couldn't. It had already been agreed to. They would inevitably have to send someone or the deal would be off and Lelouch's citizenship laws would never be put into effect.

"I will go." She said quietly, breaking into the heated argument.

"What?" Kirihara said in surprise. Undoubtedly, he'd been considering volunteering himself. After all, he was the one who had suggested the arrangement, it would have looked bad if he wasn't willing to see it through. But Kirihara had more to offer to the Six Houses than she did. He had decades of experience while she was still in need of guidance. And his identity was still secret, whereas her's was not.

It only made sense. If she could be of use, even if it meant risking her life, she would do it. That was the whole point of the Six Houses. They had always known that there was an inherent risk in supporting the Japanese rebellion. They had always known that their lives might be on the line.

And this made sense anyway. Even if she escaped to China, if Lelouch wanted her dead he could always send an assassin after her without risking tension with the Chinese. After all, he would inevitably make sure there was no traceable connection between the assassin and himself.

No, she'd been thinking about this situation all wrong. This wasn't the time for her to be running away. If she wanted to be of any use, she'd have to face Lelouch head on. She couldn't stand putting one of the others at risk when her identity had already been compromised.

"Prince Lelouch is already aware of my identity. I'm the only logical choice. And I have the added bonus of being Kururugi Suzaku's cousin. During our negotiations with the Viceroy, he mentioned that Tohdoh Kyoshiro's son was beyond his reach because Suzaku considered him as family. If that's the case, I'll be safe. Or safer than anyone else would be, anyway." She reasoned.

"And if that protection only extends to those with the Kururugi name? The Tohdoh boy was adopted."

"Even if that's the case, it still makes the most sense to send me. As I said, he already knows who I am. If I don't face him, I'll be forced to flee." She retorted. "And I am the least useful to the Six Houses. So it makes sense in that regard as well."

It wasn't that the Sumeragis had less assets than the other Houses, it was simply, again, that she lacked the experience to put them all to use skillfully. She was learning and under the watchful eye of the other Houses she was more than adequate, but if one of them were about to be lost, it would make sense to be her instead of one of the others that could stand on their own.

"Furthermore, I will not condone any other suggestion. We will never reach consensus on another candidate." She finished.

The room was quiet for a moment, considering the situation. "Would you be able to protect our secrets from him? Even under the threat of torture?"

"I would die before I betrayed my country." She answered firmly. If she was captured as soon as she revealed herself, she would bite off her own tongue before she let them question her.

There was another moment of hesitation before Kirihara sighed. "Then I will place my trust in you, Sumeragi-sama."

The others were quick to follow. After all, it wasn't like they were in a rush to volunteer for what might just turn into their execution.

"Thank you." She said softly, staring down at her knees. "I won't let you down."

She knew that this wasn't going to be easy. Even if she wasn't outright killed by Lelouch, this wouldn't be easy. Because Lelouch was in a whole other level compared to the Britannian administrators that she regularly duped with her 'I'm just a clueless little girl' routine. And Lelouch already knew her personality. And even if he didn't, Suzaku certainly did.

This would be a test like no other.

* * *

C.C. combed her fingers absently through her hair, watching the two Royal Guardsmen in front of her. They were huddled around the monitor displaying the events taking place on the other side of the ridiculous stage Lelouch had had constructed. She, like the Royal Guard, was carefully hidden away from view for Lelouch's latest performance.

She'd have also been huddled around the monitor to watch the show, but Roy and Hector were giving off a pretty exclusive vibe right about now. Exclusive and tense. She didn't really want to get in the middle of it. Not right now at least. So she settled for watching the show they were putting on instead. She was able to gain all kinds of insight from watching the Royal Guard interact with itself.

"Loosen up." Roy grumbled, gently elbowing Hector in the ribs. "Even if it looks bad, you know it's not like Thirteen."

"I'm more worried about Lelouch at the moment." Hector replied, tone low and practically dripping with tension. "He has this bizarre fascination with putting himself at risk."

"Well, you know him. He's not happy unless he's in at least as much danger as the least of his subordinates. His whole leading from the front thing." Roy said dismissively with a wave of his hand. "But Kururugi and Gottwald are out there with him, and we're only seconds away."

Which was true. Even if Lelouch would look vulnerable out on the stage, the reality was anything but. There was even a number of soldiers in the crowd disguised as reporters.

"But he won't let us bring Knightmares onto the field until Saito is captured." Hector complained. "It's just asking for trouble."

"Yeah, but there's no way the Kenshiki would step into this trap if there were Knightmares all over the place." Roy said, mimicking Lelouch's earlier argument.

The two continued to bicker back and forth as they waited for the main event to begin. Five days ago there had been an information breach. Someone had managed to smuggle out video footage of the prisoners Lelouch intended to execute. First the video went viral, then it was on the television on every news channel in the country. Judging by the way that Lelouch wasn't frantic over the slip, and how he hadn't immediately put a lid on the broadcasts that began circulating about the footage, she was betting that the prince had planned it all. And if that was so, there could only be one reason behind it all.

He wanted to lure the Kenshiki out.

But, of course, this was all just conjecture. She missed the days when she'd been the one Lelouch had confided his plans to. Ever since Abigail had come to Area Eleven, she'd been effectively pushed out of Lelouch's innermost circle. She was still around and she still heard and saw things, but she was no longer Lelouch's confidante and nor was she informed of his latest plans.

In fact, most of what she learned about Lelouch's comings and goings lately came from the two guardsmen in front of her. They never divulged things purposely to her and indeed neither of them trusted her at all, still acting under Lelouch's orders to keep her under suspicion, but they were easy for her to read and easy to predict. Edith was less easy to read, but a greater wealth of information.

"He's starting." Roy said in a low grumble.

On the other side of the thin wall of ply board and tapestries between them and the stage, the Britannian anthem began playing and the rumble of the assembled crowd – media personnel with security passes only – died down. Her curiosity won out over her wish to stay in Hector and Roy's good graces enough to continue using them as pseudo-informants. She wanted to see this.

She levered herself up out of her chair and padded up quietly behind them, standing on her tip-toes between them so that her chin almost rested on Roy's shoulder. He scowled, but he didn't shove her away. He didn't even acknowledge her, eyes glued to the screen in front of them.

And there was Lelouch, striding across the stage to take his place on a simple, unadorned throne, expression grim and cold. He began reciting the crimes that his prisoners had commit to warrant their public execution in a hard, unforgiving tone so unlike his usual, smooth rhetoric.

C.C. wondered if he realized how much he resembled his father in this moment. She wondered if it was intentional, or if the similarity was just something he couldn't escape, no matter how much he hated his father. Either way, it didn't take much to imagine how Charles would react to this display. If Marianne had been telling the truth, Lelouch was the man's only pride and joy. This performance could only be met with approval.

It also didn't take much for her to imagine what Lelouch's reaction to the comparison might be. And since she was in no mood for her little prince to test the limits of her immortality, she decided to keep the opinion to herself.

She couldn't help but notice the way Hector's lips pressed into a thin, disapproving line. Interesting. Was he also noticing how much Lelouch resembled the Emperor at that moment, or was he getting squeamish about the executions?

It might be a big secret to the rest of the country, but C.C. had seen cold blooded killers before and most, if not all, of the prisoners weren't giving off that kind of air. These were civilians - weak and terrified. And this was undoubtedly a fact that Hector knew, since he was the one who had been in charge of apprehending them all.

She decided that maybe keeping an eye on Hector would be more productive than keeping an eye on Lelouch at the moment. Lelouch was in good hands after all, just like Roy had said. Suzaku and Jerry wouldn't dare let Lelouch come to harm and she'd made sure that the prince was wearing body armour underneath his elaborate suit herself.

She wasn't going to take a chance. Lelouch was mere feet away on the other side of a feeble partition. If worse came to worst she would throw herself out onto the stage to protect him, despite knowing the risk and the events that it would set in motion. National exposure would set V.V. and the Geass Order after her, but she'd risk it if it would keep Lelouch alive.

They could deal with whatever came at them so long as Lelouch was still alive.

Hector let out a slow, steadying breath as Jerry stepped forward in front of the throne, leaving Kururugi as the only Knight at Lelouch's side. It seemed Jeremiah's job today was much more important. He was going to be the executioner.

The stage was shaped like a large T protruding from the platform where Lelouch's throne sat. Jeremiah positioned himself at the base of it closest to Lelouch as a trap door opened at the junction of the T and the first prisoner was dragged out by a pair of soldiers – a teenaged boy with his hands cuffed behind his back. Despite it being apparent that the boy could barely stand due to recent injuries, it didn't stop him from struggling in his captors' grips as they forced him to kneel at the end of the stage facing the cameras.

Hector stopped breathing, watching the scene with an intensity that was almost unnerving. Then Jerry raised his gun – a beautiful silver revolver instead of the regular standard issue sidearm – and pulled the trigger. The boy slumped and the men who had brought him out on stage dragged the body back down the trap door beneath the stage, leaving a glossy, red smear on the platform's white floor as they went.

Hector closed his eyes, Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed back his disgust. C.C. watched carefully as Roy grabbed the Captain's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Then the man's eyes snapped open and his expression was hard and blank – the face of a soldier.

She watched the man for another moment, reading him and verifying his loyalty. It was nothing to be worried about. She turned her back on the monitor and the Royal Guardsmen enraptured by it. She'd seen a lot of death in her lifetime. This was nothing new.

* * *

Jeremiah let out a slow, steadying breath. Not because he was nervous or disgusted, but rather because Lelouch demanded precision. Another hostage was dragged up through the trap door, this time a middle aged woman who seemed to have already accepted her fate. She was one of the few who didn't struggle, plead innocence, or spew their hatred. She knelt silently, staring at the ground in front of her while refusing to give the cameras off the end of the stage a good shot of her. A quiet defiance.

He let her wait, unhurriedly reloading the silver revolver Lelouch had insisted he use. It would make an impression, certainly. Such a beautiful weapon rarely had a place in the world these days, and no one would choose it over a standard Britannian pistol when their life was really on the line. This was an executioner's weapon, a weapon used only when there was no threat to the wielder.

Just another part of Lelouch's theatrics.

Then he raised the gun, took careful aim and pulled the trigger. Blood bloomed on the back of her shapeless prison garb as she slumped forward, unmoving. Part of him was still amazed by this. The bullets he was using weren't lethal. In fact, they were barely damaging. The blood soaking through the woman's uniform was from a small blood pack that had been taped to her body underneath her clothes. It was Hollywood-style special effects, that was all.

Lelouch was too uncomfortable with the thought of outright killing civilians, even if they were only Elevens. So instead, they were forced into this elaborate ruse. Each and every one of these hostages were under a Geass command to play dead when they were shot until Lelouch released them from the command. Even if the Kenshiki did manage to recover them, they would be catatonic without Lelouch's intervention.

But they wouldn't be letting that happen anyway. The Kenshiki Faction – Tatsuhiro Saito's part of it anyway – wouldn't be leaving here alive. The only way the terrorists would be able to save their families was to trade their lives for them.

The body was dragged back down the trap door. By now the floor was messy and slick with the blood of his last seven victims. He wondered what the hell they were waiting for, or if the Kenshiki were coming at all? The hostages would all be 'dead' at the rate they were going. Had the terrorists not taken the bait? Was this all just a waste of time?

The next prisoner was brought up, flailing as much as her restraints would allow and screaming like a banshee. She was in her early twenties and the only one of the hostages he actually recognized. She was their clincher – Saito's very own little sister. Revenge for Princess Euphemia. It seemed that the soldiers downstairs were also getting tired of this charade.

She struggled like a cat in a bag; flailing, trying to shove her escorts off balance and even going so far as to bite one of them. That last action earned her a harsh backhand that seemed to knock the fight out of her and leave her dazed before she was forced down onto her knees at the end of the stage.

He wasn't even given time to take aim before an explosion rocked the perimeter of the execution ground, levelling an apartment building down a street outside of the plaza. The building toppled, collapsing onto the street and effectively blocking it off. A collective shout of surprise went up from the crowd as panic and confusion began to set in.

About god damned time they showed up.

The men at the end of the stage didn't need orders from him to know what to do. They were already dragging Saito's sister back down the trap door. The base of the stage was reinforced. Short of a direct hit from one of their explosives (which would no doubt kill the hostages), the Kenshiki wouldn't be getting in.

Kururugi was already dragging Lelouch from his throne and off the stage. He followed behind, drawing a gun that would shoot real bullets before catching up to them in a matter of seconds.

Another explosion rocked the square, closer this time, and blocked off another avenue of escape. The media personnel were in a frenzy by now. They'd all been warned of the possibility of an attack but had all signed on to cover the executions anyway. By this point, it was easy to tell which ones valued their lives over the chance to catch a Kenshiki attack on video. Half were running for another side street on the other side of the plaza. The other half were trying to find cover that would give them a good vantage point of the action, cameras rolling so as not to miss even a second of the action.

They hurriedly made their way back stage to where C.C. was waiting for them at the opened trap door to another under stage compartment. Lelouch jerked his arm out of Kururigi's grip before glaring at them both and disappearing down the trap door. No doubt he'd have preferred to have stayed on stage and challenged the Kenshiki, but both he and Kururugi had agreed that they weren't going to let that happen. It was one of the few things they could agree upon.

After the utter recklessness and disregard for Lelouch's safety during his meeting with the JLF, they weren't going to let the prince put himself in such danger again. Especially not with terrorists that they knew for a fact wanted Lelouch dead even before you factored in that he'd just had some of their family members 'killed'.

C.C. followed Lelouch, sticking close now that he was out of the public eye, and he followed, leaving Kururugi to seal up the trap door as he descend into the dingy security center beneath the stage. Aside from a dim incandescent bulb, the room was only lit by the glow coming from the dozens of monitors relaying footage from the surveillance cameras hidden around the plaza.

"Your highness." The lone security attendant greeted, keeping his eyes on his station in front of him. Any other day, his job would be at risk for letting the enemy get this close undetected, but since luring the Kenshiki in was the whole point of this venture, this time he was safe.

"Report." Lelouch said with barely a glance in the man's direction, already moving forward to survey the chaos being shown on the screens.

Another explosion in the plaza sent vibrations through the security center as two of the screens turned to static. They'd lost the feeds.

Though, of course, the loss of two cameras soon became negligible when the rest of them began revealing a force of gun-toting Elevens rushing down the only remaining street into the plaza, lobbing grenades at the reporters trying to run away and the soldiers trying to move forward to engage. It was a mess out there.

"They've blocked off all of the roads into the plaza except for the one they're entering from. They're hemming everyone in and opening fire."

He glanced at Lelouch out of the corner of his eye. The boy wasn't letting the cluster fuck outside get to him, though his lips were pulled down in a definite frown as he surveyed the footage. They watched in silence for close to ten minutes as the Kenshiki began their advance and the Britannian military got themselves into defensive positions, firing around what was left of the crowd of reporters.

"There he is." Lelouch finally said, his voice low and menacing as his hands curled into fists.

Jeremiah followed the prince's gaze and easily found what he was looking at. Toward the back of the group of rampaging Elevens was Tatsuhiro Saito, urging his comrades forward into the square, all bravado and brilliance as he led his men to their slaughter.

* * *

Saito.

That son of a bitch had dared to show his face. Of course that had been the plan, but to Lelouch the trap had been so glaringly obvious that he'd almost thought that the Kenshiki wouldn't come. But here they were, raining down grenades and gunfire on soldiers and reporters alike.

That last part was Diethard Reid's fault. He'd warned those that had petitioned to record the executions that the likelihood of an attack was high. Of course, it was Diethard that had spun that angle and mentioned that a Kenshiki attack had never been caught on video before. Apparently rare footage like that was enough to risk their lives. And it had cost more than a few of them.

A flash of black at the edge of one of the lower screens drew his gaze and he frowned at the sight of Hector and Roy sprinting through the chaos with rifles in hand. He'd assumed they'd be waiting in their Lionels for the chance to wipe out the Kenshiki once Saito had been captured.

It appeared as though they'd made other plans.

He watched them make their way across the plaza, working in tandem like they could read each other's minds as they send fire into the oncoming terrorists in support of a nearby squad of soldiers. His men had rallied now, reorganizing themselves enough to make a steady push forward and cut into the terrorist ranks. They weren't as skillful as his ATTF back in Osaka, but they would make do.

"Find me the rest of my Royal Guard." He ordered to the man attending this station.

"They're waiting in their Knightmares for the order to launch."

"Patch me through to them."

There was silence for a moment before a new voice joined the conversation.

"This is Lyons." Amanda answered, her face popping up on one of the previously blank monitors on the wall.

"Amanda . . . where are Hector and Roy?" He asked coolly.

He already knew where they were, in fact he was still watching them fight their way across the plaza towards the terrorists. They were making good progress, but he wasn't really surprised. Unlike the rest of his Royal Guard, Hector and Roy were not only Knights. They'd both begun their military careers as infantry soldiers.

Amanda pressed her lips into a thin line for a moment, only a second of hesitation, before sighing. "They went after Saito on foot."

"Of course they did." He said in a deadpan.

She waited quietly for his reprimand for not stopping them. But if Hector really wanted to do something, Amanda wouldn't have been able to talk him out of it. And, of course, Roy would have followed Hector without question.

He sighed. "Be ready to launch as soon as they catch him." He said. Somehow, with those two gunning for him, he knew that they'd been the ones to capture Saito.

"Yes, Sir." She said quickly, barely managing to hide her relief before the screen went blank.

His gaze travelled back to the monitor where his Captain and Lieutenant were still steadily advancing, taking cover behind a news van that had been abandoned by its crew. They were moving towards the flank, undoubtedly attempting to slip in behind the Kenshiki and close to Saito.

The Kenshiki were rushing forward into the plaza, making a beeline towards the stage where the remaining prisoners were being kept. It was like a medieval charge, killing everything in their path. There were maybe a hundred terrorists, but they were driven by rage and desperation. It made them blind to a threat like Roy and Hector creeping along beside them, especially when there were whole platoons of soldiers returning fire to oppose them.

Lelouch kept his eye on Saito instead of watching for his errant guards. If they were going to be the ones to take him in, they'd get to Saito in time. But until they got there, he wasn't going to run the risk of losing him in the crowd. Every soldier out there knew that he wanted the bastard alive, but he knew that in the heat of the moment, with bullets flying overhead, it would be the natural reaction to shoot to kill rather than incapacitate.

For the first time, he saw why the Kenshiki had been able to become such a threat. Saito might not have been very smart, but he was charismatic. The terrorists didn't even hesitate as they exchanged fire with the military, urged on by their leaders shouted encouragements. Lelouch couldn't hear what the man was saying, but he didn't really need to either. The effect was visual. Not a single terrorist faltered.

They were zealots, every last one of them. And Saito was their John of Giscala, calling them to war.

He understood why Kei had allowed Saito to persist as the face of the Kenshiki. A reclusive man with no face and barely a name, a man who led from the shadows without ever letting his subordinates see him, would never have been able to get this kind of blind dedication from his men.

He frowned, watching Saito shoot at his soldiers from behind a statue of the Emperor. But he was too far from the front to actually hit anything. He was hanging back, too important to their cause to lose, even if his sister was on the other side of the square. And then he saw Hector and Roy slip onto a monitor, crouching behind a car parked along the street less than fifteen meters away from Saito and still undetected.

Roy peeked out from behind the car, watching their target carefully, before ducking back behind cover. They were actually behind Saito's position and in the perfect place to begin an ambush. If he'd simply wanted Saito dead, it would be easy. Taking Saito alive without bringing the rest of the terrorists down on them wouldn't be quite as simple.

He cocked his head to the side, wondering what they might do next.

"Your highness, Captain Zimmerman is requesting the launch of our Knightmare forces."

"Of course he is." He sighed, watching his two guards whisper back and forth to each other while gesturing to their target. It was obvious Hector had a plan. "I'll authorize it. Launch the Knightmares."

The orders had barely been relayed when all of the trucks around the stage holding lighting and sound equipment burst open and Knightmares spewed forth, spearheaded by the three black and silver Lionel frames of his Royal Guard.

He saw the front line falter, then tore his gaze back to Saito in time to watch Hector charge out of his cover, guns blazing as he dashed towards the group. Roy dropped Saito's escort within a matter of seconds, catching them by surprise while laying down cover fire and landing a non-lethal hit to Saito that made him drop his gun. Seconds later, Hector landed the butt of his rifle against Saito's head and tackled him to the ground.

The resulting scuffle brought out the most ferocious side of Hector he'd ever seen. When Saito's elbow slammed into Hector's face hard enough to stun him for a second and probably break his nose, his Captain retaliated by ruthlessly breaking the terrorist's arm and sending a brutal knee into his gut. It was enough to knock the fight out of Saito and he was promptly rolled onto his front and handcuffed.

"Tatsuhiro Saito has been captured." The security officer announced, in case he hadn't seen it himself. All that was left was to interrogate the bastard before putting him to his death. It was only one head of the beast, but it was a good start. And Kei's fraction of the Kenshiki would be soon to follow if he had anything to say about it.

"Good." He said quietly, turning his attention to how the rest of this battle was proceeding. Well, battle wasn't exactly an adequate term for what was taking place. There were only a dozen Knights on the field, but they were easily slaughtering what was left of the terrorists. The few weapons the Kenshiki had in their arsenal capable of damaging Knightmares, like the explosives they'd used to block the roads and the grenades they'd thrown into the crowd, seemed to have already all been used.

This was nothing more than cleanup work.

* * *

Milly watched her television in mute horror. It was madness out there. And somewhere in all of it, Lelouch was down there. She wrung her hands together anxiously as she searched the footage for any sign of him. She hadn't seen him since Suzaku had dragged him off of the stage, but according to the reporter on the television, all escape routes around the plaza had been cut off. Lelouch was trapped in there.

She swallowed back her bile and forced herself to look at the bodies sprawled across the square, urging herself to remember what Lelouch had been wearing. The voice on the television kept warning their viewers that the images they were seeing were graphic and possibly offensive to viewers and she had to agree. It was terrifying and revolting, but she'd bear it if she could be sure that Lelouch was alright.

Even if he had severed all of his ties with them since the bombing, Lelouch was still one of them. Lelouch was still one of her best friends and he always would be. She knew the distance he was putting between them now was only for their protection. The very thought of him out there in this kind of situation was sending chills down her spine.

When Knightmares broke into the chaos she had to wonder why they hadn't been deployed before. The footage was terrible, and she wondered if this was in any way comparable to what Lelouch had lived through during the invasion – helpless and underfoot as the massive machines slaughtered anyone in their way. She'd been safe during the invasion, tucked away in the Ashford manor that had happened to be in the center of a Britannian held zone.

"It seems the attack is over. The terrorists responsible for the attack seem to have been overrun." The reporter said quietly, filming a pair of medics tending to an injured Britannian soldier. "Whether the Viceroy was safe during the attack, and whether he intends to continue with the executions is unknown at this point in time, though it can be assumed that the remaining executions will be left for another day."

Obviously. There were people bleeding on the pavement in front of the stage. Of course the rest of the executions would be left until they'd been attended to and until they were sure that Lelouch was safe.

She waited in stressed silence as the minutes dragged on, bringing with it more and more horrific footage. Soldiers, terrorists and news reporters alike were sprawled across the square, bloody and battered.

"Oh, there's something happening. A commotion by the stage." The reporter said suddenly as the camera zoomed in on the platform.

Lelouch emerged from behind the backdrop, looking in picture perfect condition. He wasn't hurt. There wasn't even a hair out of place. Flanking him on either side were Suzaku and Jeremiah, in much the same condition. Lelouch glanced around the square impassively before catching sight of the camera and crooking his finger at them.

"It seems the Viceroy is unharmed and beckoning our news crews closer. The fighting is truly over. What a relief to see that Prince Lelouch is okay." The announcer said cheerfully as the camera shuffled forward, getting a close-up of Lelouch's face.

Another shiver travelled down Milly's spine. She'd never seen an expression like that on Lelouch's face before. It was cold and completely devoid of compassion or warmth. It was like none of this devastation could affect him.

Then Hector and Roy followed Lelouch up onto the stage, dragging a body between them down the spoke of the stage where the others had been executed earlier. Hector especially looked the worse for wear with a swollen, bloody nose. The prisoner was forced to his knees at the end of the pier and Hector twisted his fist in the man's hair, dragging his head up for the cameras to see.

It was Tatsuhiro Saito, bloody and barely conscious, but it was him. The man who had claimed responsibility for the Ashford bombing. For the deaths of Kallen Stadtfeld and the other girls from Ashford, along with the deaths of countless other victims in Osaka. He'd tried to kill Euphy for no other reason than because she was royalty.

She'd been appalled earlier when Lelouch had sat calmly and ordered the public execution of the terrorists he'd captured. She couldn't believe that he was actually having them killed and a part of her had recoiled from it. But now . . . looking at Saito now . . . even if he was already beaten and broken . . . she couldn't help the part of her that was calling for his death.

He'd killed without remorse or restraint. He deserved the same treatment as his victims.

Still, even admitting all of this, a thrill of dread went through her when she saw that it was Lelouch standing at the executioner's place on the stage, not Jeremiah. His face was expressionless as he pulled his gun from within his jacket.

"Tatsuhiro Saito, you are hereby deemed guilty of high treason for the attempted regicide of Princess Euphemia, terrorism, mass murder, and sedition. It shouldn't come as a surprise that your punishment is death." Lelouch said with a dramatic flourish as he took careful aim. "Using terrorism to achieve one's goals is . . . reprehensible."

She held her breath as the image was burned into her mind, drawing up all kinds of other memories of Lelouch. Of the gentle brother or the sarcastic Vice President or the banged up, abandon prince he'd been eight years ago. Like those memories, this was an image of him that she'd never be able to forget.

The shot fired and her hands flew to her mouth, muffling the surprised squeak that tried to escape her. She hadn't thought he'd actually do it. When had a prince ever been the one to actually execute a criminal in public before? It was unbecoming for a prince. It should have been Jeremiah. But . . .

But with this one decisive act, Lelouch had shown that he was willing to take vengeance and that he himself was willing to get his hands dirty to dispose of those who opposed him.

Lelouch was a terrifying enemy.

* * *

AN: ... -.- Somehow I hate this chapter. Which is a shame since I was super psyched to write this scene like . . two chapters ago. And now I'm just . . meh.

There was something I wanted to say . . . but I don't remember what it was. . Oh well.

Thanks to SplitIce for betaing, and to Francis D. Saber for the help with the attack scene and the constant stream of feedback while I was writing this. :)

Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it. Don't forget to leave a review.

Allora


	89. Chapter 89: Exodus

Chapter 89: Exodus

Things were starting to get complicated.

It was funny because things were supposed to get simpler after disposing of Saito's branch of the Kenshiki. It was supposed to narrow down his list of enemies and bring him one step closer to establishing peace and order in Area Eleven.

Instead, his interrogation of Saito before his execution had revealed disappointingly little. The two groups had been separated for months by now and Saito had had very little information on Kei's faction that he didn't already know. The information the ATTF had recovered from a raided Kenshiki safe house in Osaka was turning out to be more useful than Saito himself. Actually, about the only useful piece of information Saito had had was Kei's full name.

Kei Tanaka.

It would have meant precisely nothing to him if Suzaku hadn't gone rigid after hearing the name. After the execution, Lelouch had questioned him and a horrible truth had been revealed. Suzaku did know him.

Though he bore no relation to Suzaku, Kei Tanaka was Kaguya Sumeragi's cousin.

So, yes, things were starting to get complicated. Especially since he now knew that Kaguya had been using her family's fortune to support the local resistance. If the JLF wasn't the only group she'd lent aid to, if she'd also been supporting the Kenshiki Faction all this time, he'd have no choice but to consider her a threat.

Logically, he knew that he should have her arrested quickly now, before she could flee the country. It was unlikely that she hadn't realized that her identity had been exposed during their meeting with the JLF, especially now that he had her estate under surveillance. But logic didn't count for much, since Kaguya was Kaguya and the normal rules had always had a hard time applying to her.

She was Suzaku's former fiancee, and while he didn't know if that deal still stood, he did know that she was part of Suzaku's family and the only one who hadn't abandoned him after he'd become an Honorary Britannian. She still sent Suzaku cards and presents for holidays and special occasions. Even knowing that she'd been supporting the JLF all this time, Suzaku wasn't capable of completely cutting himself off from her.

If it came down to it . . . No, even if she was supporting the Kenshiki, he wouldn't be able to do anything to her without losing Suzaku's trust. In any case, even if she had been supporting them, she couldn't be now. Kei and what was left of the Kenshiki was trapped in Osaka. There was no way to help him now.

He was drawn out of his thoughts by a soft knock on the door. He sighed quietly before composing himself. His momentary respite in a back room of the HiTV studio seemed to be at an end. "Enter."

"Your highness, we're ready for you now." Diethard Reid said, bowing deeply. "We can begin your national address at your convenience."

"Good. We'll begin right away." He said as he pushed himself out of his chair. He'd been given a dressing room at the HiTV studio to wait in while Diethard and his people had finished constructing an elaborate backdrop that Clovis had used to use for his theatrics. It gave off the appropriate feeling of Imperial strength that would be needed for this speech.

"Right this way."

He followed Diethard, Suzaku and Jeremiah falling into step next to him as he left the room.

The oversized Britannian flag that served as the backdrop of his stage reminded him far too much of the Emperor, but it was important to maintain the show of strength he'd made during the executions. Whether or not Kei would actually be upset by Saito's death was a mystery to him, but the message needed to be clear that he wasn't through with the Kenshiki yet. To do that, he'd taken advantage of the Empire's overwhelmingly domineering mindset.

Still, he was sure he looked tiny against the backdrop as he stepped up behind the podium centred on the stage. He had none of the Emperor's imposing frame. Even Clovis, for all his idiocy, had been blessed with broad shoulders and impressive height. He frowned at the thought of looking like a little kid playing on the stage.

"Make me look imposing, Diethard." He said clearly as the man nitpicked with a few final touches.

"Of course, your highness." The man said, bowing again before turning around and adjusting the camera angles and changing the lighting levels a bit. "Do you approve?" Diethard asked, turning around a monitor to reveal what he really looked like on the stage.

Though he might feel tiny and insignificant against such a huge backdrop, the camera wasn't picking up on any of that. Recording from a low angle gave him the illusion of being bigger than he really was, and the slightly lower lighting made him look distant and austere. It was acceptable.

He nodded toward the man, who grinned broadly. "Then we're ready." He said, gesturing toward the main cameraman in front of the set who began the countdown.

He took a deep breath as the countdown reached zero and stared right down the lens of the camera. "Greetings to the people of Area Eleven, I am your Viceroy, Lelouch vi Britannia. While it brings me great joy to inform you that Tatsuhiro Saito and a large number of his compatriots cease to exist, I must also inform you that a large portion of the Kenshiki Faction is still alive within the Osaka quarantine zone. These terrorists are armed with up to eighty RPI-13 Sutherland Knightmare frames in addition to other heavy weapons.

"The Kenshiki are still at large and still very dangerous. I would like to urge the people of Osaka to remain ever vigilant and not to be lulled into a false sense of security by our recent victory. Please remain within the Protective Zones until we are certain the storm has passed. Only within these zones can the military ensure your safety. Once again, I would like to urge anyone with information pertaining to the Kenshiki Faction's activities to inform the local authorities or the military. The sooner we can eliminate these radicals, the sooner everyone can go back to their regular lives.

"Thank you for your continued cooperation. I will continue to do everything in my power to see that these criminals are brought to justice for their heinous crimes. The Kenshiki _will_ fall. I will, without fail, bring an end to their reign of terror."

* * *

Schneizel watched his brother on the television with a satisfied smirk. At first, he hadn't been completely certain of his decision to cast Lelouch as a villain. His brother's outrage at the wolf moniker had been unexpected, but he'd known from the first night that they'd been reunited that there was no way for Lelouch to become another 'white prince of the Empire'. Lelouch didn't love his Empire and people would have picked up on that fact rather easily if he'd tried to pawn his younger brother off as his protege.

But all that being said, he didn't really approve of how far Lelouch had taken the act. To stoop so low as to personally execute a terrorist – and on live television too – was a little extreme for Schneizel's taste. It was fine if Lelouch killed people, he could kill them in droves for all Schneizel cared. But it was a different thing entirely to kill someone at a public execution with his own weapon.

His Knights should have interjected, though he was quickly learning to not expect much from either one of them. Neither of them would oppose Lelouch, even if what he proposed was ludicrous. Which left the task of reining Lelouch in to Cornelia, who had been neatly cut out of his life. According to his sister's reports, they spoke only when their respective offices required them to.

While it was true that he was the one that had encouraged Lelouch to oppose her in Area Eighteen, he'd never said that that had had to lead to such a rift between them. An apology after the fact would have likely cleared everything up. Hell, Cornelia might have even been manipulated into being proud of the little bastard if he'd played his cards right.

There was something else at play there and he didn't know what it was. Sure, there were hard feelings over Area Eighteen, but he thought Lelouch would have jumped all over the chance to lord himself over Cornelia as the Viceroy of Area Eleven – to gain the upper hand on the sister that had rivalled the vi Britannias in their affection of Marianne. He'd expected Lelouch to keep her close, not push her away.

Perhaps it was time to pay his little brother a visit. He could show his support and tighten Lelouch's leash a bit at the same time. Besides, the Gawain was ready for field testing and he didn't really trust it in the hands of anyone but Lloyd Asplund. He was sure the engineer would be able to find a suitable pilot within Area Eleven's repertoire. Maybe Lelouch would even agree to take it into the field for some real data gathering if Lloyd picked the right pilot. And a flight from Pendragon to Area Eleven wouldn't be a bad maiden voyage for the Avalon either.

But before he could plan anything further along that particular train of thought, Kanon interrupted him. "You've been summoned by the Emperor."

He sighed. Of course, there were other complications to his plan. It would probably take weeks just to be able to clear his schedule to go to Area Eleven. And he would need an official excuse to go. Some business that would need to be taken care of. As Prime Minister of the vast Britannian Empire, he didn't have the luxury of simply going on vacation whenever he pleased.

Besides, out of all of the places he could go in the world, Area Eleven would be among the last that he would choose to visit for a holiday. He had no interest in the country outside of the fact that Lelouch was there.

"We'll leave right away. Get the car ready." He replied, heading for the door.

Even he didn't have the luxury of being unconcerned about a summons. It wasn't often that the Emperor actually summoned him in person. Usually he got missives from his father's secretary, or orders passed on by uniformed officials.

The Imperial Palace was as cold and austere as always, like the Emperor had a grudge against the baser human emotions of happiness or comfort. That wasn't to say it wasn't luxurious, but it wasn't the kind of setting that anyone could get comfortable in, not even a prince. He'd always disliked coming here, even when he'd been a child, but he'd never let it show.

Schneizel strode down an empty corridor, footsteps echoing on the marble floors as he made his way tot he Emperor's den. The guards outside the door gave him crisp, though unenthusiastic, bows before letting him into the Emperor's sanctum. He let their disregard slide . . . for now. When it was he that sat upon the throne, he'd remember every slight he'd been given. He wouldn't necessarily act on them all, but he would remember them. Members of the Britannia family could hold grudges for a very long time.

The Emperor was waiting for him as he entered the room, arms crossed behind his back as he stared out the window across the gardens below. Schneizel wasn't surprised to find Bismark lurking in the shadows near the Emperor. The Knight of One didn't like him or trust him and had made no secret of that fact.

Prince of Britannia he might be, but the Knight of One could act with the authority of the Emperor and was therefore a more powerful being. Bismark could get away with disliking him because he was the Knight of One.

"Schneizel." The Emperor greeted before he could go to kneel.

"Father." He greeted, assuming this wasn't a business call due to the lack of titles and dismissal of gestures. That assumption turned out to be wrong when the old man glanced over his shoulder to glare at him. "Your Majesty." He corrected, sinking to his knee.

It was probably the bastard's idea of entertainment, trying to see if he could make him slip up. He should have known better. Familiarity was to be avoided at all costs. Despite having so many children, the Emperor had never been much of a father to any of them.

"What progress have you made with the EU?" The Emperor finally asked, turning around to face him.

Schneizel's jaw clenched in frustration, but this expression otherwise remained neutral. Why had he even bothered to write a progress report if the man refused to read it? "As stated in my report, I have demanded that President Lemeaux purge his administration of all those who aided the Middle Eastern Federation during the invasion or Area Eighteen, but he's dragging his heels and insisting on conducting his own investigations into their actions. It will still take some weeks before the investigations are concluded and the trials begin. Shall I apply more pressure, Your Majesty? It may cause a premature start to our conflict with the EU, which would leave their administration still intact in the war."

"Not yet. The Knight of Six is still conducting her own investigations within the EU."

Schneizel fought to keep the frown off his face. So the Emperor would hold off a declaration of war against the EU because one of his Knights was still in the area, but hadn't even hesitated to declare war on Japan when Lelouch and Nunnally had still been there.

Well then, he supposed that answered the question once and for all. If one of the Emperor's children ever went against a Knight of the Round, the Emperor would undoubtedly side with his Knight.

* * *

Nunnally daintily scooped up another spoonful of the stew Sayoko had made for dinner, listening to the awkward scraping of utensils against the dinnerware of her guests. Whatever brief forays in conversation that had been made, had ended stunted and anxious. She was sure the members of the Student Council were sharing nervous glances with each other too.

She might be blind, but she could still tell that something must have happened.

This had to be the least exciting meal she'd had with the Student Council ever. Even Milly's patented cheer had decided to skip out on the occasion. What she didn't understand was why? What could have possibly happened that they thought they couldn't talk about around her.

Even when Ashford had been bombed trying to get to Euphemia, Milly had carefully sat her down and explained what they'd known of the situation, even while mourning for their fellow Student Council member Kallen Stadtfeld.

So what could possibly have been worse than that? What could be worse than her school being blown up by terrorists? She was almost afraid to ask.

The only thing she knew for certain was that it wasn't that Lelouch was dead or critically injured. When he'd been shot in Shinjuku, Milly had made sure to keep her in the loop. So she could be assured at least that Lelouch was still safe for the time being.

When she couldn't take the silence any more, she carefully set her spoon next to her bowl and folded her hands in her lap. "Did something bad happen?" She asked.

There was another moment of silence, as though everyone were holding their breaths, then Milly gave a strained laugh. "What makes you think that?"

Nunnally frowned. Did she really have to say it? "It's just that everyone seems kind of . . . down today. So I was wondering why that might be?"

"It's nothing, Nunnally. You don't need to worry." Milly said with a little more confidence.

Her lips pressed together in disappointment before she sighed and held her hand out to Milly. She didn't want to do this. She didn't like driving Milly into a corner, but she hated being lied to. Milly knew what it would mean to take her hand. Milly knew that she would be able to feel the lies.

People's bodies gave away their secrets in the slight fluttering of a pulse or the temperature of their skin. It was something she'd been able to do for years. When they'd been kids, it had been a game for them. She would take Milly or Lelouch's hand and they would try to lie to her to see if she could pick up on it. 'True or False, Nunnally?' they'd ask, pressing their hands into hers.

Milly didn't take her hand.

There was a tense silence around the table as her hand remained out, palm upward, over the table. No one moved or spoke, though she could hear their upset breathing. She could imagine them glancing at each other, each unsure how to react.

Then someone did grab her hand, sure, steady fingers sliding into hers as a voice she hadn't expected spoke.

"Master Lelouch captured a number of Kenshiki terrorists and had them publicly executed." Sayoko answered, squeezing her fingers softly. "During the execution, the Kenshiki's leader staged an attack on the soldiers in an attempt to rescue their comrades. Your brother captured their leader and executed him himself."

Nunnally let out a shaky breath. Lelouch had done that? Lelouch had had people executed in the streets? But it was no more than what he'd promised them months ago. When he'd first returned to Area Eleven, hadn't he promised the Kenshiki Faction that he would have them all killed without trial if they didn't surrender?

"It's not something young ladies should have to watch, so I made sure that the television and the radio were off at the time." Sayoko continued. "It was my wish for you not to know of it. I'm sure Master Lelouch felt the same way."

"Did Lelouch contact you?" She asked, tone coming out more sharply than she'd intended. But she hadn't heard anything from Lelouch, not even a phone call, since he'd come to visit her a few weeks ago. It seemed he would only come see her when he felt like it, or when he couldn't stand to stay away any longer. He had no regard for her feelings in the matter at all.

"He did not. But I know that he does not want you exposed to senseless death." Sayoko answered. "It's not my place to tell you what to do, but you should forgive Milly and the others for their silence on the matter. I asked them not to speak of it."

A lie. She almost missed it since the fluctuation was so slight, but it had definitely been a lie. She'd never known Sayoko to ever lie to her before. But of course, she was covering for Milly and the others. After all, it was no good alienating herself from the only human contact she was allowed since Lelouch had locked her up in this place. Sayoko wouldn't let her withdraw from her friends.

"I will submit to any kind of punishment you deem fit for my wilful behaviour." Sayoko continued.

Punishment? She'd never punish Sayoko. She wasn't some highborn lady with a servant. Sayoko was her caretaker and one of her closest friends. She didn't consider herself in such a superior position that she was able to dole out punishments and rewards as the situation demanded.

"It's fine." She said stiffly, withdrawing her fingers from Sayoko's grasp.

Her appetite was gone. Lelouch was a murderer. Her friends had lied to her and tried to keep the truth from her. They might have thought they were doing her a favour, but she wasn't a child anymore. She didn't want to just stick her head in the sand and pretend that everything was okay. If something happened, she wanted to know about it. Not just the good things, but the bad as well. Doubly so if the matter concerned Lelouch in any way, shape or form.

She wanted desperately to excuse herself from the table and go hide in her room for a few hours while she sorted out her thoughts, but she wouldn't. She was far too gracious of a host to just abandon her guests because they'd upset her. So she finished the meal, expertly guiding their conversation into neutral territory.

She could lock herself away and think later.

* * *

Stupid brat.

Cornelia sighed in annoyance. Well, she'd been focusing on the JLF anyway, but she had still been holding onto the hope of snatching the Kenshiki out from under Lelouch's nose as well. But now that was impossible. Saito was dead, killed by Lelouch himself in a crass and unseemly public display of dominance, and there was no way to move against the rest of the faction within Osaka. Even if she sent her soldiers there, they would inevitably fall under the authority of Lelouch's damnable ATTF.

Lelouch had the final say on anything that pertained to the terrorists and he'd never let her mobilize her troops in Osaka when he'd taken such care in setting up the board just the way he wanted it. She was out of luck on that front, and her investigation into the JLF didn't seem to be bearing fruit either.

This was why she hated working in already settled areas. If this had been a war zone like Eighteen, she'd have been able to cheerfully blaze a trail through the country in search of those who opposed her. Here, she had to worry about damages to the infrastructure and not stepping on anyone else's toes.

"This just came for you, Chief General." One of her subordinates said with a quick salute after timidly after knocking on the door of her office.

"I'll take it." Guilford said from his post next to the door. "Thank you. You may go."

"Sir."

She watched as her Knight opened the envelope to check the contents. It wouldn't be the first time her enemies had sent something dangerous to her in the mail in a vain attempt to take her out. But the contents seemed harmless, as Guilford set the envelope on her desk a moment later.

She sighed and pulled out the contents, skimming over the document that had been sent to her. Then she paused, backed up and reread it more closely. This was exactly what she'd been looking for. One of her spies had found it.

There were months – no, years – worth of data about a possible JLF stronghold east of Toyko, but Britannia's agents had always lost track of them in a small town at the base of the Narita mountains. It had always been assumed at a JLF safe house or stronghold was located nearby, but due to the Numbers' advantage of knowing the area better and the incompetence of Clovis' agents, the JLF had always managed to lose their tails.

Until now.

One of her agents had managed to keep track of a confirmed JLF member that had entered the town. Her agent had managed to pick up the scent of the JLF member again as he'd left the town a few hours later, and had followed him undetected to a 'suspicious installation' halfway up the neighbouring mountain which he believed to be their main base of operations.

This was it. This was what she had been waiting for. The JLF passing through a town did nothing for her, but a base in the mountains? _That _she could deal with. That she could send her soldiers at.

"Guilford," She said firmly as she read the last page of the report. "Consolidate our presence in the Narita mountains. I want to know about anyone who goes up or comes down from it."

"I will pass along the order, my Lady." Guilford promised, bowing before he exited the room.

She might not get to shame Lelouch much with this, but she would still make them pay for terrifying Euphy. If she really thought about it, the JLF were to blame for all of her sister's misfortunes. If the JLF hadn't taken her hostage and if she hadn't been forced to reveal her identity, the Kenshiki never would have known that she was even in Area Eleven, let alone where she went to school.

The fact that they couldn't have known the consequences of their actions didn't even factor into the equation. It would not excuse them. She couldn't have cared less about the other hostages. If Euphy hadn't been a victim, she wouldn't have even bothered with them. No, rather it was more like she would have watched as Lelouch struggled under the burden of facing two dangerous enemies at once while still maintaining the day to day affairs of a country.

Lelouch had humiliated her in Area Eighteen and she would have loved to watch him fail now to get back at him for it. But she wouldn't if it meant letting the JLF get away with what they'd done. No, she'd much rather see their heads on spikes for what they'd done than watch Lelouch suffer. She still had her priorities after all. She wouldn't let a single one of them live.

Her enemies didn't call her the Witch of Britannia for no reason.

* * *

Jeremiah stared down the young soldier that had barged into Lelouch's office. People didn't just barge into Lelouch's office – not if they wanted to live. Especially not ten minutes before Lelouch was officially off the clock (since the boy never unofficially stopped working). Part of him wanted to forcefully remove the soldier from his prince's office until he learned some proper decorum. Lelouch's intent gaze on the intruder cautioned him not to.

"Report." The prince ordered.

The soldier glanced sheepishly in his direction before refocusing on the prince. "Chief General li Britannia has deployed reconnaissance units into the Narita mountains. She believes there's a JLF base in the area."

Lelouch smirked slightly. "Anything else?"

"No, your highness." The soldier said with another salute.

"Go back to your contact and tell him that I want to know the moment she begins moving forces into the area. And keep this to yourself. It would be beneficial if my sister didn't know I was keeping an eye on her." Lelouch ordered.

"Of course, your highness. We serve you exclusively." The soldier said with another salute before turning on his heel and hurrying out as quickly as he'd come, sending Kururugi a wary glance as he went.

Lelouch waited until the door was securely closed again before leaning back in his chair thoughtfully. "From my Special Intelligence Division." The prince eventually explained. "They don't technically exist."

"Are they all so rude as to barge in here without invitation?" He grumbled. He wasn't actually all that surprised that Lelouch had spies keeping an eye on what Princess Cornelia was up to. After all, the prince had made it only too apparent that he considered his sister a dangerous threat, not only to his authority but to his life as well.

Lelouch smiled, glancing for a moment to where Kururugi stood on alert near the door. When the soldier had charged in here unaccompanied by Edith (who was on a short break), the Honorary Britannian had wasted no time in flooring the possible assailant. Much as he hated to admit it, he wouldn't want to get into a close quarters fight with the boy. Or in a Knightmare fight for that matter. Actually, Kururugi seemed all around deadly, which was surprising for someone with such a submissive personality.

"Not all of them. I'll be sure to pass along your displeasure." Lelouch replied before letting out an amused snort. "So Cornelia thinks she can slip something like this by me, does she?" He mused.

"How will you respond?" Kururugi asked quietly.

Lelouch tapped his finger on his desk for a moment before chuckling. "The only way I can. I'll take control of the operation and annihilate the JLF. If they refused to follow my order and stayed at Narita, they're useless to me. Either way, I can't actually leave them to Cornelia. If the JLF have, by chance, stayed behind, giving Cornelia the pleasure of destroying them would look too bad for me.

"Besides, cutting off the head of the Kenshiki one week and annihilating the JLF the next would give me quite the reputation, don't you agree? It's better that those who would consider opposing me fear me."

Of course the prince would annihilate them. It was beyond him why Lelouch had even offered such a peaceable out to the JLF. After Lake Kawaguchi, he was personally of the same mind as Princess Cornelia. He would have loved nothing more than to destroy them down to the last man. But both Lelouch and Kururugi had ties to them, which meant the prince would inevitably be cautious while dealing with them.

And they had Tohdoh.

Lelouch had explained that the JLF Colonel was too much of an asset to dispose of without thought. Tohdoh the miracle worker, the one who had been in charge of the only Eleven victory during the war.

"And if they have followed your orders and there's no one there?" Kururugi asked.

"Then nothing changes and I can claim that Cornelia gave me misleading information. Either way it's bad for her." Lelouch shrugged.

Edith returned from her break a moment later and popped her head into the office. "Do you need anything, Lelouch?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." The prince said with a smirk. "Could you please take a message to von Hoffman? I want you to go personally. Tell him to outfit the Lionels with Shriekers. And tell him it's a rush job."

"Of course. I'll be back within an hour." Edith replied immediately. "Is there anything else before I leave?"

"Nothing, thank you."

"What's a Shrieker?" Jeremiah asked curiously after she'd left.

"A little toy von Hoffman made for me in Area Eighteen."

Jeremiah paused for a moment before the implication hit him - the secret weapon that Lelouch had used to take down that fort in Area Eighteen with only his Royal Guard. As far as he was aware, only those present knew what the weapon was and what it was capable of. It was Lelouch's secret, but if he was about to use it again surely he was allowed to ask about it?

"What does it do?"

Lelouch smirked. "It brings down mountains."

* * *

Tohdoh was not unfamiliar with strategic retreats, but this just rubbed him the wrong way. He scowled at the dark waves passing by the hull of one of the many freighters they had borrowed to transport the JLF and the majority of its material assets to China. A handful of Burai's and enough ammunition to put up a good fight had been left behind, along with Kusakabe and those men that were unwilling to abandon him.

They'd die fighting. Not that any of them knew that. Katase's deal with Prince Lelouch remained a secret to all those except for the highest echelons of the JLF's command. They had unanimously agreed that Katase had made the right move, and the unmanageable Lieutenant Colonel's imminent death was deemed an 'acceptable loss' by most, if not a welcome favour from the prince - at least as long as the Viceroy kept to his end of the bargain. But if he didn't, it would already be too late for Kusakabe. It didn't sit well with Tohdoh. Even if the man was a nuisance, he was still a comrade.

It seemed like they were offering Kusakabe up as a sacrifice to ensure their own survival. They were slipping quietly away to China just as Princess Cornelia decided to hone in on them. The prince seemed certain that their base at Narita would be found even though they'd managed to keep it hidden for the last five years. Whether that meant the prince was going to reveal its location to her, or if he was privy to some critical piece of information that had been given to her, he wasn't sure, but they'd begun packing up their assets as soon as they'd returned from the meeting with the Viceroy.

In a matter of mere days, they had removed their presence from Japan almost entirely. He couldn't help but feel that that had been Prince Lelouch's motive all along. He was, after all, only responsible for getting rid of terrorist threats within Japan. If they were out of the country, they were out of his hair. But even if that was the case, it wouldn't have changed anything. Even if the prince had bartered for their exile instead of their cooperation, they still would have likely taken the deal. The benefit to the Japanese was too great to ignore. For the greater good, they would have agreed to almost anything.

But still . . . he hated that boy. Lelouch vi Britannia was a sly bastard. He'd just shown the entire country, the entire world, what he was capable of with the public execution of the Kenshiki's leader. Lelouch had shown his people that the path of resistance was futile. He would offer salvation with one hand, taking away the reasons the Japanese had to fight with his new legislation, and destruction for those who still resisted with the other. With such a stance, it wouldn't take long for the resistance movement to lose its momentum entirely.

Japan would become just another stable province of the Empire. Prince Lelouch would undoubtedly be pleased. Though, he supposed, Japan could do worse. If Prince Lelouch kept his word, if he committed himself to treating the Japanese as equals in the eyes of the law . . . no, nothing much would change.

Their culture would still be forbidden and dead. They'd still be held under the thumb of their oppressor. Japan would still be Area Eleven and the Empire dictated that the Numbers be treated in a certain way. Even if the law changed, even if Prince Lelouch's law went into effect and they were made legal equals, they'd still be treated as second class citizens. They'd still be Numbers.

There was only so much that even a prince could do. Even if, in the best case scenario, Suzaku had managed to implant enough sympathy for the Japanese into the prince, there were limits to what he could do. Prince Lelouch didn't have the power to make the large scale changes that would actually satisfy them.

_"I have a use for the JLF."_

Tohdoh's frown darkened. What price would they be forced to pay to ensure a better standard of life for the Japanese? What would the toll that the prince demanded be? What would they be forced to do so that their people could enjoy adequate healthcare and education and get decent jobs?

"You aren't alone in your unease, Lieutenant Colonel Tohdoh."

He glanced over his shoulder at the General and saluted in greeting. "General Katase. Good evening, Sir."

The General nodded in greeting, but didn't say anything, coming to rest at the railing beside him and staring off into the glittering lights of Wakasa Bay disappearing further and further behind them. At length, the old General finally sighed. "Take a good look at it, Tohdoh. Burn it into your mind. Who knows when we'll be able to set foot in Japan again."

Tohdoh stared off into the lights of his homeland, startled by the thought. The General was right. None of them knew how long this exile would last. None of them knew when the next time they'd be able to touch Japanese soil would be.

Perhaps his son would grow up without him, though he supposed he hardly had the right to worry about such a thing. He'd barely been the boy's father even when they'd been in the same country and he had hardly even hesitated when the choice had come to sacrifice him. No, Katsurou was probably better off where he was; as a Kururugi and with the family that had raised him, even if that did put him far closer to the prince than he would have liked. He could count on Suzaku to keep the boy safe at least.

The decision didn't comfort him, but he'd made the choice long ago that his country would always be more important than his son. And he was doing this for his country, even if it did feel wrong and misguided.

"Yes, Sir." He said eventually, the image of the moonlit bay and the glistening lights from the city beyond blazed into his memory.

He might be leaving Japan, but he'd be back.

* * *

AN: So . . . It's um . . . been a while . . .

*throws herself at her readers feet* Forgive me! This chapter was a pain to write, and I was totally not in a writing mood due to certain dramas and hardships with my new job and the all around lack of work. And work related rage.

But I did finish it! There's no way I'm going to abandon this sucker. Especially not when it's so close to the end (tee hee psych your mind)

Thanks to SplitIce for the beta and to Francis D. Saber for the all around poking and prodding to finish the chapter and being a wall to bounce ideas off of. If any of you haven't read Francis D. Saber's sidestories for Dauntless, you should go to that right now. The Osaka saga was especially entertaining and has now been completed. And he even wrote me another chapter for my birthday, which was all kinds of awesome. So go to that right meow.

Thanks for reading. Don't forget to review and let me know what you thought of it.

Allora


	90. 90: What Are Men to Rocks and Mountains?

Chapter 90: What Are Men To Rocks And Mountains?

The predawn sky was crisp and clear, but an eerie fog lined the valley of the Narita mountains, obstructing the view of anything more than a few feet away and leaving Cornelia's hair damp and heavy. She took it as a good omen. The fog would make them even more difficult for the JLF to detect.

All around her, soldiers bustled, getting into position, relaying orders, performing last minute weapon checks. She stood in the center of it all, leaning against the leg of her Gloucester. She would lead the attack. She would be the one to drive the stake into the heart of the JLF. She would bring them to their knees then put them out of their misery once and for all.

She took a deep breath, settling her pre-battle nerves. Her adrenaline was already pumping with anticipation like it always did. There was really nothing like leading a charge into enemy lines, of carrying the hope and determination of the men behind her forward into battle. There was nothing like feeling the power of a Knightmare beneath the gentle guidance of her hands, and nothing like seeing the destruction she could wrought.

She loved this part of her job. She loved war. She always had. That wasn't to say that she didn't disdain the costs of war, both in men and resources, and it didn't make her a monster. But war had always been and would always be a part of life. It was part of the human condition, disputes that couldn't be resolved peacefully would always inevitably arise.

Britannia's power lay in the fact that it was always stronger that those it had conflicts with. And that was another fact of life – survival of the fittest. Britannia would thrive because it was strongest. It would continue to progress and evolve because it had the power to do so. And she was one of Britannia's harbingers. Nothing gave her greater pleasure than casting down the Empire's enemies and winning its wars.

And she'd do it again, here in Area Eleven. The JLF would learn to fear Britannia all over again. She'd make sure of it.

"Chief General," One of her soldiers approached, snapping to a stiff salute. "All of the men are now in position. We are ready to commence the operation on your orders, Ma'am."

"Excellent." She said with a smirk before launching herself up into the cockpit of her Knightmare. All around her, Knights took their cue from her, running their start up sequences and strapping themselves into their harnesses.

General Darlton was directing her forces on the other side of the mountain. They would strike simultaneously, encircling the mountain and tightening the noose around their necks.

"Prepare to being the advance. Commence operation." She said into her radio.

By the end of the day, the JLF would be extinguished.

* * *

Lelouch bit back his annoyed sigh and trudged his way onto the G-1 mobile command unit. Cornelia had been more secretive about her plans than he'd anticipated and so he'd only learned of her moving combat forces into the Narita mountains an hour ago.

Needless to say, he'd been hard pressed to get his own forces moving in time to interrupt the operation, but even as he spoke, his Royal Guard was getting into position to encircle the mountain and the small settlement at the base of the mountain was being evacuated. Sure, it was over fifteen kilometres away from the combat zone, but after the strike in Area Eighteen had vastly outstripped his expectations he wasn't about to take another chance with civilian lives on the line. Especially when it could be avoided with something as simple as an emergency evacuation.

The automatic door sensors detected his approach, sweeping open the door for him to enter the command center. He wasn't surprised that Cornelia was nowhere in sight. Instead, General Darlton turned and bowed stiffly.

"Your highness . . ." The General's hesitance was obvious. He knew that what they were doing went against his orders, but they'd decided to do it anyway for Cornelia's sake. This also wasn't a surprise. Cornelia's closest supporters were fanatically loyal to Cornelia herself, not the Empire or the army or the Viceroy of the country they were stationed in. Add in to that factor that Cornelia's royal guard, the Glaston Knights, were comprised entirely of the General's sons and it wasn't hard to predict what he would do in this situation.

Even if he was in the wrong and even if he risked opposing Lelouch, General Darlton would stand with Cornelia. Which meant he was of no use to Lelouch.

"General, it's been a while. Have you been well?" He asked cordially, offering to shake the man's hand.

"Very well, your highness. And yourself?" The man asked, firmly shaking the proffered hand.

He wasn't adept and he couldn't detect a lie, but years of living with Nunnally had given him some insight into the human body's hidden signs of stress. Darlton's hand was warm and he could detect the man's pulse fluttering beneath the surface of the skin. Likely, his mind was racing for a way to get himself out of this mess or to vindicate Cornelia. He gave the man credit that he was able to maintain his usual gruff, scar-faced exterior despite his inner turmoil.

"Unfortunately, things haven't been so well with me. I've had to deal with would-be assassins and terrorists and . . . insubordinate soldiers." He said, emphasizing the last a little.

"That must be very frustrating for you, your highness."

"It is." He agreed. "Now, I would like to speak with Cornelia."

The General shifted uncomfortably. "The Chief General is in the field."

"I'm aware of that. Contact her."

The General hesitated for another moment before nodding to one of his support staff. A moment later, Cornelia's face came up on one of the main monitors. "What is it, Darlton?" She demanded before catching sight of Lelouch and blanching.

"Hello, dear sister." Lelouch greeted.

Cornelia grit her teeth angrily. "Can I help you, Lelouch?"

"You can, actually. You could help me by returning here, to the G-1 command center."

"I'm in the middle of an operation here, Viceroy. This isn't the time for a pissing contest." She protested.

"You've yet to make contact with the enemy. I am ordering you to withdraw, Chief General li Britannia. I will take over the operation from here." Lelouch said firmly.

His sister's eyes narrowed into a baleful glare. "An order? From -"

"From a Viceroy in who's country you are currently conducting an unauthorized military operation." He said firmly. "Area Eleven was entrusted to me by the Emperor. The Emperor also charged me with seeing to the terrorist threat. Did he give you such orders, Cornelia?"

"His Majesty did not." She eventually growled.

"Then return." He ordered.

For a moment she did nothing, teeth grit and face flushed in anger, before letting out a humourless laugh. "Fine." She snapped.

And then a terribly devious idea popped into his mind. He smirked slightly and reached over Darlton's communication officer, opening up another channel. "Hector, Amanda, please escort the Chief General back to the command center."

Turnabout was fair play, after all. After humiliating him in Area Eighteen by going so far as actually taking him into custody, he figured he deserved a bit of revenge. She deserved a little pay back.

"As you wish, your highness." Hector replied, face cold and unfeeling. His response earned him a scandalized outburst from Cornelia.

"Lelouch!" She protested, her usual aloof and dangerous composure breaking completely. "I've never-"

"I'll be waiting for you right here, dear sister." He said with a smile before cutting off the transmission.

He let his smile fade the moment he could no longer be seen and shifted his attention to where his Royal Guards' faces were displayed instead. "Hector and Amanda will take positions one and two. The rest of you reposition yourselves accordingly. We have the time to set the stage."

And set the stage he did. He pulled the forces Cornelia had brought with her back another five kilometres to ensure that they wouldn't be caught in the upcoming calamity and made sure his Royal Guard were in position. What he had planned was essentially the same tactic he had used in Area Eighteen, not that anyone but his Royal Guard knew that.

Granted, he was aware that the geological composition of the Narita mountains was undoubtedly different than that of a desert fort, but quartz was a common geological stone type even in Japan. There would undoubtedly be some residing in these mountains, and it would undoubtedly be enough for his purposes. After all, he didn't need it to disintegrate into dust like the fort had. Gravity would do the rest of the work for him.

It took Cornelia half an hour to return to the G-1, in which time the early morning fog lifted and their element of surprise was undoubtedly lost. Not that that mattered. He didn't need to rely on secrecy for this.

His half-sister stormed into the command center, Guilford unsurprisingly right on her heels. Hector and Amanda followed along behind, unintimidated by the Chief General's wrath. As soon as his subordinates had seen to it that Cornelia had made it to the command center, they saluted and excused themselves to get into position. Meanwhile, Cornelia seethed and glared balefully at him and Guilford looked like he was thoroughly outraged and contemplating restoring the princess' honour by killing them all.

Lelouch felt his Knights tense under Guilford's stare and was satisfied that they were on alert. This time, Cornelia wouldn't gain the upper hand. This time, he was in the superior position.

"I've never been so humiliated in my life!" Cornelia snapped, heedless of the other people in the command center. "You little brat. How dare you -"

"Well at least I didn't handcuff you, sister. Though depending on how well you behave, I might have you incarcerated for a day or two just so you know what it's like." He said, cutting off her tirade.

She recoiled slightly then released a disdaining snort. "So that's what this is, huh? Revenge, Lelouch?"

"It's nothing of the sort. If this were my revenge, you wouldn't be here right now. This is merely me taking what is mine by right, something both you and Clovis have tried to rob me of." He said coolly. He hadn't forgotten the way she'd set up him for treason with the Emperor. A little humiliation wasn't nearly enough recompense for that.

"Yet I somehow doubt you would have treated him so dreadfully." She said snidely.

"I certainly would have had I been given the chance. Unfortunately we were both shot before I was able to rein him in." He replied.

She grit her teeth before reluctantly bowing her head. "Get on with it then, Viceroy."

"As you wish, Chief General." He complied before glancing to where Diethard Reid was standing in the corner. He'd had the good sense not to record a family squabble, but now it was time to earn his keep. He nodded slightly to the man, who immediately raised his camera to his shoulder and began filming.

Lelouch set his fingers to work on the console in front of him, ignoring the communication officer next to him as he set about establishing an open broadcast channel. Then he stood next to his sister and made his demands.

"I am Lelouch vi Britannia, Viceroy of Area Eleven. To the members of the Japan Liberation Front hidden within their base in the Narita mountains, I demand that you surrender immediately. Failure to comply will result in military action being taken against you."

The reply took a few minutes to come, and he wondered if the JLF really had retreated just as he had asked and if he was shouting demands at an empty mountain range. But a few minutes later he received his reply as a face popped up on the screen in front of him.

"This is Lieutenant Colonel Kusakabe of the Japan Liberation Front. It took you longer to come than I thought it would, Britannian. Even so, just because you know we have a base here doesn't mean you will be able to take it. We will never surrender. We will fight for the liberation of Japan down to the very last man!"

Lelouch sighed. So this was how Katase had decided to give Kusakabe to him? What a waste of time and resources.

"So be it." He said darkly, cutting off the transmission before glancing at Cornelia. "This, dear sister, is how you take a fort with only six men. Commence operation."

* * *

Diethard had awakened that morning to a soldier pounding on his door telling him that he had five minutes to get ready if he wanted in on the Viceroy's entourage. Five minutes was more time than he'd needed. He'd grabbed his camera bag and his overnight bag, both of which were kept perpetually at the ready, and had dressed and made himself presentable in the back of a military jeep on the way to the base.

As if he would have passed this up for anything, let alone something as trivial as sleep. He'd learned long ago that this career choice included irregular hours and the need to move at the drop of a hat. He hadn't gotten to where he was today by playing it safe and working from nine to five. This job was all about taking chances and gambles. And this time, he'd decided to bet it all on Prince Lelouch.

He could honestly say that he'd never been more terrified in his life than when he'd decided to confront the young Viceroy about the information slip concerning his misuse of public funds. The information had seemed suspicious to him as soon as he'd received it, but it had taken him weeks to figure out just why. And then a few more weeks as he'd agonized over what to do with the information.

His first impression of Prince Lelouch at Prince Clovis' welcoming party, rumours and hearsay notwithstanding, had been of a somewhat mischievous teen unable to take high society seriously. He'd watched from a distance as the teen had been dragged by Prince Clovis from one puffed up noble to the next. It had been entertaining watching the young prince attempt to fluster each person he'd been introduced to. It had been hard to reconcile the reality with everything he'd learned about Prince Lelouch's exploits in Area Eighteen.

The prince he'd confronted in his office in the Viceroy's Palace had not been so hard to reconcile with the infamous Wolf of Britannia. The mischief was still there, as though the prince considered everyone he met nothing more than toys to play with, but so had been a lot of other things more dark and sinister. It had taken all of his impressive willpower to maintain his composure, especially upon seeing Sir Gottwald cutting off his retreat.

But it had paid off in the end. It had paid off even more than he'd anticipated, in fact. He was sure he was in over his head, but Prince Lelouch had called for him specifically three times now. As far as he was aware, he was the only member of the media granted such a privilege and the only media personnel here today. He alone was granted permission to witness today's events and he alone would be the one to share them with the world. Such exclusive coverage was something most journalists would kill for.

All the same, he knew that everything he recorded today would be subject to the prince's approval. Anything the Viceroy found too sensitive would be confiscated, so he was doing his best to curb his natural journalistic instincts. Hence why he'd left out Prince Lelouch and Princess Cornelia's little power struggle, entertaining as it no doubt would have been to share with the world. Yes, he wanted to capture the story of a lifetime, but there was no point in it if he'd wind up dead just to get it. For once in his life, everything was on the level. There were no hidden cameras or audio recording devices tucked within his clothes or bags. He wasn't going to lose this chance by being too ambitious.

"Diethard," The prince said a few minutes after negotiations with the JLF failed. "I wouldn't recommend straying from the G-1, but there's a viewing deck directly above this command level that might suit your needs."

"Thank you, your highness. I will look into it." He said, bowing slightly.

"Tch." Princess Cornelia huffed. "Bringing media dogs into a live military operation? Just what are you planning, Lelouch?"

"Nothing that concerns you, Cornelia." The prince replied.

The Chief General scowled and Diethard decided that now was a good time to go check out that viewing deck before they could begin arguing again and he'd have to turn the camera off. He bowed again to the royals before slipping out of the command center and finding a case of stairs that led up.

The viewing deck that the prince had mentioned turned out to be nothing more than the open ceiling of the G-1. There were handrails around the perimeter of it, though he couldn't imagine that it would be very safe should the mobile command center begin moving.

Well, this job had always had its risks and he figured it wouldn't be much different from the time he'd tied himself down to the roof of his news van and ordered his crew to pursue a fleeing robber in a high speed chase. Of course, he wasn't as young as he'd been then.

Either way, the G-1 was stationary at the moment so he decided to take advantage of it. He set up his tripod and zoomed in on the mountain ahead of him. There was snow on the peak, but that wasn't what caught his eye. Instead, it was the wolf's head motif on a cape of slate grey flaring behind a Knightmare racing up the slope. As soon as the negotiations with the JLF had failed, the prince had wasted no time in sending his Royal Guard forward.

Alone.

It was hubris. Sheer arrogance. Yet that didn't stop him from knowing that the prince had done this before. And it didn't stop him from knowing that the last time he'd done this, the prince had led the charge himself. Diethard couldn't even imagine the daring needed to even attempt such an advance, let alone to come out successful.

No doubt if he hadn't needed to keep the Chief General in line, the prince would have been out there with his men as well. His esteem for the young viceroy was growing by the second. He zoomed in on the Captain's custom Knightmare, catching some good footage of the wolf's head cape as the machine blasted through the impeding vegetation with its custom rifle, leaving a swath of destruction in its wake.

From his vantage point he could see Dame Lyons' Knightmare similarly ploughing through the vegetation in the distance to the right. He could imagine the rest of the Royal Guard were doing the same all around the mountain, though to what end he couldn't fathom. He just literally couldn't understand how only five soldiers were supposed to bring down the JLF - the widely acknowledged most well-equipped terrorist group in Area Eleven.

The Wolf Pack's charge remained unchallenged until about halfway up the mountain, when automated turrets rose up from the underbrush to decimate the landscape all around the custom Knightmares. Somehow they managed to continue their advance, zig-zagging this way and that as if they could outrun even bullets.

A few times, he caught flashes of luminous green light, which he assumed meant that some of the bullets were hitting their marks and being deflected by some type of shield. Sir Kururugi's Lancelot and its unique shielding system hadn't been a secret since the hotel-jacking at Lake Kawaguchi. Which meant that Lord Asplund seemed to have been involved with the construction of the Wolf Pack's frames too.

The Royal Guard pressed on, dodging or shielding from cannon fire until they passed out of the turrets' ranges and enemy Knightmares launched from hidden hangars all across the mountain. And still the Royal Guard refused to react, plodding up the mountain as though reaching the summit were more important than winning this battle. There were more green flashes as the shields soaked up the enemies' fire.

That wasn't of course to say that any enemy that got close enough wasn't efficiently dealt with. The Captain's sword skill was clean and quick, leaving no room for extra flourishes or the useless techniques so much of the nobility were fond of. Though that was to be expected from the man. He'd only briefly spoken to Captain Zimmerman, but from what he could tell, the man was preeminently practical.

The sudden ninety degree turn the Captain's Knightmare took caught Diethard by surprise after such a long straight shot up the mountain. The Knightmares were near the summit, the JLF's pilots giving the Wolf Pack's swords wide berth, but making up for it with hails of rifle fire. It was a desperate situation. Sooner or later, the shields would fail or the Wolf Pack would fail to block and the bullets would get through, decimating the Viceroy's Royal Guard.

A high pitched whine that raised all of the hairs on the back of his neck echoed down from the mountain, faint but still audible. He zoomed in on the Captain again, watching closely as slash harken after slash harken were plunged into the ground in the Knightmare's wake. Even as the Knightmare continued to more forward, the ground began sloughing away beneath it. The Captain's pursuers were quickly immobilized by the unstable ground, losing traction on the shifting sediments until entire slabs of stone began crashing back down the mountain.

The Captain stood immobile at the summit, unaffected by the landslide. It was only then that Diethard noticed the lack of landspinners on the Knightmare's feet. It was something else, a large, flat panel that didn't even look to be touching the ground. He barely had time to focus on it before giant boulders and slabs of broken stone crashed down the mountain into the JLF's line.

For the first time in his life, Diethard forgot about the camera. He stepped back, staring in amazement up at the mountain as the Royal Guard harnessed the power of nature itself to overpower their enemies. They'd triggered a landslide and were using it to wipe out the JLF.

"Incredible." He breathed, gaping at the destruction, then noticed his lapse in attention and half dove to get back to his camera and soak up all of this amazing footage. He zoomed in on the Captain's Knightmare, stationary and threatening atop the mountain. Dame Lyon's machine was visible about a kilometre away, just as ominous as they watched the destruction they had wrought.

The landslide crashed down the mountain, ripping up or smashing mature trees into splinters as it went, adding to the mess and the destruction. The effect continued to grow larger and larger as it careened down the mountain, swallowing up the JLF's Knightmares, then their defensive turrets.

He caught sight of one of the regiments at the base of the mountain shifting to the west a few hundred metres as the landslide crashed down into the valley and bypassed all of the Britannian troops. The Prince was amazing. He'd taken down the JLF in one fell swoop without losing even one man.

He panned the camera back up across the mountain, finding twisted metal infrastructure mixed in with the mud and rocks until he found what appeared to have been a massive underground bunker half buried in the wreckage, like a nut buried within its shell. This side of it was still relatively intact so there was still the possibility of survivors being inside.

The prince's voice boomed out of the speakers of the G-1, almost deafening to Diethard where he was situated practically right next to them. "I order all those with the courage to face the mountain's wrath to take the JLF bunker. Annihilate them. Don't let any escape."

Almost as one, all of troops in the valley began rushing forward up the corridors of land that were still intact. It seemed the landslide had wiped out all of the JLF's defences as not even turrets fired to oppose the advance. Slash harkens plunged into the bunker, tearing holes into the warped and damaged metal, before dozens of Knightmares dropped into the JLF's underground fortress to deal out the prince's punishment.

Incredible. The prince was simply incredible.

* * *

Kallen grinned, feeling the thrill of adrenaline and power rush through her as she pushed her Sutherland to its limit. This was her favourite part of this god forsaken training Lelouch was making her go through. She easily outstripped even her instructor when it came to her skills in a Knightmare. She wasn't holding anything back. This was the reason that bastard prince had decided she was worth keeping alive, so she wasn't going to pull her punches or pretend to be an amateur just to maintain her cover.

He should have thought of that.

"Out of the way, slowpoke." She snarled, blasting past Janelle who could still scarcely manage to control the machine, even despite the full week of instruction they'd already had. It was mildly entertaining to watch the blonde struggle at it, giving it her all but still coming up short.

It seemed their sergeant had a nasty sense of humour, and so she and Janelle had been paired in the same squad. They were also routinely used as the dummies for unarmed training. Kasumi had also been thrown in with their group and had been doing her best to keep her head down ever since that first incident. She'd even let her coveted second place spot slip from her grasp so as not to tread on any toes.

She rushed past Kasumi's machine without comment, still unsure as to whether or not she actually liked the Japanese girl. Part of her wanted to like the girl just because she was Japanese, but every time she'd tried to befriend or stand up for Kasumi, her efforts were always snubbed. It was like she didn't want help, like she was content being walked all over.

Kallen just didn't get it.

"Wallbridge, there are enemy units approaching from the northwest. Take point. We'll cover your back." Her team leader ordered. After their first day of Knightmare simulations, it had become abundantly clear to the members of her team that she was a pro at this kind of stuff. It had also become abundantly clear to Kallen that her teammates weren't too pleased by that fact. She was reasonably certain that her team leader tried to kill her off at every opportunity, at least in the simulators.

She wasn't exactly popular after brawling with Janelle for the sake of a Number.

"Yeah, yeah. On it." She answered. As if she'd actually needed to be told. She knew what a Knightmare battle was like. She knew what was needed when and where. She didn't need to be told by some amateur who could barely handle her machine.

As expected, her cover fire was all but nonexistent. A shot here or there, but nothing that actually helped. Whatever. It just made her look better anyway. If they wanted to waste this opportunity to get to pilot Knightmares just to try to bully her, they were welcome to do so. She didn't need the cover fire and it was better if Britannia had fewer Knights anyway.

She raced toward the enemy units, using her harkens to gain some air and land herself right in the center of the group. There were four of them, all shiny new Sutherlands. Why they were being taught to fight against the Empire's machines, she couldn't understand, but she didn't care either. More likely than not, she'd be fighting against Sutherlands more than any other type of machine. That was, of course, supposing that the Prince had been on the level about going after the Emperor.

If he hadn't been, he was going to regret all of this extra training he'd been giving her.

She plunged her harkens into the machines to the front and to the left of her, before spinning her machine around and firing her assault rifle in an arc. The two Sutherlands she'd hit with her harkens ejected their cockpits, leaving dead husks behind. She ignored them and focused on the two remaining Knightmares instead. There was no point in chasing after enemies that couldn't hurt her when she still had two active targets in front of her. Maybe the rest of her squad would get with the program and take them out for her. But she wasn't counting on it.

She'd clean up for them later. For now, she plunged her stun tonfa into the factsphere of the machine closest to her before ducking behind it and using it as a meat shield from the only other remaining enemy's sudden burst of rifle fire. For good measure, she rammed her tonfa into the back of the cockpit, just in case any of the friendly fire hadn't actually penetrated the machine.

This was too easy.

She let the machine she'd just destroyed fall before charging at her last enemy. She caught a harken in the shoulder – a minor miscalculation – and used the tether to jerk the enemy machine off balance, sending it to the ground with a hard crunch. The finished up by tossing a chaos mine at the downed machine and making good on her escape. Even she would have had a hard time getting her Knightmare upright again before the burst grenade exploded.

None of her squad mates were close enough to be caught in the fire so she didn't have worry about losing points for unintentionally offing her allies. She made it out of lethal range just as the chaos mine exploded, tearing the scrambling enemy Knightmare apart.

She added to the tally of single-handed victories she'd had since they'd begun the Knightmare simulations as her machine powered down and the cockpit opened, letting in some fresh air.

She smirked as she jumped down from her Knightmare, passing by their sergeant without comment. The others in her team had their conduct critiqued in an endless performance evaluation. They were reminded multiple times that this was their only shot at getting into the Knightmare Corps so that they ought to put more effort into it.

By this point, it was already a foregone conclusion that she would be bound for the Advanced Knightmare Training Program once she completed Basic Training. Not only were her Knightmare piloting skills at the level of an Ace, but she'd been getting through the rest of the training at about second or third place within their training group. So unless something unexpected happened or Lelouch willed it otherwise, she already had it in the bag. By now she was just using the simulations as an excuse to show up her training mates.

No one had ever told her that she had to make friends with the other recruits while she was here. She didn't need any of them. In fact, they were her enemies. She refused to forget it. She refused to forget that she was Kallen Kouzuki, a Japanese freedom fighter. And she refused to forget that she could meet any one of the people she was training with on the battlefield in the future and at that time it was uncertain as to whether they'd be friend or foe.

The only one that she'd made an exception for had been Kasumi, because she was Japanese. But even that didn't seem to be going very smoothly. Kasumi would rather snub her and become Britannian cannon fodder for the promise of food, than actually do anything to change the problems the Japanese faced.

All the same, it didn't stop her from helping Kasumi out with one of the other girls soaked her only towel in icy water after training that day. Nor did it stop her from calling the perpetrator on it. In retrospect, she should have expected them to turn on her. Still, she didn't see it coming until the first blow landed after lights out that night.

* * *

Kaguya had been having a hard time sleeping ever since she'd witnessed Lelouch pull the trigger on an unarmed and obviously defeated man. Watching the elaborate news documentary that had aired on the television earlier this evening on the defeat of the JLF had done nothing to calm her already fraying nerves. Lelouch was evidently far more ruthless than she had deluded herself into hoping.

She was beginning to doubt her decision to sit on his board of advisers. Not that she could take it back now and not that she would force someone else to compromise their anonymity just to protect her. She insisted on remaining an equal within the Six Houses, therefore she couldn't be doted on or treated like a child.

She would do it, but any hope she'd had of finding an ally in the prince was quickly dissipating. She would be risking life and limb to give a voice to her people. That was all. She likely wouldn't be able to convince or manipulate the prince into further helping the Japanese. She likely wouldn't be able to do anything at all, but she still had to try.

Still . . . she was scared. How much could she really count on Suzaku's protection when he'd been so quick to sell her out to Lelouch? Suzaku had chosen his loyalties years ago. Would he really disrupt whatever plan he had in the works to protect her? She doubted it.

It wasn't that she thought Suzaku was cold or uncaring, but she knew just how much he had given up to walk the path he was on. In his position, she'd do whatever it took, regardless of the cost to accomplish what she'd set out to do. She didn't know exactly what that plan was, but he'd been steadfastly determined the last time she'd seen him before he'd run away to become an Honorary Britannian and a soldier.

"You have a guest, Sumeragi-sama." One of her attendants said softly near the door.

Kaguya frowned. It was already dark out. It was a bit late for callers. "Who is it?" She asked, dread welling up in her chest. The last time she'd had to host an unexpected visitor, it had been her cousin Kei.

"Kirihara Taizo-san and his bodyguard."

She blinked in surprise. She'd known Kirihara for years, and from her experience he was the early to bed, early to rise type. He also rarely went anywhere with protection, so the fact that he had come here, to a known ally's house, with protection didn't bode well.

She raced for the door, all semblance of composure lost. He was like family to her. He treated her like a granddaughter. If something terrible had happened . . .

"What's happened?" She asked in surprise as she met the old man in the foyer.

He smiled tiredly at her and brushed some light snow flakes off of his hat. "Calm yourself, Sumeragi-sama."

She pursed her lips and reined herself in, then dropped into a formal now. "Welcome to my home, Kirihara-san. We are honored to greet you." She said, then straightened up and sent him a frown. "Though you shouldn't have come here. You know that I'm under surveillance."

"As am I." The elderly man said with a scowl. "I thank you for your welcome."

"What do you mean by 'as am I'?" She demanded. "The Viceroy knows that you're a part of the Six Houses?"

"He likely deduced it after our meeting. That boy was always too smart for his own good." Kirihara sighed. "Come now, invite me in. There are some things I need to discuss with you."

"Of course, forgive me." She said before leading the way into her most luxurious sitting room. "Bring tea." She ordered to one of her attendants.

For a moment, Kirihara didn't speak. He settled himself down on a comfortable zabuton and examined a nearby flower arrangement. She knelt down across from him, tense and anxious.

"General Katase contacted me about an hour ago." Kirihara finally revealed. "It seems the Viceroy contacted him right before that to let him know that he accepted the offering up of Lieutenant Colonel Kusakabe. Kind of him to hold off on the phone call until after making them watch that documentary." He said bitterly.

The JLF base in the Narita mountains had been decimated by the Viceroy and his Royal Guard three days ago. Obviously Lelouch had wanted the JLF to see what had become of their comrades. It was probably meant as a warning to Kei as well.

"The Viceroy also informed the General that he would be able to receive our representative come Monday of next week at nine in the morning at the Viceroy's Palace." Kirihara continued.

"I see." She said. So she had until Monday to overcome her fears and present a dignified and composed exterior.

"I will go in your stead." Kirihara said evenly.

"Don't be ridiculous." She said immediately. "We can't send you. We can't risk losing you."

He sighed. "Touched as I am, I am an old man, Sumeragi-sama. You are still young and have your whole life ahead of you. It's you that we shouldn't be risking."

She frowned, brows furrowing together. As scared as she was, there was a part of her that had still been looking forward to it. She might have been terrified and she might have had doubts about her safety or about her usefulness, but she'd never doubted that she would be going. She'd never thought about running away or passing it off on someone else. Because that part of her that was looking forward to going wanted to be the one to look Lelouch in the eye and make the demands that the Japanese needed. She wanted to be the voice of her people.

She hesitated for a moment. "I want to go. Please allow me."

"Ojou-sama -" Kirihara began to protest.

"I won't let you down. I promise." She pleaded. "Please let me."

Kirihara scrutinized her for a moment before sighing. "Very well."

* * *

AN: So that took all kinds of forever to write. :) Apologies for the delay, but worked picked up for a bit . . . and then it started snowing. Sigh.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don't forget to let me know what you thought. Also, if any of you are looking for a good manga you should read 7 Seeds. Its seriously my new favourite ever. It consumed my life for like a week and a half. Also also, have any of you got to play the new Assassin's Creed? I so want to go buy it but I can't afford it .

Thanks for reading everyone and thanks for being patient.

Allora

Thanks to SplitIce and Francis D. Saber for reading this over for me.


	91. Chapter 91: One Step Closer

AN: Ha ha *nervous laughter* . . . so I guess it's been a while, huh?

Chapter 91: One Step Closer

Things were coming together quickly now. All of his many schemes beginning their inevitable gravitation toward the center, like so many gossamer threads of a spider web. While it was true that he hadn't initially intended to change the government's structure this early in the game, it was also true that he had always intended to change it in the long run, to turn it over to the people. Still, he wouldn't give the JLF's shadowy benefactors the benefit of disrupting the plans he had made.

All the same, the JLF were a trump card he'd have been a fool to dismiss. This meant he had to go about nullifying whatever supposed advantage they thought they would gain by planting their agent in his midst. Fortunately, he had a perfect candidate at hand. And from there he could expand the board as he saw fit, creating a perfect storm where they could all strive against each other without actually accomplishing anything. He wasn't ready to turn over his power just yet.

As luck would have it, his wife passed by the upper landing of the stairs just as he was about to go search for her. "Abigail." Lelouch called out to her, bringing her to pause at the top of the stairs above him. He smirked slightly. "I'd like you to sit on my board of advisers."

Instead of the immediate smile he'd been anticipating, she frowned instead, gaze shrewd and calculating. "Why?"

"Does it matter?" He countered.

"I suppose not." She said at length before continuing. "But what's in it for me, Lelouch?"

His eyes narrowed suspiciously. Of course. He should have known better. Abigail was every bit as capable of being manipulative and conniving as he was. But at the same time, it wasn't like he could just dismiss her. Far from merely gaining him support from the nobility of Area Eleven, she'd continued to network and ingratiate herself with them, slowly worming her way into the center of their web. She could turn this country on its heel if she so felt the need, and she could certainly turn the nobility against him if she chose to.

"What do you want?" He asked, impressed with the execution of her bargaining, though not overly thrilled that she'd decided to turn her cunning on him.

"The same thing I've always wanted, Lelouch." She answered, fixing him with a level stare. "The same thing you've repeatedly denied me."

_I don't want us to be a sham._

Her plea from their wedding night echoed unbidden in his ears as he forced himself not to deny the demand out of hand. It wasn't actually possible for him to fall for her, and if she didn't know that already she at least suspected it. No, what she was actually asking was for him to play his part better. She wanted him to play the role of a husband that he had repeatedly rejected except when in public. So . . . could he do it? Could he take on that role and everything it entailed?

Lelouch frowned, watching her carefully. She stared back at him passively, her face a guarded, inscrutable mask that even he couldn't break through. It was obvious that she wasn't going to back down from this, nor that she would rescind her demand. She had him in Check and she knew it. It was his turn and he had to decide if he would retreat or push forward despite the danger.

He hated retreating.

He pointedly didn't look at C.C. where she was lounging on a nearby sofa, no doubt thoroughly amused by his discomfort. Neither did he look at either of his Knights as he waved them away. Instead, he began deliberately making his way up the stairs to his wife, heedless of the audience. She regarded him warily, like an animal that just might bite if she wasn't careful, though her expression never changed.

"As you wish." He all but purred at her as he came level, snaking one hand around her waist and burying the other in her hair before pressing his lips to hers in a heated kiss. She didn't respond for a few seconds, and Lelouch worried if maybe he'd possibly misread her. But this was the only thing she had ever asked him for. Then she was kissing him back, her lips eager and willing as one of her hands came up to twist into the hair at the back of his neck.

He supposed now was as good of a time as any to consummate their marriage if it would buy her cooperation.

* * *

Kallen's nose hurt. It wasn't quite broken, but it had been punched bloody by the bitches who jumped her. Not that she hadn't gone down fighting. Though given the consequences, she wasn't exactly sure if that had helped her situation.

The girls she'd managed to bloody had all been punished. But she'd been caught fighting too, so she'd been lumped in with the rest of them. It was completely unfair even if she had been doing more than merely defending herself. And how was she supposed to 'just defend' herself against so many anyway? Obviously it had been more prudent to put some of them out of the fight.

Either way she'd have probably still been punished. The Sergeant still had it out for after her brawl with Janelle. And of course it had been her word against everyone else's that she'd been attacked while sleeping. The official story that everyone else had told the Sergeant had been that she'd been running her mouth and then had attacked one of the other girls while arguing.

She let out an angry sigh and levelled a withering glare at one of the girls that had attacked her when she passed by. She was not in the best of moods. On top of getting jumped and attacked by her training partners for no reason, she'd been forced to stay up and submit to her punishment for the last three nights. It had been four days since she'd had a decent night's sleep. She was run ragged. Completely past the bounds of mere exhaustion.

And she couldn't wait for tonight. She couldn't wait to get a good night's sleep and finally feel refreshed in the morning rather than like hell warmed over. She was going to crash in her bunk the very second her head hit the pillow tonight and be completely dead to the world. But somehow she knew that a full night's sleep still wouldn't be enough to fully rejuvenate her.

"Better sleep with one eye open, Number Lover." The girl she'd glared at said.

She thought the girl's name was Claire, but she couldn't be certain. She wasn't within Kallen's five girl team, so she hadn't really paid much attention. That was probably bad of her, but the likelihood of her having to be friendly with any of these people after this training was done was slim. From what she understood, the likelihood was far higher that she might be killing these people in the future if Lelouch really did turn on the Emperor. Might as well not get attached to any of them.

Therefore it was with very little regret (most of which was for the inevitable loss of her much-craved night of rest) that she turned on the girl, arching an eyebrow. "Threatening me?"

"Maybe." Claire replied with a sneer.

If she was going to be punished even for defending herself, there was no point in holding back. She's wasn't going to take it lying down and just wait for them to throw the first punch if the result was going to be the same regardless. She'd hoped that all of the others who hated her enough to assault her would be feeling the same level of exhaustion as she was, but she'd find a way to endure if it meant she didn't wake up to a fist in her face again.

"Bad call." She snarled, launching herself at the girl and landing a hard punch that sent her victim sprawling on her ass. Not waiting for Claire to recover, she tackled the girl and began hailing down blows on her. Her would-be assailant was nearing unconsciousness when the rest of her training mates seemed to realize what was going on and got in on the fight as well.

She took several hits, giving as good as she got though she couldn't be certain that her nose wasn't broken anymore. At one point during the fight, one of her punches was intercepted by an icy grasp around her wrist.

It was Kasumi, looking horrified by her actions. "What the hell are you doing?" The Japanese woman demanded.

Whatever she'd wanted to say to explain herself was interrupted when Janelle took advantage of her distraction and slammed her foot into her chest, knocking the air out of her and knocking her to the ground.

"Good job, Eleven. At least you're useful for something." One of the girls above her snarled, though Kallen didn't really have the chance to think about it too much as she was trying her damnedest to keep from being completely overwhelmed even in this vulnerable position. There had to be at least six of them against just her.

She'd never thought she'd be thankful to hear the Sergeant's infuriated shout, but she'd been dangerously close to losing consciousness and shuddered at the thought of what might have happened to her if that had happened. The assault stopped almost as quickly as it had begun as her assailants jumped away from her as if they'd been burned.

Despite the fact that she knew even the Sergeant probably wanted to kick the shit out of her for the trouble she'd stirred up, she felt herself relax. The moment the tension left her body, she felt her head throb dizzily and her tenuous grasp on consciousness begin to disappear. There was shouting somewhere nearby but she couldn't seem to make out the words as everything faded to black.

* * *

Lelouch had never been one for casual touching. He let Milly and his other school friends hug and hang off of him and he allowed his Knights and bodyguards to manhandle him whenever they thought he might be in danger. Hell, he even tolerated it when C.C. invaded his personal space for the sake of her amusement. But cuddling was not something he did. Not with anyone but Nunnally at least.

Abigail was curled up against his chest, her hair loose and cascading over his arm and across the pillow. The sheet was pulled up underneath her arm, covering everything that he'd already seen. They'd been laying like that for over an hour now, both silent and unsure of just what to say. It wasn't post-coital bliss.

This was something Lelouch never would have done to her if she hadn't asked for it. He thought it was unusually cruel. He felt like an ass as his fingers twined through some of her hair. He hated it. Though not quite as much as he hated playing the Wolf of Britannia.

But that's all this was. Just another mask. Just another persona he could slip into. And he knew that she wouldn't be happy with that. Knew that she was just settling because she couldn't see the way to get what she really wanted. And he'd still gone through with this charade. And he'd continue going through with it for as long as she demanded it.

Because he needed her. He'd worked her into his plans and he wasn't about to let her sudden rebellious streak ruin those plans. He let out a slow breath, staring up at the ceiling above. She rolled onto her back, mimicking his posture as she stared at the ceiling as well.

Still nothing was said. Then, long minutes later she let out a sad sigh.

"I've been spying on you for Schneizel."

Why was he not surprised? After all, Schneizel had shown an uncommon interest in her from the very start. And who better to keep an eye on him that the person he was married to?

"And what have you told him?" He asked, careful to keep expressionless and neutral.

"Nothing critical. Just enough to keep him off my back." She answered with a shrug.

Lelouch nodded. "Are there any other world shattering revelations you want to drop on me while you're in the sharing mood?"

Abigail frowned, her features tightening into unguarded hesitance. He was surprised to see her so easy to read. Her gaze slid over to him, blue eyes piercing him for a moment before they slid back to the ceiling.

"I never married you for your title, but I did have an ulterior motive." She finally sighed.

"Oh?"

There was a long moment of silence between them. So long that Lelouch wondered if she didn't intend to elaborate. "Do you hate your father for forcing you to marry?"

Lelouch's eyes narrowed suspiciously. But she'd thrown them into a conversation of honest candour and confession so he supposed he could humour her. At least to a degree.

"No." He answered.

Her eyes widened slightly in surprise as she turned to look at him. "You don't?"

"I already hated him long before he forced this marriage on me."

She laughed slightly, smile turning sad as she glanced away. "Me too."

Lelouch raised a questioning eyebrow. He'd always received the impression that she was daddy's little girl.

"Six years ago I was merely Duke Chapman's eldest child. Not his only child." She said with a scowl. "My mother was caught having an affair with one of my father's business associates. In the fallout of everything, it came to light that my brother was not actually Duke Chapman's child. Instead of causing a scandal and divorcing my mother like he should have, he took it out on Carson instead. My father is obsessed with lineage. He couldn't stand the thought that his heir wasn't actually of his blood. My brother was thrown out, a mere child, and any record of his existence in the family was erased."

Well, that was surprising. He couldn't help but identify with the boy a bit. After all, he'd also been thrown out of his home by his father. It was terrifying and infuriating. But he'd never once stopped to think of how any of his half-siblings had felt about it. Granted, he and Nunnally had only been close to a few of them, but had any of them been this upset by it?

"His biological father wouldn't have anything to do with him because accepting a bastard child would announce to the world that he'd been having an affair." Abigail continued, "My mother used to do what she could to support him while she was still alive. Calling in favours or asking friends of hers to take him in. He's working to support himself while going to school now. Trying to be independent. I've been doing what I can since she died two years ago, but I don't have the same kind of sway she did and he hates me so half the time he just spurns whatever help I do get him."

"Why would he hate you?" Lelouch asked curiously. It's not like any of it was her fault. She would have been thirteen when her brother was abandoned.

Her eyes tightened in an expression he couldn't quite recognize. It looked something like guilt and hate coupled with uncertainty. "Because he's the spitting image of me."

Lelouch's eyes widened in surprise as the implication hit him, but he said nothing because asking her if she was also an illegitimate child just seemed crass.

But apparently the question was visibly evident on his face because she chuckled mirthlessly. "I don't know. Father was too afraid to have me tested in case it was true. After all, he'd been married to my mother for decades and if he'd never managed to father a child with her in all that time, it would obviously have meant that he couldn't. To a man as obsessed with his legacy as my father is, it would have been intolerable."

"So what does all of this have to do with me?" He asked because he really couldn't care less if she were illegitimate or not. In the grand scheme of things it didn't matter in the slightest because he was still stuck with her either way.

"When Father first told me that he was marrying me off to some unknown prince I told him like hell and that if he pushed it he'd find himself completely childless." She said with a wry smile. "Obviously that didn't go over well. After hours of arguing, he came up with the compromise. Provide him with a Chapman heir to the throne and he'd adopt Carson back into the family."

There was another moment of ringing silence in the room, during which Lelouch found himself intensely grateful for the box of condoms that had mysteriously appeared in his bedside table shortly after C.C. had invaded his house. Courtesy of Edith, no doubt.

"I know myself very well, Lelouch." She continued, her voice even and neutral, not giving anything but determination away. "I am selfish and conceited and arrogant. I am everything that was stripped from him, and I owe him for that. I owe him because he was forced to bear the burden of both of our sins while I was pampered and got off scot-free."

Lelouch sighed rubbing a hand over his face. "It's not a sin. At least, it's not a sin that you or your brother should have to pay for."

"But we do." She said.

Lelouch sat up, the sheet pooling in his lap as he frowned. Obviously he'd have to deal with this if he was going to play loving husband with her. "Children aren't an option." He said firmly. "I won't give the Emperor anything else he can use against me."

Her lips pressed together into a frown. "I figured as much."

He sighed and got out of bed, reaching for the clothes he'd discarded earlier. "Send for your brother. If he needs a benefactor, I'll be it."

* * *

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Suzaku all but snarled.

"I'm going to sleep." C.C. shrugged, fluffing up her pillow before settling down on it and staring at him, arching her eyebrow questioningly. Honestly, riling him up was just too easy. "Why?"

A foot met her gut and she was forcefully expelled from his bed, collapsing onto the floor beside it, though she'd spitefully taken all of the bedding with her. That left Suzaku in nothing but his boxers and caused the Knight to scramble over the bed to yank back some of the blankets to cover himself.

"Get out." He hissed, obviously trying to keep his voice low enough not to wake the entire villa.

"But I don't want to." She pouted.

She briefly wondered why she had refrained from engaging in this hobby for the last few weeks. She'd been leaving Suzaku alone since he'd spurned her gift of Geass, content enough to play with her other games for the time being. Lelouch had been too busy lately, but she'd been finding delight in filling the head of one of the maids with raucously untrue gossip about Lelouch's bedroom exploits.

She flinched, wondering why the thought suddenly sent a lance of pain through her chest and made it hard to breath. Why now? Just because she knew that he was finally with Abigail as a husband should be?

That didn't matter to her anyway. He was her contractor. He was _just_ a contractor. And yes, he was unlike any other contractor she'd had before but . . . it didn't matter. Abigail didn't matter because no one would ever be able to be what she was to him, and no one would ever know Lelouch better than she did, not even a wife. She had mapped every inch of his mind. She knew his secret hopes, his secret fears. She knew _everything_.

She swallowed back the annoyingly possessive thoughts and focused on Suzaku instead. He was still glaring at her, hissing out a diatribe about her selfishness and her thoughtlessness and basically how much he hated her.

God, hate was so easy.

So much easier than Lelouch who drew her in without meaning to then pushed her away before she could push him back. So much easier than having to actually think and hope. She was used to being hated. It settled over her like a well-worn coat. And she knew that it was the easiest emotion to manipulate.

She wasn't thinking – wasn't planning anything more than to shut him up – when she pushed herself up onto her knees and pressed her lips against Suzaku's. She'd expected him to freeze, then pull away to blush and stammer and protest. She didn't expect him to snarl like an enraged beast. Nor did she expect the fist that collided with her face a second later.

She fell back, more stunned than hurt, though she knew her lip had split open. Suzaku stared at her just as stunned, eyes wide and face pale. He brought a trembling hand to his hair and pulled like he wanted to rip it from his skull. And that was when she realized he was having a meltdown.

"Oh God . . ." He groaned.

She should have known better than to play with him like this. She'd made him lose his cool and he'd lashed out. And now she'd broken Lelouch's Knight. No doubt such a loss of temper was also the reason behind his father's death. She needed to fix him before Lelouch became a worse nightmare to her than Clovis had ever been.

"Suzaku, I'm fine." She said, wiping the blood away from her lip. The cut had already closed, compliments of her Code, so it was merely a matter of destroying the evidence.

His gaze snapped back to her and he was off the bed mere seconds later, hovering over her, hands on her shoulders as he apologized profusely. "I'm so sorry, C.C.. That was inexcusable. Never forgive me. Are you alright? God, I hate myself. I'm sorry."

"I'm fine. See." She said, lifting her chin so he could see her face better. "No harm done. I shouldn't have toyed with you. I'm sorry."

She couldn't actually remember the last time she'd apologized for anything she'd done. It rolled off her tongue awkward and unfamiliar. Sure, she'd had plenty of regrets in her life, but to voice them? No never.

He slumped back against the side of the bed,curling up in the fetal position and burying his face in his hands as though he couldn't bear the sight of her. "Please leave, C.C.. I really need to be alone right now."

He said it in just broken enough of a tone that she had no choice but to comply. She picked herself up from the floor and hesitated, hating her uncertainty, but unsure if saying anything more would help or hinder.

"Don't fall apart, Kururugi." She warned, "Lelouch needs you to watch his back."

He didn't say anything, not that she'd really expected him to. Sighing, she let herself out of his room and walked back down the hall to her own. She hesitated on the threshold, taking in its unlit contents. Somehow it seemed cold. Yeah, it was cold, dark and silent. A shiver ran down her spine as she stepped in and closed the door behind her.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, letting the solitude wash over her. She hated feeling like this. She hated being reminded of her time imprisoned by Clovis. No, it wasn't only that. She hated being alone like this. Just the breathing of someone else, or the subtle shift of clothes could put her at ease in the darkness.

She sighed and collapsed onto her bed, staring listlessly at the stripe of pale moonlight that ran across the covers. Why did she feel like something had been taken from her? An even better question was why did she care? She'd lost so many things over the centuries that this shouldn't be anything new. It shouldn't hurt.

But she'd been left alone again. Left behind, just like so many other times.

She growled in annoyance and flopped onto her back, scowling up at the ceiling above. She was being needlessly sentimental. Besides, it wasn't like Lelouch was dead. If anything, he'd merely righted their skewed relationship. Lelouch was her contractor. They were allies. Nothing more.

And the only thing she needed from him was for him to kill her when his Geass matured.

End of story.

* * *

Suzaku stifled another yawn and stared out the window into Lelouch's garden. It was raining. Well, it was more like a mixture between rain and snow. All in all it looked cold and miserable out. Somehow it matched his mood perfectly. Dread and disgust curdled inside of him like spoiled milk, making him feel sick to his stomach.

"What's wrong, Suzaku?"

Of course, leave it to Lelouch to know something was wrong without even having to look at his face. Suzaku kept his back to the prince and shrugged. "Couldn't sleep."

It wasn't a lie. He'd sat on the floor next to his bed all night, agonizing over what he'd done to C.C.. She seemed fine. She'd made a point of letting herself be seen before breakfast – she didn't usually show her face until past noon – so that he could confirm by the light of day that he hadn't actually hurt her. Except, knowing her she'd done something to hide it. He knew how much damage he could cause with his bare hands and he'd felt how hard his fist had connected with her face. She should have been bruised and bloodied.

But she wasn't.

Lelouch sighed and came to stand beside him, glaring out into the gloomy garden. "Why couldn't you sleep?"

He swallowed thickly, watching Lelouch out of the corner of his eye. If he tried to lie, Lelouch would catch him in it instantly. "I don't think I'm suitable to be your Knight."

"This again?" Lelouch asked, arching an eyebrow though he kept his face forward and staring out the window.

He pressed his lips into a thin line before sighing. "I'm no good at protecting, Lelouch. I always just end up hurting people. Destroying things."

"I know." Lelouch said simply. "That's simply who we are. We destroy things and then build them back up better than they were before."

"That's what you do. I never make it past the first step." He protested. He'd never actually fixed or rebuilt anything in his life. And he'd certainly never improved on anything. He just dragged everything down into ruins.

"Suzaku -"

"I hurt C.C.." He blurted, cutting off whatever calm, logical argument Lelouch had been about to utter.

Lelouch paused, finally turning to look directly at him. No doubt he was taking in the bags under his eyes and the exhausted slump of his shoulders. He felt completely exposed by Lelouch's gaze, just like he had when Lelouch had found out about what he'd done to his father. The monster in him was on full display.

"Quit beating yourself up over it." Lelouch ordered. "Everyone makes mistakes."

"I don't. I can't. I can't let myself make excuses like that."

"I don't care. I just saw C.C.. She looked fine to me and she didn't say anything about it, so I assume she forgives you." Lelouch said.

"You don't know that." He grumbled.

"Out of everyone here, I'm the one who knows her the best. If she was upset about it, you'd either be dead or she would have been complaining about it all morning. Since neither has taken place, just forget about it." Lelouch shrugged. "She probably already has."

Leave it to Lelouch to make everything sound so easy.

"Are you on board today, Suzaku? I have a busy day and I want you at my back." Lelouch said calmly. "But if you need some time -"

"No. I'm fine. I'll be fine." He said quickly because the thought of missing work because of this made him feel even more sick. He might not be worthy of being Lelouch's Knight, but that didn't change the fact that the job was still assigned to him. He couldn't tolerate such a failure as being incapable of completing his duty.

"Good. Come on."

Lelouch's day was every bit as busy as he'd said, though not in the usual manner. In fact, he didn't even make it to the office. Lelouch was ferried from one location to the next to discuss business with noblemen and corporate moguls. He was building his board of advisers up a little more with each meeting.

For Suzaku's part, he was glad that he wasn't a part of most of the conversations. He was consumed by his thoughts and focused only on those things that might be considered a threat to Lelouch. He was a distant, cold soldier rather than a personable knight. Gottwald picked up his slack and exchanged the necessary formalities with anyone who showed an interest in them while he got away with the barest minimum of pleasantries.

Therefore, he was startled later in the afternoon when they came out of a meeting with a CEO in a towering skyscraper in the downtown core to find that their limo had been traded in for Lelouch's rusty decoy vehicle.

"Lelouch?" He asked uncertainly as Gottwald opened the door for the prince.

"It's fine. Last meeting for today." His friend said as he crawled in.

Suzaku caught sight of Nick sitting in the passenger seat of a nearby sedan and was mollified slightly. At least the Royal Guard was shadowing them. Whatever Lelouch was planning, it was undoubtedly unsafe. Lelouch never used this car unless he was going into the ghettos.

He crawled into the backseat next to Lelouch as Gottwald took the passenger seat up front next to the driver. "So where are we going?"

"Bunkyo." Lelouch answered as the car pulled away from the curb.

"Why?" He asked tensely. Just as he'd feared, another tromp through the ghettos. It was _not_ safe.

"There's someone I want to meet there."

"You couldn't summon them to meet with you somewhere in the Settlement?" He demanded.

"He doesn't know we're coming." Lelouch said with a smile.

"Who?"

"Kouki Ichigawa."

Suzaku knew that man. Not personally, but he knew his reputation. Ichigawa was a community leader that ran a non-profit organization for the sake of feeding and clothing the poverty stricken inhabitants of Bunkyo. Well, they called it a non-profit organization, but really it was just a bunch of people helping out others in the community. Suzaku himself had had to rely on their charity when he'd first run away from home while waiting for his Honorary Britannian status to clear the security checks. He likely would have starved to death before ever becoming a Britannian citizen if not for Ichigawa's charity. He'd never actually met the man, but the people that worked for him had probably saved his life.

And now Lelouch was going to be dropping in on him unannounced.

Suzaku kept his eyes peeled for any kind of threat as they crossed into the ghettos, staring out the window at impoverished Japanese adults and children. There were a few obviously shady characters, but they were likely thieves and thugs rather than terrorists and assassins. Despite the fact that Bunkyo was a ghetto, it was in slightly better shape than other areas like Shinjuku and Saitama. It hadn't been hit as hard in the invasion.

When the car eventually stopped, it was in front of a mostly intact two story shop that was missing all of its signage. All of the windows on the bottom floor had been smashed and boarded up with ply board, though the ones on the second floor seemed to be unscathed. The entire lot was surrounded by tall chain link fences topped with a collection of sharp pointy objects ranging from sharpened wooden posts to jagged pieces of metal. The gate was in similar condition, though it was open, revealing cracked grey paving stones leading up to the front door.

"Charming." Lelouch said as he moved to get out of the car. Suzaku moved quickly around the vehicle to cover him just in case there was danger, joined seconds later by Gottwald. The driver kept the car running and the doors closest to the building unlocked in case they needed to make a quick escape. "Let's go."

As soon as they entered through the door, it became apparent that the lower floor was used for goods storage. Boxes and bags of clothes and food items covered every possible space, stacked up against walls and covering every horizontal surface. This was also probably the reason why none of the windows were intact. Theft wasn't exactly uncommon in any of the ghettos.

The foyer was dimly lit with cheap incandescent bulbs that cast a yellow pall over everything. Lelouch glanced around briefly in the shop proper before heading directly for the set of stairs located at the back of the foyer, stepping over a box full of western-style pasta dinners that had been left in the way. Suzaku followed, then slipped past him to take the fore, leading them up into an office on the second floor.

The office was no less crowded, though an area next to the desk by the window had been cleared away of clutter. It was at that desk that a man sat, head bowed over some paperwork while a staticy radio played music in the background.

"Excuse me." He said, knocking on the door frame as he let himself in. The man jumped in surprise, no doubt leaving an errant scribble on whatever he had been writing as he jumped to his feet and stared at him with his mouth hanging open. His uniform was kind of hard not to notice. Lelouch stepped past him, eyes travelling around the office space before he smirked.

"Are you Kouki Ichigawa?" Lelouch asked, back straight as he held himself tall and imposing.

The man swallowed nervously and nodded almost imperceptibly. "I am, your highness."

It was surprising, to say the least. Ichigawa's reputation for charity and being supposedly incorruptible had led to him being given the nickname of 'Buddha' on the streets. So somehow he'd been expecting a portly bald guy. Instead, Ichigawa was tall and thin with short cropped black hair that was neatly trimmed and wire-rimmed glasses over his eyes. He was dressed in khaki coloured dress pants and a white dress shirt with buttons that didn't all match. He looked like some kind of down on his luck professional, which he probably was.

Lelouch grinned widely, going into bratty prince mode as he leaned against the man's desk. "Excellent. So how about you come work for me?"

"Uh . . . pardon?" Ichigawa said, dumbfound.

"Work for me." Lelouch said again. "We'll get you out of this shitty neighbourhood, put you in a nice house in the Settlement. Get you cars and boats and whatever the hell else you want. You can leave all of this trash behind you and start over."

Suzaku winced, but Lelouch was never this tactless unless there was a reason for it. Ichigawa's jaw had clenched in anger, though he said nothing for a moment, as though composing himself. "Your highness, I'm not sure I understand."

"What's there to understand? I asked you to work for me." Lelouch said before reaching into his breast pocket and pulling out a wad of bills, setting it on the desk in front of Ichigawa. Suzaku winced again at the careless use of money in this kind of environment as Ichigawa's eyes bugged out at the sum. "You can have this and so much more. All you've got to do is turn your back on this place and become respectable. Come on, what's so hard about this decision? Suzaku did it."

He bristled slightly at the mention of his own surrender, but it was true so he couldn't really say anything. He'd turned his back on the life the rest of the Japanese endured to make a grab for power and authority and he hadn't looked back.

"With all due respect, your highness, I'm not interested in anything that would take me away from the people that need me here." Ichigawa said politely, though his eyes darted toward the door as though wondering if he'd be able to make it out before Lelouch killed him for his refusal.

Lelouch pulled out another stack of bills, probably doubling the amount already on the desk. "A tough customer. This ought to change your mind, right?"

"Your highness," Ichigawa said frostily, "I'm sorry, but I'm not interested. No amount of money is going to change my mind."

Lelouch frowned. "Jeremiah."

There was no following order, but the older Knight stepped forward nonetheless, cracking the knuckles as he did so, threat evident in his stance. Suzaku thought about stepping in, but it wasn't Lelouch's style to brutalize an innocent so he held himself in check. Ichigawa paled in fright but stood his ground, lips pressed into a thin line and fingers going white as he clutched the edge of his desk.

Then Lelouch's smile softened and he waved Gottwald away before seating himself primly in the chair across from the desk. "I apologize. That was exceedingly cruel of me, but you have a reputation for being incorruptible that I wanted to see if was true. You're not in any danger from me, Mr. Ichigawa."

The Japanese man blinked in surprise before slowly, hesitantly relaxing. He did it in steps, carefully removing his death grip on the desk before relaxing the tension in his shoulders and hesitantly sitting back down in his chair. They sat in silence for a moment, Ichigawa eyeing Lelouch nervously, as though waiting for him to laugh and say it was a joke and sic Gottwald on him again.

"Your highness . . . please pardon me if this seems rude, but I still don't understand why you're here." Ichigawa tentatively said.

"Ah." Lelouch said. "Well, I wasn't lying when I said I want you to work for me. I'm creating a board of advisers. I'd like you to sit on it as a representative for the Japanese."

Suzaku should have known Lelouch would do this from the very moment that the board of advisers had been demanded by the JLF's benefactors, but he only realized the significance of it now. There was no way that Lelouch would allow terrorists to represent the sole voice of the Japanese on his council. In that regard, Ichigawa was the perfect choice for this. He'd led several unsuccessful legal objections to Japanese living conditions in the ghettos and had encouraged the people of the area to only protest the Britannian establishment in legal and non-violent ways.

There was a long moment of silence as Ichigawa frowned thoughtfully. "I'm afraid I still don't understand. It's not like I have anything to offer you. I don't even have Britannian citizenship."

"Your citizenship status doesn't matter to me." Lelouch shrugged. "And you've got plenty to offer me as the former Chair of Todai's Economics Department."

"You've done your research." Ichigawa said cautiously.

"Of course. You're an intelligent man, level-headed and realistic." Lelouch said, the praise and flattery falling easily off his lips. "You understand the situation Japan is in at the moment, don't you?"

Ichigawa hesitated. "You're referring to the financial crisis you must no doubt be facing as a result of the riots in the wake of your brother's murder?"

"Among other things." Lelouch nodded.

Suzaku frowned, watching the exchange. Ichigawa didn't exactly look keen on the idea of accepting Lelouch's offer, a fact which the prince was undoubtedly aware. The Japanese man toyed with the pen on the desk for a moment, carefully thinking over his answer.

"Prince Lelouch, I am very flattered that you would even consider someone like me for the job, but I'm afraid I must decline." Ichigawa said tactfully.

Lelouch nodded slightly. "May I ask the reason why?"

"There are many people who rely on me to survive day to day. I could never do anything that took me away from this place and the people that need me." The man said solemnly.

"Please think about how much more good you could do for those people at my side. I intend to allow my board of advisers to govern the day to day of my establishment." Lelouch said calmly. "And, of course, you can continue with your efforts here alongside your service to me. I would never dream of interfering with what your organization does for this community."

Ichigawa hesitated uncertainly, scrutinizing Lelouch carefully for any sign of deception. It wasn't hard to understand why the man was so wary. After all, Lelouch had just gone on a killing spree. Between executing the Kenshiki and annihilating the JLF's main base of operations – both in highly publicized shows of savagery – even Suzaku would have been feeling a bit wary of the prince.

"I'll give you some time to think about it." Lelouch said with a sigh. "If you wish to accept, please come to the Viceroy's Palace on Monday at nine in the morning. That is when the other members of my board of advisers will be arriving as well. Please think about it."

"I will . . . consider it carefully, your highness." Ichigawa said awkwardly, as though trying to hide his surprise at how understanding Lelouch was being. Privately, Suzaku thought Lelouch was only being so understanding because he knew the man would cave and say yes. Otherwise, Lelouch would probably have just used his Geass and forced the man to accept.

"Thank you." Lelouch said as he stood up and took a step forward to offer his hand to the man sitting at the desk. "It was nice to meet you in person, Mr. Ichigawa. I hope you'll accept my proposal. Japan will be a much better place with your voice standing for its people."

Ichigawa gave a strained smile, evidently uncertain if he was actually allowed to touch a prince. The man's gaze met with Suzaku's for a moment and he nodded slightly, encouragingly. He'd permit it, even though he could feel Gottwald tensing like a coiled spring beside him. Tentatively, Ichigawa shook Lelouch's hand.

"It was an honour to meet you, your highness. It's been very . . . enlightening." Ichigawa said.

"Well, I do ever strive to enlighten." Lelouch said with a laugh before turning toward the door. "Come on, my Knights."

They got almost as far as the office's door before Ichigawa called them back. "Your highness, you forgot your money."

Lelouch paused and Suzaku grimaced, hoping that the prince had enough sense to realize that leaving a bribe with Ichigawa would just ensure that the man didn't accept the proposal. He had too much pride and dignity to allow it.

Lelouch turned back, keeping his hands casually in his pockets as he glanced at the wad of cash on the desk. "Consider it a donation to your organization. Regardless of what you decide with my proposal, I support what you do here. After all, you're picking up my slack and protecting the people my administration hasn't been able to reach yet."

Without further ado, Lelouch turned and head down the stairs, Gottwald hot on his heels. Suzaku stayed where he was next to the door long enough to witness the incredulous expression cross the old professor's face. He smirked.

"Well," He said, slipping into Japanese. "I doubt that I can convince you of anything that my prince can't, but please consider it. No matter the way the media wants to portray him, he has good things planned for this country and its people."

The man nodded silently in acknowledgement before Suzaku rushed down the stairs after Lelouch. Out of all the people Lelouch had gone to visit today for his board of advisers, Kouki Ichigawa was the only one he had any faith in to try anything more than a power grab.

He hoped the man accepted. The thoughtful frown on Lelouch's face when they returned to the car made him think that maybe even Lelouch wasn't quite as sure of the outcome of this gamble as he'd previously expected.

* * *

AN: Hope you all enjoyed this. Hope I still have readers after such a long hiatus. I didn't even realize it had been this long until I looked at it the other day and realized I hadn't updated since Halloween. Oopsies.

Anyway, for all you Abigail fans, I hope this appeased you. Well, its not really appeasement since this has been planned from the beginning, but yeah, she finally got a little more screen time and a little bit of clarity about her character. For those who hate her, sorry, but what did you really expect when I gave Lelouch a wife?

Thanks a ton for reading. Please review.

Allora


	92. Chapter 92: Mockingbirds

Chapter 92: Mockingbirds

Monday morning dawned clear and cold. Lelouch pulled his jacket closer around himself to ward off the chill as he stood on the front steps of the Viceroy's Palace with Abigail and his Knights. Calares had arrived at his usual time and so was earlier than the rest of his advisers and standing a little ways away.

The courtyard in front of the Viceroy's Palaces was crawling with soldiers and reporters who kept snapping pictures of him and the others on the front steps. Diethard was among them, directing some of his subordinates to record the happenings at the front gate as the first car arrived, sleek and black.

It pulled around to the front of the steps where a valet was waiting to open the door and usher out the occupant. A nobleman in his mid-thirties stepped out, curly chestnut hair caught in a cold breeze, that he patted down quickly before smiling widely.

"Prince Lelouch, good morning to you." The man greeted, mounting the stairs. "I wanted to thank you again for giving me this opportunity."

"Good morning, Lord Mars." Lelouch greeted, shaking the man's hand. "And it should be me thanking you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to aid me in this way."

The man smiled, visibly pleased by the turnaround. "And of course a good morning to you as well, Princess Abigail. You're looking lovely as always." Lord Mars continued, bowing over Abigail's hand to place a chaste kiss on the back of it.

"Charmed." Abigail said, though Lelouch noted her smile was a touch more severe than it ought to have been. Though that wasn't surprising. Though Regis Mars was the son of a prominent Duke back in the homeland, he and his wife, Florence, were outspoken in their vehement opposition to the judgement of worth based on bloodlines and the abuse of power. Basically, they were opposed to the Emperor's view of the world, which meant that Lelouch automatically liked them both though he'd only met them three times.

"I'm sure you're acquainted with Duke Calares." Lelouch said, gesturing toward his proxy. It was Calares' job this morning to herd his advisers away from him so that he could greet the next one to arrive.

"Lord Mars, a pleasure to see you again." Calares said with a gracious smile, offering his hand to the younger noble, though he didn't move from his spot, effectively drawing Mars away.

The next car hosted a middle-aged man in a slate grey business suit. His features were serious and severe and the frown on his lips seemed to be permanently engraved there. "You're highnesses." the man said, bowing deeply. "It's a pleasure to meet with you again."

"The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Albertson." Lelouch said, offering his hand to shake.

Stephen Albertson was a businessman Lelouch had used to gamble with when he'd still been a student at Ashford. They'd run into some trouble in the past when Albertson had threatened not to pay him upon his loss and Lelouch had threatened to smash a priceless antique vase if he didn't. However, despite their past troubles, it didn't change the fact that Albertson was incredibly influential in the business world which made him valuable on his council.

The next car was already pulling up behind Albertson's, so he bustled the tycoon away into Calares and Mars' company after a perfunctory greeting to Abigail and prepared to meet his next guest. The car was just as dark and austere as the last two, but the valet actually reared back when he opened the door, obviously unprepared for the visage of the next visitor.

Not that Lelouch could blame him. Even he had to fight to keep his surprise off his face as Kaguya Sumeragi stepped out in a pale pink silk kimono with silver and white hummingbirds embroidered on it, accompanied by an amber coloured obi, decorative mother of pearl hair pins and even tabi socks and wooden geta. Lelouch would have grimaced if he'd had the luxury to do so without it being all over the news by five o'clock that evening. It was important that he didn't seem to be disdainful of the Japanese.

But this was just too much.

The JLF had chosen their representative wisely, of course. Her identity had already been exposed to him, so they hadn't given the anonymity of any of their other benefactors away. And Kaguya was possibly the only one that would be completely safe from him. She was Suzaku's cousin and that afforded her a kind of immunity she seemed to have taken to heart.

She walked up the steps to the Viceroy's Palace unhurriedly as the news crews had a field day with her arrival. When she reached him, she bowed formally at the waist in a show of respect . . . and waited for him to return the gesture.

Like hell he was going to play her game. He offered his hand for a handshake instead. She reluctantly rose from her bow and took it, hand tiny and soft in his. It was hard to believe that she was a supporter of terrorism when she looked this fragile.

"Very subtle, Kaguya." He growled under his breath, eyeing her outfit. She might as well have just stamped on her back where her loyalties lay.

She merely smiled innocently. "It's wonderful to meet with you again, Prince Lelouch. It's been a long time. Thank you for allowing me this opportunity to speak for my people."

He smiled blandly. "Of course."

"Princess Abigail, it's a pleasure to meet you." Kaguya continued, sinking into a western curtsey. "I am Kaguya Sumeragi."

"The pleasure is mine, Miss Sumeragi." Abigail said, though Lelouch could tell it was hardly a pleasure. No doubt his wife was struggling to maintain her composure in the face of such blatant rebellion.

Proper pleasantries seen to, Kaguya stepped past them with a wide smile and threw herself at her cousin instead. "Suzaku!" She greeted, pulling his Knight into a hug. "It's been forever."

Suzaku was not as adept at keeping his expressions neutral and so looked visibly surprised and uncertain as he tentatively patted her shoulder in the hope of her backing off. Short of him outright pushing her away, it was the best reaction from him that Lelouch could have hoped for. It showed obviously that Suzaku was uncomfortable with this situation. It would have been a mess if Suzaku had appeared to the media to be supporting Kaguya.

Lelouch dragged his attention away from the two, focusing instead on the vehicle pulling up in front of the steps. The valet had recovered his composure, which was good because the man within the vehicle was one of the most influential in Area Eleven. Duke Hamilton was a born and bred blueblood, an investor with his fingers in so many pies it might have put Schneizel to shame if his brother had limited his meddling to a single country instead of the entire world.

Duke Hamilton was in his fifties and greying, with sharp blue eyes that belied his fatherly smile. He was a colleague of Albertson, though there were few successful people in Area Eleven who weren't at least acquainted with the man.

"Viceroy." The man said, offering his hand to shake. "It's a pleasure to meet at last."

The man had been out of town when Lelouch had tried to contact him last week, so instead he'd had to pass his invitation through the man's wife, Elizabeth. She'd called him a few days later to confirm that the Duke had accepted.

"Likewise. I apologize that it took so long to seek you out." He said. He wasn't being subservient, but he knew quite well that if he made an enemy of this man it would cost him dearly.

"Nonsense. You've been busy with the military and taking out terrorists. That's far more important than playing politics." The Duke said with a smile.

"I'm glad you think so." Lelouch nodded before gesturing to his side. "I'm sure you know my wife, Abigail."

"Of course." Hamilton nodded. "How have you been, girl? Liz wanted me to invite you to our place for dinner tomorrow if I saw you here."

"I've been very well, thank you, James. You can tell her that I'll be there. I may even drag along Lelouch this time." Abigail replied with candid familiarity. She was close to the Hamiltons, frequently going to visit them for teas and dinners, or hosting them at the Viceroy's Palace since she was too ashamed to bring anyone to Lelouch's unorthodox house. It was likely because she was so close to the Hamiltons that she had been able to gain so much sway with the rest of the nobility.

Abigail and the Duke began conversing in earnest about yacht clubs and a recent tennis match between Abigail and the Duchess. Lelouch lingered next to them, feigning interest as he hoped against hope that one more adviser would show his face. But it was already quarter after nine and if he lingered much longer it would begin to seem suspicious.

Damn it. Had Ichigawa really decided not to come? He needed that man now more than ever since Kaguya had decided to take such an audacious stance. He needed to give the Japanese a credible voice that would command respect, not a little girl hung up on shoving Japanese culture in Britannia's face.

His attention was stolen a few minutes later by a commotion at the gate. A plain, yellow taxi was being held up by the guards, drawing more and more of the soldiers he had stationed around the palace. Lelouch almost didn't dare to hope as he excused himself from Abigail, the Duke and Kaguya, who was still trying to engage Suzaku in conversation.

He left the steps, Jeremiah gluing himself to his shadow like usual as he crossed the courtyard to resolve the problem himself. Security was demanding that the driver get out of the car, but the cabbie was having none of it. Instead of dealing with the driver, he moved around to the back door on the passenger side and peered in.

It was Ichigawa, dressed in an evidently cheap, but new, navy blue suit, watching the taxi driver argue vehemently with the soldier at the window with a look that bordered on panic. Lelouch breathed a sigh of relief and opened the door in front of him, slipping into the back seat and ignoring Jeremiah's protest before closing it in his Knight's face.

"Good morning, Mr. Ichigawa. I'm glad you decided to take me up on my offer." He said.

Ichigawa gaped at him for a moment before regaining his composure. "You're highness, I apologize profusely for this commotion." The man said and Lelouch was under the impression that if they hadn't been seated in the back of a car he might have bowed or prostrated himself before Lelouch.

By this point in time, the cab driver had been made aware that there was another fare in the back of his car and had turned around to stutter and gape in Lelouch's face. The man kept looking between Lelouch and Ichigawa like he couldn't believe it. No doubt he'd given the Japanese man a lot of trouble for making such a seemingly unreasonable request as to be taken to the Viceroy's Palace. He should have foreseen this hassle and sent a car to pick Ichigawa up instead of subjecting him to such a spectacle, but he hadn't wanted it to seem like he was pressuring the man.

Well, if nothing else, it would only compound the fact that Ichigawa was nothing like Kaguya.

"It's fine. Everyone is just trying to do their jobs." Lelouch said calmly before turning to toward the front seat. "Evan, let this one through just this once." He called to the soldier outside the driver's door. It was one of the few soldier's on duty whose name he actually knew.

"As you wish, your highness." The soldier said, snapping a salute as he stepped away from the vehicle.

Lelouch nodded before turning to the cabbie, "If you would please drop us off in front of the steps, I would greatly appreciate it."

"Ah, yes, sir." The man yelped quickly before wincing. "I mean, your highness, sir."

The car was thrown into gear and driven the couple hundred feet from the main gate to the steps, though he noticed the driver was sweating bullets the entire time. He tossed a hundred pound bill over into the front of the car when they arrived, despite Ichigawa's protest the he could pay for himself, before allowing the valet to open the door for him.

He stepped out, gaining mild surprise from the cameramen hovering around the steps, before he turned back and gestured for Ichigawa to join him. The man did so hesitantly, stepping out into the open to the cacophony of camera shutters clicking and reporters manoeuvring to get a better view of them.

With this, his board or advisers was complete.

* * *

Kaguya fought to keep the frown off her face. Lelouch had been downright cold to her and his wife had been little better. Though that was to be expected since he knew exactly who it was that she supported, but aside from using her given name he'd acted like he didn't even know her. Even Suzaku had been distant with her, rebuffing all of her attempts at conversation with stoic silence.

It wasn't until Lelouch and his other Knight descended into the courtyard that Suzaku would even look at her, though the frown remained in place. "I won't help you try to manipulate Lelouch, Kaguya."

"Who said I was here for that?" She demanded.

"Well, whatever it is that you're planning, I won't be a part of it. Even if you are my cousin, that doesn't mean anything to me now." Suzaku said firmly.

"I'm not planning anything." She said with a huff. "I'm merely here so that our people have a voice."

Suzaku was quiet for a moment before shaking his head. "Then you shouldn't have bothered. No voice tainted with terrorism can speak for our people."

"You're angry at me." She surmised. She'd been there two years ago when Suzaku had decided to run away from home. She'd been his sounding board as he'd worked himself up to making the choice to leave. She'd listened to him rage against what was happening to Japan, listened to him condemn terrorism and convince himself that peacefully working within the Britannian system was the only way to make the changes the Japanese needed.

And all that time as she listened to him, she hadn't once told him just what it was her family did for the Japanese resistance. She'd held her tongue, sworn to secrecy by her father as he'd begun teaching her everything she'd need to know to succeed him. No doubt it tasted like betrayal to him.

Suzaku glanced away. "Yeah." He admit. Silence reigned between them for a moment before he continued. "Japan doesn't need you if the only way you can think to solve a problem is through mindless murder and violence. And Lelouch especially doesn't need you." He finished as he gestured to the last car that had pulled up.

It was a taxi. She frowned, not quite understanding the implication of it until Lelouch stepped out from the backseat of it, quickly followed by a Japanese man in a business suit. She felt herself tense as the man glanced around, obviously overwhelmed by the media presence before the prince escorted him up the steps, walking side-by-side with the man as if there wasn't a class gap between them.

Damn him. Damn Lelouch to hell. She'd wanted to prove that she was proud of her heritage, but compared to the man Lelouch was introducing to some of the other advisers, she looked gaudy and petulant whereas the man looked humble and serious. It was easy to tell which of them the others would take more seriously. Even without the handicap of her youth, just by pressing her differences, she'd caused the others to look down on her.

And by sticking by Suzaku, she'd lost the chance to ingratiate herself with the other advisers. She watched keenly as the man was introduced to three of the others. Two of them were predictably hesitant in their welcome, though one of the nobles eagerly shook the man's hand and struck up a short conversation. Introductions to Lelouch's wife and the man who had been conversing with her were short and perfunctory as neither of them seemed overly pleased.

Then Lelouch was in front of her, sending her a small, triumphant smirk before introducing the man. "Kaguya, this is Mr. Kouki Ichigawa. And this is Miss Kaguya Sumeragi." Lelouch said, gesturing between the two.

Damn him. Not only was the man making her look like a fool, but Lelouch had chosen freaking Buddha to undermine her. The man was a saint. And she was a financier for terrorist organizations. What could they possibly agree on?

Ichigawa stiffened upon recognizing her name, bowing slightly in the ghost of a gesture long since out of practice in this country. "Lady Sumeragi, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise." She said as she mirrored the bow, careful not to show subservience and lower herself even a degree more than he had.

"Well then, that's enough of stranding out in the cold." Lelouch said cheerfully. "Let's all go inside and get to work."

Suzaku left her side, moving like he was magnetically attracted to Lelouch to fall into place behind his shoulder just as the other Knight mounted the stairs and joined them. She followed behind the prince with Ichigawa as servants raced to open doors for them and the rest of the advisers.

She scrutinized the interior of the Viceroy's Palace with keen eyes, never knowing when the information might come in handy as they were led up the stairs and into a board room with a long table and more seats than necessary for the number of people in their group.

"Please, seat yourselves wherever you'd like." Lelouch said as he sat himself at the head of the table. His Knights remained standing, Suzaku next to the door and Gottwald at Lelouch's shoulder. If there was ever a threat, Gottwald would be able to protect Lelouch while Suzaku disposed of the attacker. It was surprising that Lelouch felt he needed his protection here when only minutes ago he'd entered an unsecured vehicle for Ichigawa. She couldn't help but wonder if it was her presence that was putting him so on edge.

She sat two seats away from Lelouch, folding her hands demurely in her lap as she watched the others take their places. Surprisingly, Princess Abigail didn't sit right next to her husband. Instead, the princess took a seat almost as far away from him as she could while one of the older gentlemen sat down on the prince's right. Ichigawa sat three seats down from her and the nobleman who had tried to strike up a conversation with him earlier sat down on his right, in between them. Whether he intended to cut her off from him or if it was merely coincidence, the result was the same. There was no way for them to present a united Japanese front. At least not today.

"Right then." Lelouch said. "I think most of you know each other already, but just for those who don't, I'll go over it quickly. To my right is Duke Calares. He's been serving as my proxy since I became Viceroy and will serve as the chairman of this board. Essentially, he's the one who will be speaking for you collectively and leading your discussions as he's already familiar with my style of ruling.

"Next is Mr. Stephen Albertson of AC Enterprises who is here to represent the business interests of Area Eleven. Further down the table from him is the ever-prominent Duke Hamilton. Next to him is my wife, Abigail vi Britannia. They, along with Lord Mars on the other side of the table will be representing the interests of Britannians and the nobility. Then, we have Mr. Kouki Ichigawa, the former chair of the Economics Department at Tokyo University. And on the other side of Lord Mars, is Miss Kaguya Sumeragi, whose family has served as an intermediary between the Britannian government and Area Eleven's local industries since before the end of the invasion."

Kaguya let out a quiet sigh of relief when that was all he said about her. Of course he wouldn't have revealed her ties to the JLF in front of these people, but he could have made it seem like she was only there because she was related to Suzaku. This at least gave her some credibility. Though not much. And she'd still been pitched to the others as a traitor to Japan. That, coupled with her style of dress today would ensure that everyone in the room knew that she was two-faced.

Maybe . . . maybe she should have let Kirihara take her place after all. He would have been able to command the respect of these people better than she. And he would know what to do now, since Lelouch obviously wasn't going to make this easy for her.

But it wasn't like she could change her mind now even if she'd wanted to.

* * *

Kallen had been lucky again. Her nose was still not broken. She did, however, have a black eye that had swollen up so badly after the fight that she hadn't even been able to see out of it. She also had severely bruised ribs and shoulders that ached every time she breathed or moved in the wrong way.

It seemed like her training mates hadn't actually been trying to kill her this time either.

Surprisingly enough, there had been no punishment for her wrongdoings this time. It was almost like the Sergeant had just given up on disciplining them. She'd expected to get out of the infirmary to discover that she had to be up all night running obstacles again. Instead, she'd been allowed to go to bed at the regular time along with the rest of her attackers.

At first she'd been worried about them assaulting her again while she slept, but it seemed like everyone else in the barracks found the lack of punishment odd as well and a tangible tension hovered in the air. They weren't stupid. They knew they ought to be getting their asses handed to them by the Sergeant for fighting again. The very lack of what they knew they deserved had them all on edge.

Nevertheless, Kallen enjoyed the prospect of sleeping without injury for what it was and settled into bed that night with an icepack over her swollen face.

She remained at ease through drills the next morning, forcing her sluggish, sore body to its limit so that she didn't lose her place near the top of the rankings, content with rubbing it in her training mates' faces that she was still better than them even in this condition.

It wasn't until that afternoon when their Sergeant left them at attention on the parade ground for a few hours that she began to worry. Instinctively, she knew that this was it. The Sergeant was planning something and it was unlikely to be pleasant. Still, even with that suspicion, she wasn't at all prepared to see Lelouch and his Knights following their Sergeant toward the parade grounds.

_ Oh shit._

She was dead meat. She'd never in a million years have expected the Sergeant to take this mess to Lelouch. Hell, she hadn't even known that the Sergeant was aware of her connection to the prince. The bitch had done a damned fine job of hiding it and not playing favourites.

She reassessed her stance, making sure it was textbook perfect, though there was no hiding the state of her face and the damage she'd caused to some of the other girls. Beside her, Kasumi audibly gasped before clamping down on the reaction. All down the line of recruits there was a subtle, muted shift of girls correcting their posture and reacting to the Viceroy's presence.

Kallen swallowed back her nerves and attempted to look calm. She doubted she was actually succeeding, but there was nothing she could really do about that at the moment. It was hard to seem calm when you knew the Wolf of Britannia was coming for you.

Lelouch was in uniform, but even so it was impossible not to know that he was a prince. He exuded and aura of arrogant confidence so thick she was damned near choking on it.

"Ladies." He said, his voice low and dangerous like it went when he was threatening her. Damn, damn, damn. "I hear you all like to fight with each other."

The statement was met with silence, though if possible the tension grew even thicker.

"You, step forward."

Kallen felt her heart stop for a moment before she realized that he was pointing at one of the other girls further up the line. It was Janelle. Damn it all again.

"Sir!" Janelle said, stepping out of the ranks and saluting stiffly.

"Explain the problem here." Lelouch ordered.

"Private Wallbridge and Private Watabi have repeatedly assaulted other members of our training group, sir."

That lying piece of shit. Kasumi didn't have anything to do with it and aside from trying to stop her last time, the Honorary Britannian had never so much as lifted a finger against another one of their training members, not even to defend herself. Kallen grit her teeth.

"Wallbridge, Watabi, step forward." Lelouch snapped.

Kallen did so with reluctance, surprised with the calm Kasumi was exuding beside her. The Japanese girl had to be panicking on the inside, but none of that was visible on the surface. Or maybe she was just resigned to the worst.

"Sir." She said with markedly less enthusiasm than Janelle had. Kasumi echoed her.

"Explain yourselves."

"Private Watabi had nothing to do with this. She's never fought against anyone here, sir." She said instead of explaining.

"Noted, but that's not what I asked you. _Why_ did you assault your team mates?" He demanded.

"They assaulted Private Watabi and myself twice without provocation so I responded to a threat, sir." She ground out.

Lelouch frowned, his violet eyes boring into her before casting back down the line of recruits. "You." Lelouch said, pointing to a girl at the opposite end of the line from Kallen. "What's your name?"

"Private Olivia Alexander, sir!" The girl shouted in response.

"You don't look like you've got a mark on you. Why is that?" Lelouch asked.

"I refused to get involved in this petty squabbling, sir." Olivia said.

"So you just sat back and watched your comrades go into a fight without doing anything?"

Kallen fought to keep herself from glaring at Lelouch. He was saying it like it was a bad thing, like she should have joined in. Asshole.

"Yes, sir." Olivia said.

"Why?" Lelouch demanded.

"I'm here to fight Britannia's enemies, not her allies, sir." She replied.

"Nicely said." Lelouch nodded approvingly. "So then, tell me which one of them is in the wrong here."

"I think they're all in the wrong, sir." Olivia answered.

"Elaborate." Lelouch said with a frown.

"It's true that Private Wallbridge and Private Watabi were assaulted by the others, but it is also true that Private Wallbridge has gone out of her way to aggravate and alienate herself from the rest of the group. I don't condone the way they group as a whole responded to it, but at the same time it's not hard to see why they did, sir."

Well, that wasn't a lie. It wasn't like she'd gone around trying to play nice with everyone even though she could have. And she had always been quick with her demeaning comments to the others when she'd bested them at any exercise.

"And Private Watabi?" Lelouch asked.

"From what I've observed, Private Watabi has tried to remain uninvolved with the altercations as much as she can, but that's difficult when she's being targeted. I've never seen her even defend herself against an attack. Most incidents I've seen result in Private Wallbridge protecting her before things can escalate too far, sir.

"Thank you, Private Alexander." Lelouch said, before turning back down the line to level Janelle with a penetrating stare. "Do you want to amend your earlier statement?"

Janelle grimaced.

"You lied to me."

"I apologize, sir." She said.

"You apologize?" Lelouch said, eyebrow rising in surprise. "You know who I am, don't you? How many people do you think get to lie to me?"

"Not many, sir." Janelle answered.

"_None." _Lelouch said with emphasis.

The corner of Kallen's lip twitched up in a smirk at watching Janelle squirm under Lelouch's gaze. Having been the subject of his anger before, she knew full well how uncomfortable it was. Unfortunately, the prince hadn't order his Knight to break Janelle's fingers yet.

"Go stand over there." Lelouch ordered, pointing to the space in front of Olivia's end of the line.

"Yes, sir." Janelle said with a salute before moving to where he'd indicated in a bizarre form of time out.

"Do you find this amusing, Wallbridge?" Lelouch asked, turning his head to glare at her. His gaze hit her like a pair of lances through the chest, completely knocking the breath out of her and immobilizing her.

"No, sir." She answered stiffly.

Lelouch moved down the line to stand in front of her again and a knot of tension formed in the back of her neck and between her shoulders. Yeah, she knew nothing good could come of Lelouch barging in on her training. Maybe he'd just decide she was too much trouble and get rid of her.

"Private Watabi." Lelouch said, not taking his eyes off of Kallen.

"S-sir!" Kasumi said, stumbling over the word.

"Do you need Wallbridge to protect you?" The prince asked.

"No, sir." Kasumi answered immediately and without hesitation.

Bullshit. If it weren't for her, Kasumi would have been battered half to death by now just for being in top physical shape. Like it or not, it was Kallen who had been keeping the Honorary Britannian out of the fire.

"Good. Then I want you to show her just how little protection you actually need." Lelouch said to Kasumi before glancing back to Kallen and gesturing back toward Janelle. "Why don't you join Blondie over there, Wallbridge."

"Yes, sir." She said sullenly before stepping around him and heading towards Janelle. He followed behind her instead of giving further instructions to Kasumi. She turned her head slightly and looked out of the corner of her eye, somehow unsurprised to find Kururugi speaking quietly to the Japanese girl.

"You didn't really think that I'd let you be discharged if you made enough trouble here, did you, Kallen?" Lelouch hissed next to her ear, sending a thrill of dread down her spine. Yeah, whatever he had in store for her, it was sure to be unpleasant.

* * *

Suzaku sighed. Lelouch was having far too much fun with this. The prince was enjoying watching Kallen squirm without giving consideration to how it was making the rest of the recruits feel. Not to say that they didn't deserve to be uncomfortable as they were shamed.

In any other training group, the entire lot of them would have been discharged at the very first incident and made to attempt the training again from the beginning. It was only because Lelouch was trying to rush Kallen through Basic that that hadn't happened. He was sure that if Lelouch had had more time, he would have gotten a kick out of making Kallen do the Basic training over and over again every time she stepped out of line. At the very least, it would have instilled a sense of discipline and obedience in her.

But Lelouch was pressed for time, so instead they got this. Suzaku sighed again and glanced at the girl in front of him. He didn't envy her. He had been lucky going through his Basic training. There had been a total of four Honorary Britannians in his training group, so the harassment had been fairly equally split between them. To be the only Japanese girl in this group had to be rough. Though from what had been said, Kallen was doing a fine job of taking the edge of their assault by throwing herself under the bus instead.

"He wants you to fight them." Suzaku said quietly in Japanese, sure that none of the other recruits would be able to understand what he was saying to her. "Both of them at once."

It was a tall order and once again he felt bad for her. But he'd read through her file just as Lelouch had. Usually when a recruit put down what kind of formal training they'd had previous to enlisting, they would only state the type. This girl had written down a half dozen different styles for each martial art she had mastered and the school from which she had been trained. She was obviously the child of a dojo and had probably been learning how to hit things since she could walk.

All the same, he didn't know for certain. It was just supposition. He could be way off base and about to throw her into something way over her head. Though, to be fair, neither Kallen or the other girl were exactly in pristine fighting condition, so maybe she had a chance regardless.

"Yes, sir." She said quietly in Britannian.

Suzaku frowned at her meekness even though he knew he'd been just like her before Lelouch had taken him under his wing. "Can you beat them?" He asked. If she said that she couldn't, he'd signal to Lelouch to call this entire thing off.

Watabi frowned and glanced at Kallen and the blonde out of the corner of her eye for a moment, quietly assessing them as if for the first time before nodding slightly. "Yes, sir."

Suzaku mirrored her glance, watching the two girls and picking out anything that he would want to know if he were the one about to fight them.

"The blonde one, I forget what her name is, but don't take her lightly. She's a high school women's kickboxing champion. She won a couple tournaments. She's tall, so she had a long reach." Suzaku revealed, unsure just how much the Watabi knew about the girls she was training with. He'd read it in the girl's file when Lelouch had been interviewing their sergeant.

"The other one hasn't been formally trained. She's a street fighter, a brawler and much more comfortable with a knife or a Knightmare than she is with her fists." Suzaku said, remembering the two occasions on which he'd actually tried to fight Kallen outside of a Knightmare. They were hardly good indicators of the way in which the redhead fought. The first time, he'd been trying not to cause a scene after her failed assassination attempt and the second time, she hadn't even been trying to fight him at all and he'd simply wound up pinning her to the back of a door.

Watabi nodded again. "I understand, sir. I will try not to let the Viceroy down."

Suzaku chuckled slightly. "Just don't hurt yourself over something like this. It's more important that you continue to excel in your training."

"Understood, sir." The girl said before tilting her head to either side to loosen the muscles and shaking out her hands.

"Alright, go on then." He said, nodding toward Kallen and the kickboxer.

Watabi saluted to him before stepping out of the ranks and bowing stiffly to her opponents. Suzaku snorted in amusement. She was treating this like a match rather than being used as Lelouch's tool of revenge. In a way, he figured that was probably a good thing.

"Begin." Lelouch said calmly.

"Begin what?" Kallen snapped, obviously forgetting that she was supposed to be playing strangers with Lelouch and that her usual brand of disrespect wouldn't fly here.

Not that anyone bothered to answer her question. Watabi bolted forward, dropping to her knees to slide across the pavement under the punch the kickboxer sent at her face, simultaneously kicking the feet out from underneath Kallen. The red head went down like a sack of rocks, landing with a heavy 'oomph' on her back as the breath was knocked out of her from the impact.

Suzaku had never seen a move like that in a dojo. It seemed that that Japanese girl had learned a thing or two about fighting dirty on the streets as well. The blonde didn't wait for her to recover her footing, aiming a low kick at the Japanese girl's face, which she only just barely avoided by throwing herself onto her back and rolling a few feet away. Once Watabi regained her feet, she took a more conventional stance and began circling around the kickboxer, putting more space between her and Kallen, who was still trying to remember how to breathe correctly, so that she had both opponents in her field of vision.

Kallen seemed to have given up on the fight all together. She wasn't even trying to get up, instead laying flat out on the ground and clutching at her torso as if she were in unimaginable pain. She might very well have been. Suzaku wasn't exactly sure what kind of injuries she'd sustained from brawling with her comrades, but the sergeant had told them that she'd been beaten to losing consciousness in the last altercation so she had to be hurting somewhere.

The kickboxer didn't give her much time to circle, instead closing the distance and following up with a high kick that she wasn't fast enough to avoid. Suzaku winced sympathetically, he knew from experience that combat boots hurt like hell to be kicked with. Watabi took the boot in the throat and shoulder instead of the face, but he figured it probably hurt just about as much. She jumped back and coughed, giving herself a second to recover from the hit before diving back into the fray with renewed determination.

The two were fairly evenly matched. Lelouch was lucky that Kallen had decided to forfeit or he wouldn't have achieved anything with this aside from brutalizing an Honorary Britannian. Which would have more or less defeated the point. It was a close match but the slighter and faster Japanese girl managed to get in under a kick that had been thrown her way in order to drive her elbow into the blonde's stomach so hard that it that dropped the kickboxer to her knees.

For a moment, no one spoke as Watabi stood panting over the fallen pair. Kallen looked like she could probably have gotten up now if she'd wanted to, but she didn't make a move. The other girl knelt, clutching at her stomach as she tried to regain her breath and not lose consciousness.

Lelouch let the tension hang for a moment so that all of the recruits had the opportunity to see that yes, Watabi could fight and fight well and that she was only putting up with their shit out of politeness. Then he stepped up behind the girl and clapped his hand on her shoulder.

"Well done, soldier." Lelouch said before gesturing for her to rejoin the ranks. The other two moved to get up and fall back in line as well, but Lelouch shook his head. "You two, stay down."

Then Lelouch proceeded to step over them as if they were beneath his notice to address the rest of the line. "This isn't your high school, girls. This is the Britannian Army and you will conduct yourselves like soldiers from now on. There is no room for cliques and petty bullying in the military. You will work together – all of you – and you will like it. Otherwise, I will personally make sure that the rest of your careers are more miserable than you can even fathom.' Lelouch said, shooting a significant look Kallen's way. "Am I understood?"

"Sir, yes, sir." Came the chorusing response before Lelouch turned back to the two downed girls beside him.

"And you two?"

Kallen bared her teeth as she sat up, clutching at her torso as she used the excuse of her injury to glare at Lelouch. "I understand you perfectly, sir." She ground out.

"Good. Jeremiah, Suzaku, let's go." Lelouch snapped.

Suzaku spared a backwards glance and a small thumbs up at Watabi, who blushed furiously in response, before he followed after Lelouch. Just once, he wouldn't mind if Lelouch followed conventional punishments when he was pissed at someone instead of taking the time to create new ones that were aimed at his victim's weak spots. But he should know better by now. At least his days were never boring.

* * *

AN: Not quite as long of a wait as last time. :) Hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think.

Thanks for reading,

Allora


	93. Chapter 93: It's Five O'Clock Somewhere

Chapter 93: It's Five O'Clock Somewhere

Euphy flicked down the newspaper in front of her with a frown. It was a foreign paper that she had specifically delivered from Area Eleven that ran the stories that didn't necessarily make it into the homeland's news. The story that had caught her eye that afternoon was on the front page, the headline reading '_The Wolf Branches Out For Help'._

Beneath the article was a picture of Lelouch shaking the hand of a Japanese girl in a kimono. The contrast between them was stark. Lelouch had been clad in a dark suit and cape, all Britannian in appearance while the girl in the picture seemed to be trying to cling onto her Japanese heritage with a delicate pink silks. Even so, Lelouch had welcomed the girl with open arms into an advisory board that would help to deal with the day to day governance of Area Eleven.

It was an idea that was downright _novel_. Generally speaking, Britannian governments liked absolute monarchies. From the Emperor to the Viceroys, they all clung to that all-encompassing power as if to loosen their hold would lose it to them forever.

But Lelouch was willingly letting go. He was inviting people to take over for him. Giving them a position with some authority with which to act. She couldn't even express in words how much this idea interested her; the possibilities for the future she could see with this with a country, an Empire, not governed by the whims of a single man, but by the voice of the people.

She'd always been fascinated by democracies. But even though she understood the concept, she couldn't even fathom what it would be like to live under one; for the _people_ to have a say in their government. She had been born and bred into the Imperial family, as an heir to a monarchical throne and it had robbed her of that particular experience.

She wanted to be a part of what Lelouch was doing in Area Eleven. She wanted to see it with her own eyes, and shape it with her own hands. If she could coax Lelouch into giving up more power, into allowing the people to vote for their representative members of his board, she could really see a chance to change the Empire. If they could prove it worked in Area Eleven, even their father would have to give it some thought.

But to be there, she would have to take the final plunge. She would have to stick to her side of the bargain with Cornelia. She would have to take a Knight.

Her gaze shifted from the headlines when Villetta entered the room, as if drawn by her line of thought. As usual, despite weeks of spending time together, the woman dropped to her knee. "Your highness, you wished to see me?"

For once, she didn't bother with preamble. After all, Villetta already knew that she was being considered for Knighthood. "Will you be my Knight of Honour?" She asked simply.

Villetta froze in front of her. Euphy was pretty sure the woman stopped breathing altogether for a moment before taking in a deep breath and bowing even closer to the ground. "Yes, your highness. It would be a great privilege to serve you."

"The ceremony won't be magnificent, I'm afraid. It will be a hurried and subdued affair. We will be returning to Area Eleven as soon as it's done. I'm sorry." She said apologetically. She had watched Lelouch's recent knighting ceremony on the television. It had been a lavish event, more celebratory than any other that she had seen to date. Hers would be nothing like it.

"I was never one to enjoy the spotlight." Villetta assured her with a small smile.

"Neither am I." Euphy said quietly. She hated being the centre of attention, where she was always compared to Cornelia.

Villetta glanced over at the paper she had set aside. "You mean to go visit your brother?"

"I mean to go aid him." She answered, her voice firm. She'd already made up her mind.

Her Knight regarded her calmly for a few moments before sighing. "Are you not afraid to return after last time?"

Euphemia paused, frowning thoughtfully. Had she been afraid? At Lake Kawaguchi, there was no question about it. She'd been terrified when she'd been taken hostage by the JLF. But during the attack on Ashford, she'd been more afraid of not knowing what had happened to everyone else than she had been about her own safety.

She'd been depressed, mournful and self-loathing after the attack, but not afraid. Never afraid. It was so much worse having to worry about someone else than it was having to worry about her own safety.

"I will be careful to prevent such a tragedy from reoccurring. I will not be returning to school and I will remain with a full military escort when in public. I won't let myself become a target this time." She said.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that. It will make guarding you much easier." Villetta said with a slight smile.

"I'm not that hard to guard." Euphy pouted in response.

* * *

Lelouch sat at the head of the conference room, hands nested together on the tabletop as his board of advisers perused the document that had just been handed out to them. He glanced down at his hands then around the table, carefully noting each council member's expressions. They were all evidently astonished. Even Kaguya managed to throw on a passably surprised expression though it wasn't the first time she'd seen the document in front of her.

Predictably, Duke Hamilton was the first to toss the document down onto the table. "This is ridiculous." The man growled. Lelouch had assumed the man would be the first to disapprove.

"In what way?" Lelouch asked politely.

"The Number System has been in place for decades. You can't just do away with it on a whim. The Emperor will not approve." The duke replied.

"His Majesty entrusted this country to me and gave me the power to do with it as I will. His only stipulation was that I get rid of the terrorists that threatened the people." Lelouch said, sparing a surreptitious glance Kaguya's way –no reaction– before following through to run his gaze over the rest of the group.

"Well, I think it's a revolutionary idea." Lord Mars said. "And a very large leap in the right direction."

He nodded toward Mars before turning his attention back to Hamilton to see how he would respond. He wasn't disappointed.

"Of course you would, Lord Mars. Your compunction over the state of the Elevens is well known." The duke said disdainfully. "I half expect to find you out there feeding the poor in your spare time. Of course, to do that you would have to leave the safety of your gilded cage and face the reality that they would rip you to shreds the moment they had the chance. To allow this legislation to go through would be like releasing a pack of wolves into a flock of sheep. To date, the Elevens had shown their ruthlessness toward the Britannian people at every possible opportunity."

"Fascinating that you liken the Britannians to sheep amongst wolves when His Majesty expounds on the idea of the survival of the fittest, Lord Hamilton." Kaguya said softly, almost demurely, despite the barb she had delivered.

Duke Hamilton sent her a withering glare. "Perhaps I should correct myself then, Miss Sumeragi. Even the mightiest of beasts can be brought low by _parasites_. And once the infection has spread throughout the herd, it is impossible to cull without incurring heavy casualties."

Kaguya didn't respond again, but she smiled slyly behind her hand as she bowed her head in acquiescence. She hadn't been cowed, she was merely choosing not to pick a fight.

"What do the rest of you think?" Lelouch asked calmly, gesturing to the rest of his board.

"I have to oppose it. Doing this would flood the market with cheap labour. Many hardworking Britannians would lose their jobs in the wake of such legislation, your highness." Albertson said.

"That is true." Lelouch nodded. "But with significant public works scheduled, the surplus of workers should be alleviated somewhat."

"Public works such as what, Lelouch?" Abigail asked from the opposite end of the table, her tone letting him know that she was thoroughly unimpressed.

"I will schedule the reconstruction of the ghettos. They're unsightly as they are now and having half of the country as little more than ruins does nothing to show the glory of Britannia to our enemies. Such an effort will require a significant workforce." He answered, though the glory of Britannia was the least of his concerns.

"First this rubbish legislation and now a full scale revitalization of the ghettos? What exactly is your goal, your highness?" Duke Hamilton demanded.

"Britannians sit like kings over the conquered masses and the only way we seem to know how to deal with them is with overwhelming military force. We are an empowered few over a powerless many." He said, giving a half-answer

"And by maintaining that balance we ensure that the Numbers cannot defeat us." Abigail said firmly, a serious frown on her lips.

"Tell me, all you nobles and well-to-do, if you go into a man's house does it inspire confidence in the master to see that all of his attendants are dirty, malnourished and bruised? Or would you rather see educated, polite and healthy servants?" Lelouch asked, gesturing with one hand to where Suzaku stood behind his shoulder. "Which paints the master in a better light? Which makes him seem stronger? More confident?"

There was a long moment of silence around the table as they considered his words and Suzaku carefully. His Knight was in impeccable order, as usual; his uniform pressed, his back straight, his chin up and gaze straight ahead as if at attention.

Kaguya's hand curled into a tight, angry fist but she said nothing to draw attention to herself and glanced away. Lelouch smirked before continuing. "That is all I'm suggesting. I'm not doing away with the Number System. I do not have that much authority. But if we ensure that the Elevens are fed, healthy and made into _productive_ members of society, Area Eleven will be all the stronger for it."

"Is this your solution to your financial crisis or the terrorist crisis, your highness?" Ichigawa asked, though he was evidently nervous to let his voice be heard.

"Both. By granting Elevens citizenship rights I expand the tax base. And by giving Elevens access to their basics needs and things like schools and jobs, I take away their reason for fighting." Lelouch nodded.

"What financial crisis?" Abigail asked sharply.

He sighed in exasperation. "Honestly, did you think this country has endless coffers just because of its Sakuradite mines? Even though Area Eleven has been deemed conquered by the powers that be, the fact of the matter is that we've been in a constant state of war for almost eight years now. That, combined with mismanagement by Clovis, the riots that swept through the country in the wake of his death and the effective loss of all income from Osaka has left the country, for all intents and purposes, broke."

Duke Hamilton sighed heavily and pinched at the bridge of nose. "Perhaps you should have taken all of that into consideration before embezzling funds from the government to fund your pleasure palace, your highness."

"Perhaps I should have, but the construction of my pleasure palace is the _only_ thing providing people jobs in Osaka at the moment. The rest of the population is hidden away doing nothing in the protective zones."

"When do you intend to lift the quarantine on Osaka and put people back to work then?" The duke asked.

"When I've eradicated the significant Kenshiki presence in the city and have either found or destroyed the Knightmares they stole." Lelouch answered. "But I will not be discussing military strategy with this council."

"Fair enough. Aside from Lord Calares, I doubt any of us have military experience anyway." Lord Mars said, preempting whatever it was Duke Hamilton was about to say.

The comment drew attention to his proxy, who had remained silent during the discussions thus far. "Your thoughts?" He asked the man.

"I think you need to proceed very carefully with this legislation, your highness. I don't harbour any thought to dissuading you from going through with it. If you've put this much effort into it already, I know you well enough by now to know that you're going to follow through. But you need to approach it with a delicate touch or you may have more riots on your hands." Calares said slowly, as if still pondering the issue.

"Then I will put you in charge of seeing it bear fruit. I feel I can trust your delicate hand to see to the matter." Lelouch said.

"Wait a moment, we have yet to come to agreement about this." Mr. Albertson said.

Lelouch blinked in surprise. "This is not a democracy and I'm not asking for your permission. I'm asking for your cooperation. By all means, if you can convince me of my folly I will abandon this ploy but my heart is fairly set on it."

As expected, there was another bout of heated argument following the statement and his council polarized. Hamilton, Albertson and Abigail argued vehemently against, while Kaguya, Ichigawa and Mars argued for. He sat as a spectator next to Calares, who was firmly in his camp, and watched the discussion devolve.

This group would never agree on anything.

* * *

Gino took a deep breath before pushing open the massive double doors to the throne room. Court was not in session so the room was silent as he entered, footsteps echoing off the marble as he passed decorative columns to approach the throne. The Emperor was there, alone except for Bismarck who hovered in the shadows behind the throne.

"Your Majesty." He said as he sank to his knee before the dais. "It is my honour to serve."

"Oh? Have you repented then, Gino?" The Emperor asked like he was speaking to a small child who had been reprimanded for throwing a tantrum.

He let out a slow breath, not letting the tone jar him from his purpose.

"I have, Your Majesty."

Upon returning to capitol, he and Anya had been accused of abandoning their mission in favour of following Prince Lelouch's orders to bring Princess Euphemia back to the homeland. Foolishly, he had argued that their mission had already been completed, that Sir Kururugi had passed the test with flying colours and that if given the chance to do it all again, he would still value the princess' safety over humiliating a capable Knight.

He'd been placed under house arrest for his trouble and told to reevaluate his priorities. To add insult to injury, he hadn't been confined to his apartment within the Imperial Palace, but to the Weinberg estate, tossed back into the clutches of his mother.

As far as he was aware, Anya had apologized immediately and had been sent on another mission by herself in the meanwhile. She'd sent him a brief message before she'd left, urging him to stop being stubborn. But he was kind of pigheaded, even though he knew the punishment was lax and that he was lucky he hadn't lost his rank. So it was only now, after weeks of familial torture, that he'd finally given in.

"Good. I understand that Lelouch can be rather charismatic."

Gino said nothing, not sure how he was supposed to respond to the statement. The prince was charismatic in the way that he bled off confidence like there was a limitless supply. It was hard to oppose someone who was just so damned sure of himself. But that wasn't the reason why he'd gone against his orders. He'd done it for Princess Euphemia, because he hadn't wanted to have to watch as she got hurt again.

"Do you like him?" The Emperor asked.

Gino frowned. Did he like Lelouch? Not particularly. Despite being charming and confident when he wanted to be, he was also vicious and ruthless. His presence was overbearing in a way that was very similar to the Emperor. You were with him or you were against him. There was no room for middle ground.

"Only as much as any of your other children, Your Majesty." He answered, hoping that was suitably neutral.

"Oh? I wasn't aware you held all of my children in such esteem, Gino." The Emperor said, his smile taunting.

"Of course. They are of your lineage, Your Majesty. I consider each and every one of them an extension of yourself." He replied, though he was getting dangerously close to revealing that he hadn't repented at all for his actions.

"How fortunate. In that case, I have a mission for you."

"You need only to tell me what you want me to do, Your Majesty. Anything you ask shall be done."

"Lelouch." The Emperor said.

Gino tensed and the memory of the prince emerging from his nonfunctional Knightmare, pistol in hand as he had accused Gino of attempting assassination came to mind. He hoped those words hadn't been prophetic. God knew it wouldn't be the first time he'd played assassin.

He bowed his head further so the Emperor wouldn't be able to see the panic in his eyes. "What about Prince Lelouch?"

"He's up to something. He's been rather active lately, and reckless as well. I suspect that it's all leading up to some master plan. I want you to go to Area Eleven and pledge your cooperation. I want you to protect him as you would protect me. Of all my children, he is the only one whose loss is unacceptable. Understand?"

"I do, Your Majesty. Prince Lelouch will come to no harm under my watch." He promised, secretly breathing a sigh of relief.

"The only life you will value over his is my own. I have plans for him." The Emperor continued. "You will stay with him until you are recalled and not before."

"Yes, Your Majesty." He agreed.

"Then go prepare yourself to leave."

He rose to his feet and sank into another stiff bow at the waist before turning on his heel and striding from the room. It seemed like he'd be getting to spend even more time with the prince and Suzaku. He wasn't sure how to feel about that.

He just hoped that Prince Lelouch kept the promise of future cooperation he'd made when he'd begged them to take Princess Euphemia home.

* * *

"Sorry about earlier."

Suzaku sighed. "Shut up, Lelouch. An obedient servant isn't the worst thing someone's called me. And it's true anyway. I know my place. You're the one who has trouble with the concept."

The prince huffed in annoyance. "You're always so damned stubborn and self-loathing."

"And you're always so apologetic when no one else is watching us." He countered in the same tone. "If you stopped doing and saying things you had to apologize for, and were just honest . . ."

Lelouch laughed mirthlessly. "Then what, Suzaku? All the world's problems would just go away."

Suzaku paused, then glanced out the window of the kitchen, considering the question. "No. You're probably right. The world would probably end the day you told the truth in public. The earth would stop spinning and crash into the sun or something equally catastrophic."

Lelouch smiled sadly, twirling the stem of his wine glass between his fingers. "You're probably right."

Lelouch had just returned from some kind of dinner with Abigail at Duke Hamilton's place. Suzaku guessed that the experience hadn't been all that enjoyable, because the first thing Lelouch had done after getting home was retreating to the kitchen to take the edge off with some horrible tasting wine. Suzaku had decided to join him, but hadn't been able to take more than a sip of the disgusting liquid.

"Probably." He agreed quietly.

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, staring into the dark garden beyond the window. Suzaku liked to think that he was growing as a person. That he was beginning to be able to accept Lelouch's faults instead of blaming him for them. He hadn't even flinched when Lelouch had chosen to make an example of him earlier that morning. It was just the way Lelouch operated. He was used to it by now.

"Have you heard from your family?" Lelouch asked eventually.

He tried his best to mask his annoyance. He didn't want to talk about them. He never wanted to talk about them. "No." He answered. "I assume they're busy with the move."

"Which house are they going to? There's three in the city, isn't there?" The prince persisted.

"I don't know. I doubt they'd tell me even if I asked. Not until they need me for something, in any case." He answered with a shrug.

Lelouch frowned but said nothing further on the subject. It wasn't like Lelouch was one to talk since he wasn't all that close to most of his family anyway. Aside from Nunnally, Euphemia, and possibly Schneizel, though he wasn't really sure what was going on between those two brothers, he doubted Lelouch would even flinch if the rest of them dropped dead. More likely he would celebrate.

"Should I ask you how your dinner went?" He asked, more to subtly go on the offensive and discourage further questioning about his family than because he was actually interested

Lelouch groaned and let his head drop down onto the counter in front of him. "Horrendous."

"Did you use the wrong fork at supper or something?" He teased.

"That's such an amateur mistake." Lelouch replied, rolling his eyes. "All the duke wanted to talk about was politics and policy. He harped continuously about the meeting earlier. I thought it was good manners never to talk about politics or religion in polite company. But no, all night he tried to convince me to abandon the equality legislation. And the duchess and Abigail were no help at all as they were both similarly incensed."

"Is that why you're not up there pretending to make googly eyes at her?" He asked.

"Can't I just get a break for a few minutes?" Lelouch complained.

"Fine by me." He chuckled.

But alas, it was not to be. No sooner had they agreed upon it, Edith was knocking at the door.

"Lelouch, you have a visitor." Edith said, glancing at the wineglass and at Lelouch as if assessing whether or not he was drunk.

"Jesus, it's almost eleven o'clock. Who the hell is calling at this hour?"

"A Mr. Lowsley."

"I don't know a Mr. Lowsley." Lelouch answered.

"He's . . . your brother-in-law." Edith answered.

"Damn. A little warning would have been nice." Lelouch grumbled as he heaved himself up from the stool he'd been seated on and dumped his half-empty glass into the sink.

"I'm sorry. I was unaware of his imminent arrival until he was already at the gate. The arrangements for his coming here were made entirely by your wife." Edith apologized.

"It's fine. Better get this over with." Lelouch grumbled before heading for the door.

Habit and curiosity caused Suzaku to follow, even though he was technically off duty. He fell into step a foot behind Lelouch like usual. They arrived in the entrance hall to find a monster of a man in a dark suit that screamed 'bodyguard' and a blonde teenager with his hands stuffed in his pockets in a way that screamed 'I don't want to be here'.

"Bruce." Lelouch said in a tone that suggested his disapproval. "And you must be Carson."

The teen eyed Lelouch warily for a moment before rolling his eyes and glancing away. "Yeah. And you're Lelouch vi Britannia." There wasn't the usual fear or awe that so many people usually felt when faced with Lelouch. Instead, it was almost like sarcasm or disdain. "You got saddled with that bitch, Abigail."

"Carson!" The princess snapped from the top of the stairs as she came to greet her brother.

They looked exactly alike. They had the same colour hair, the same eyes, the same high cheekbones, nose and snooty lips. If the brother had been a little older, Suzaku would have mistaken them for twins. It was almost uncanny.

"Speak of the devil and she shall appear." Carson grumbled before raising his voice. "What do you want this time, Abigail?"

"I want you to let me help you." Abigail answered with a glare as she came down the stairs.

"Oh. You're helping me now? That's what you call it when you send your goons to break into my apartment and kidnap me, dragging me halfway across the globe. That's _help, _is it? Silly me. Just like you were _helping_ me when you got me disowned and took my place as heir, right? Or when you got me kicked out of school because I lied about my 'real' name on my transcripts? Thank you, Abigail, but I've had quite enough of your _help_ already." Carson snarled.

"That isn't -" The princess began.

"Isn't what? Isn't your fault? Tell me how it isn't?"

"I'm just trying to help you, Carson. You never fussed when Mother -"

"Mother's dead and you're nothing like her, you scheming cunt." Carson snapped.

"Enough!" Lelouch barked. "Edith, show Carson to a guest room. Let's hope that by morning we'll be able to have a civil conversation."

"Of course, Lelouch." Edith said, curtseying slightly to the newcomer. "Mr. Lowsley, if you would follow me please."

It looked like Carson was going to argue against the dismissal, but the bodyguard roughly shoved him toward Edith before he could get so much as a word of protest out. He glared over his shoulder at the man, but followed Edith nonetheless.

"Bruce will need accommodations as well." Lelouch called to Edith's back.

"I'll send someone to see to it." Edith replied as she continued leading Carson to the eastern wing, the complete opposite side of the villa from Lelouch and Abigail's room.

For a moment no one spoke, then the princess sighed and quietly approached Lelouch. "I'm sorry. That was an unsightly display."

"It's fine. It's family. We'll deal with it tomorrow. I'm going to bed." Lelouch said, before sending a backhanded wave in Suzaku's direction as he began to climb the stairs. Abigail wound her arm around Lelouch's, evidently planning on following him to bed..

"Goodnight, Lelouch, Princess Abigail." Suzaku said, bowing politely as he watched them go. A moment later, a maid scurried down the hall to guide Bruce to his room.

Suzaku sighed. It was little wonder the prince's composure was beginning to fray around the edges. There was never a dull moment in Lelouch's life.

* * *

AN: Chapter titles are hard. :( So you get this one, which is an ode to the last scene only and my Mom's country music. Oh well.

And I used the dreaded c word which, I feel, is the most vulgar of all expletives. Sorry about that.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and I look forward to hearing from you. Don't forget to review, eh? :P

Allora


	94. Chapter 94: Patronage

Chapter 94: Patronage

Lelouch massaged his forehead, trying to get rid of his headache. It was far too early in the morning for his day to be going this wrong already. He'd delayed his morning appointments, intending to meet with Abigail's brother and sort out things at home before going to the office. The only problem being that, come morning, Carson was nowhere to be found.

Apparently he had taken it upon himself to liberate himself from his so called 'prison' and had slipped out some time in the night. Since the gate guards hadn't been instructed to keep him within the estate, they had let him go with nary a question. Normally, Lelouch wouldn't have been that worried about him, but according to Bruce, Carson hadn't brought even so much as his wallet with him to Area Eleven. It seemed the boy's accusations of being kidnapped were not all that far from the mark.

So, basically, Abigail's brother was lost in a foreign country without even so much as his identification. And unless he'd stolen something of value from the villa on his way out and had since pawned it, he had no money either.

Abigail stood with her arms crossed over her chest next to the window, impatience radiating from her every pore. At the rate things were going, she might just strangle him when he was brought back to the house. Lelouch had deployed his Royal Guard to try to find him, along with help from the police. Bruce had taken it upon himself to join the manhunt as well. With luck, it would only be a matter of time before he was found.

In the meanwhile, Lelouch sat idly in his office at home, unwilling to go to the office lest Carson return to the house only to be murdered by his sister for the trouble he had caused. It was his fault the kid had been brought here and he felt responsible for the situation it had created. Besides, he had a plan for the brat.

"Let's talk about something else." He said, though they hadn't been talking about anything, just brooding in silence. He just wanted to break the silence. "What do you think of the council?"

"It's a waste of time and a black mark on your reputation." Abigail snapped, her impatience bleeding over into the conversation.

Lelouch chuckled. "Maybe."

"For the life of me, I can't figure out why you chose those people. You know most of them will never agree with you." She elaborated. "And having me oppose you in public is damaging for the both of us."

"You could just agree with me." He shrugged. He honestly didn't care about the rumours that he couldn't even keep control over his wife let alone his country.

"No." She sniffed, raising her chin defiantly. "Maybe you should just agree with me."

"Mm, just slip back into the status quo. The superiority of nobility. I could throw a ball, waste money on a statue to myself or an amusement park named after myself -Lelouchland, what do you think? And I could just forget that more than half of my country is starving and living in terror. Perfect." He replied sarcastically.

"You're too soft on the Numbers." She chided.

"Maybe you just lack compassion for them." He returned, wondering how much longer they'd be able to continue this vein of conversation without descending into a fight.

"Why should I feel compassion for the enemies of the Empire?" Abigail asked. "They fought us in war, killed our soldiers, and were made to pay for their impudence."

Lelouch sighed. Not very long, it seemed. "Don't speak of war when you can't even comprehend it, Abigail. You have no idea what these people have been through."

"And you do?" She demanded.

"Yeah." He said darkly then turned back to his desk, effectively ending the conversation. He busied himself with a detailed account of his household's finances. Usually Edith saw to things like this, but since he was here until Carson got back anyway, he figured he might as well take a look at it.

It was already noon by the time that Carson was found. He'd been found loitering in a mall not too far away from the villa. But he'd been found by Bruce, unfortunately, and it was Bruce who forcefully dragged the boy into Lelouch's office by his collar at ten after twelve in the afternoon.

"Fuck off, you overgrown gorilla!" Carson snarled, jerking free of the man's grip.

"You're alright, it seems." Abigail noted.

"Sure, if that's what it looks like to you." Carson snapped back.

Lelouch let out a sigh and prayed for patience. "You can leave now, Bruce."

"I'm here to keep him in line, your highness." The bodyguard said.

"That's not necessary." He said, gesturing to the door. Instead of obeying, the man looked to Abigail, as if for permission. His temper flared after hours of inconvenience. "Do not look to my wife. _I_ told you to leave. This is my house and you will obey me, or you will get the hell out. This is family business and you have no part of it. Do you understand?"

There was a moment of hesitation before the older man nodded, bowing slightly to both he and Abigail before retreating. Carson snickered and Lelouch's gaze was on him in seconds.

"I wouldn't look so smug if I were you, Carson. You destroyed my schedule for the day." Lelouch growled, gesturing toward the seat opposite from his desk. "Sit."

For the first time since Carson had come into his house last night, the teen looked appropriately chastened. He sat, sinking down into the armchair across from the desk like all the minions of Hell would be after him if he didn't.

No one said anything, silent seconds ticking by before Lelouch leaned back in his chair. "So talk."

"About what?" Carson asked warily.

"Both of you, come to an understanding. If you're going to be staying here, I'm not going to be living with World War Three going on in the halls." Lelouch said.

"I'm not staying here." Carson said quickly. "I'm not a god damned charity case so don't fucking treat me like one."

"Why do you have to be so damned stubborn?" Abigail snapped. "I'm trying to help you."

"Why should I take help from my nemesis? Everything that has happened to me is your fault. You did this to me. You were the one who couldn't keep your god damned mouth shut and ran off to tell the duke about Mother's affair. It was your fault I was disowned. And now you want me to take your fucking help and act grateful?" Carson demanded. "Wake up, bitch. That's not how the real world works."

"I was thirteen, Carson!" Abigail protested. "And how was I supposed to know it had been going on for decades? I didn't know what was going to happen."

"So I should just forgive you because you didn't know?" The teen demanded.

"Yes." Abigail huffed exasperatedly.

"And what about all the other shit you did? What about yesterday when you sent that gorilla after me? Do you know that he busted down my door in the middle to night? My roommates almost shit themselves." Carson snarled.

Lelouch arched an eyebrow. Yeah, that was a little out of hand.

"You wouldn't have come otherwise." Abigail said quietly.

"Yeah. So maybe you should have just respected my right to tell you to fuck the hell off and left me be." Carson replied waspishly.

"If I did that, I'd never get to see you." Abigail reasoned.

"Because our reunions are always so warm and loving, huh?" Her brother said with a sarcastic sneer.

"Alright, enough." Lelouch said with a sigh. The conversation was going nowhere. "How old are you?"

"Sixteen."

"Fifteen. Your birthday isn't until March." Abigail corrected, earning an eye roll from her brother.

It just proved it once and for all that Nunnally was an _angel_. They were the same age, yet their dispositions were completely opposite. He couldn't help but feel like he'd dodged a bullet. He couldn't even imagine a defiant, obnoxious, foul-mouthed Nunnally. But regardless of the attitude, at fifteen, Carson was old enough to make informed decisions for himself.

"What do you want, Carson?" Lelouch asked.

"I want to go home and be left the fuck alone. I don't want to have to see that backstabbing bitch ever again." The teen said heatedly.

"_That's_ what you want?" Lelouch asked skeptically. "Every other time you open your mouth you bitch about Abigail stealing your inheritance but you want to just go back to your part-time job and your crappy apartment that you can't even afford without roommates?"

"Yeah, asshole. 'Cause that's all I've got." Carson retorted.

Lelouch sighed. This was quite possibly the worst idea he had had in recent memory, but it would be interesting. And he wasn't about to pass up another opportunity to interfere with whatever the Emperor had planned for him.

"Do you want more?" He asked.

"I already said I don't want your fucking charity." Carson growled.

"Well that's good, because I'm not offering you charity." Lelouch said. "So, are you going to listen to my proposal, or are you going to discard it out of hand?"

"What are you scheming now, Lelouch?" Abigail asked warily.

He didn't answer her in favour of keeping his gaze on her brother. Carson was watching him suspiciously, as if suspecting some kind of trick. "Tell me then."

"You may not be aware, but as a condition of my marriage to your sister, the duke named me his heir. So all of the lands and titles that you were supposed to inherit won't go to her. They'll go directly to me." He explained, watching as Carson's gaze narrowed into a glare.

"So what?" Carson asked.

"So, how about I give them back to you?" Lelouch asked, arching one eyebrow.

"How?" The teen demanded.

"I will name you my heir. I will write a will declaring that all of my lands and titles should pass to you upon my death." He explained.

"So . . . what? You want me to become Carson vi Britannia?"

"No. You will never be a part of the royal family and the vi Britannia line will die with me. You will simply gain my titles." He said.

"Yeah, when I'm like ninety." Carson huffed, rolling his eyes.

"Perhaps, but then again, royalty are rarely long lived." Lelouch said, shrugging.

Carson's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why?" He demanded. "Why would you want to do something like this? How does it benefit you?"

"It doesn't." He answered honestly. "I would be doing it for you. And for Abigail."

And to throw a wrench into the Emperor's plans for him, but Carson didn't need to know that.

"So what's the catch then?" The teen demanded.

"You will have to follow the conditions that I lay out." He said.

"Such as?" Carson asked expectantly.

"You will return to school. You will stay out of trouble, both in school and out. I can't have a delinquent as my named heir, understand?"

"Yeah. That's it?" Carson asked in surprise.

"No. You will make a concentrated effort to make amends with your sister. I'm not saying you have to be best friends, but the two of you will have to be able to stay civil in the same room with each other. And finally, no boasting or bragging about it. For your own safety, only people I know and trust should know that you've been named my heir." Lelouch continued.

Carson was quiet for another moment as if expecting more conditions before nodding. "Okay."

"Okay." Lelouch said as well. "I'll write the will before I leave for Osaka, just in case the worst should come to pass. Who knows, maybe you'll get lucky. Though, of course, the duke will have to pass away before I have anything more than estates to give you."

"That joke was in bad taste, Lelouch." Abigail chided.

He laughed, and surprisingly Carson joined him. But there was no reason for them not to be in good spirits after this. They had both gotten a little revenge today by undoing their father's works. Lelouch would cast off the nobility the Emperor had tried to acquire for the vi Britannias and Carson would regain what the duke had tried to strip him of. It was win-win all around.

* * *

Kallen stood straight at attention on the parade grounds in her dress uniform, almost shoulder to shoulder with the other recruits in her group. The change that had come over their group in the wake of the prince's little visit had been instantaneous. All at once, she was ignored instead of harassed. It was a step in the right direction and what she had been striving toward since day one.

Kasumi, on the other hand, was actively sought out by the others. They seemed to think that Lelouch had actively taken an interest in her because he'd chosen her to prove his point. And they seemed to think that by hovering around her, some of her limelight would be cast over them. They were bound to be disappointed when they found out that that wasn't the case.

She glanced out of the corner of her eye to where her sergeant was moving down the line of recruits, announcing where each was bound for more training, drawing closer with every second.

"Private Kallen Wallbridge . . . Knightmare Corps." Her sergeant said.

None of the others were bound for the Knightmare Corps and she smirked slightly at the thought before returning her expression to neutral and saluting. Beside her, Kasumi was sent to the Infantry Corps. There was an almost palpable air of disappointment from the rest of the group when the Japanese girl wasn't immediately inducted into Lelouch's Royal Guard or something like that. As if he'd be so stupid as to make a spectacle of it at a graduation ceremony.

They were released a moment later and the group quickly dispersed into the assembled crowd of onlookers, seeking out family and friends who had come to watch them graduate from Basic. There was no one there for her. Kallen Wallbridge was a friendless orphan and she was almost glad of the fact. When she thought about it, there was absolutely no one that she would want to see at this moment.

Her brother was probably rolling in his grave right now, seeing her like this. Not because she had gone this far, but because she was going this far to avenge Japan rather than protect it. The only reason she was doing all of this was because she wanted a shot at the Emperor. It was just a means to an end.

It looked like Kasumi was alone as well, though whether it was because she didn't have anyone to come see her or whether it was because they just weren't brave enough to walk onto the base, Kallen wasn't sure. She sent the other recruit a sympathetic smile before turning for the exit. She didn't have a reason to stick around and with luck she'd be able to slip away for a few hours and maybe talk to Ohgi. He was probably freaking out since he hadn't heard from her for so long. She wanted to put his mind at ease .

"Private Wallbridge."

She paused, glancing over her shoulder at the person who had just spoken to her. It took her about ten seconds to realize just who it was. She stiffened and jerked back before getting a hold of herself and saluting instead.

It was Lelouch, dressed inconspicuously in a grey-black three-quarter length wool jacket, with a scarf wrapped around his neck to ward off the chill. He had a matching grey-black newsboy cap pulled down over his hair, shading his face. He was almost unrecognizable out of his fancy suits and capes.

Lelouch smirked, standing confidently before her. Alone. But she wasn't stupid. Just because she couldn't see his Knights didn't mean they weren't lurking around somewhere, ready to shoot her at the prince's pleasure.

"At ease, soldier." The prince said, no doubt relishing the fact that she had actually cooperated and gone through with this stupid training.

She relaxed her stance, eyeing him warily. She had no idea what the hell he was doing here, unless he'd anticipated that she'd intended to slip her leash for a few hours and had preempted her. He scrutinized her silently as she garnered the attention of some of her training mates.

They didn't recognize him for who he was. Instead, they seemed to assume that he was her boyfriend come to see her graduate and were critiquing his appearance and how worthy they thought she was of him. According to the snippets of whispers she caught, he was completely out of her league.

"Are you ready?" He asked eventually.

"For what?"

Lelouch smirked. "The next step in your rehabilitation."

"AKTP?" She asked. The Advanced Knightmare Training Program was required before any Knight could be put into the field. It was the reason the Britannian Knightmare Corps were such a formidable force..

"No. You're going to skip that." The prince said easily. "You will challenge the examinations."

She quirked her eyebrow in surprise. She'd figured he'd get a kick out of dragging her through a redundant training program just to rub it in her face that he could. But if that wasn't the case, then what was the next step? Deployment? To where?

"Kneel." Lelouch said.

She froze up, every muscle in her body going tense, every joint locking up. Kneel? He wanted her to kneel and make pledges to him?

Not fucking happening.

He arched his eyebrow questioningly at her when she didn't move, as if daring her to continue standing, and she felt her defiance begin to crumble around the edges. How long would he tolerate her opposition? How long before he decided that she wouldn't follow orders after all; that she wouldn't be useful in his ploys? How long until he signalled to his Knights to take her out and she lost her shot at the Emperor?

She grit her teeth and glanced away, pissed off that he could bring her so low without even saying a word. Then she sank to her knee and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to pray for patience.

"Swear yourself to me." Lelouch ordered.

She hesitated for a moment before relenting. They were just words. Lelouch was an idiot if he thought that they would actually bind her or that they actually meant anything to her. They were just words that were said at some lame ceremony. A ritual without power.

She'd learned the required words during the History portion of her training and she said them in a dull monotone without enthusiasm or inflection. "To my lord, I pledge my life, my love and my honour. As sword or shield, in the protection of your life and the pursuit of your goals. Let your whims become my purpose and your will become my law."

And, of course, because nothing could ever go her way, the rest of the people around her finally realized just who Lelouch was. Whispers and muted exclamations travelled through the crowd like wildfire and the bastard prince soaked it up like a freaking sponge. Lelouch smiled for the onlookers before turning back to her.

"By my right as an heir to the imperial throne, I, Lelouch vi Britannia, Eleventh Prince of the Empire, accept your pledge and recruit you into my Royal Guard, where you will see your oaths fulfilled." He said, just louder than was necessary so that those watching the spectacle would be able to understand what was happening.

She worked hard to keep her expression neutral, but couldn't clamp down on the slight glare she sent his way. "Yes . . . sir." She said reluctantly, still adamant about not addressing him with royal honorifics.

"Rise and accompany me, Kallen." Lelouch ordered.

She sighed and did as she was told, pushing herself to her feet and falling into step just behind him as he turned and navigated his way through the shell shocked crowd. She wondered how many Royal Guards had been recruited during their graduation from Basic Training. Probably not very many.

She caught sight of Janelle out of the corner of her eye, watching them aghast. She smirked, not because she was proud of this, but because it was something the other girl didn't have and she could rub it in her face a bit after all the shit she'd put up with.

It didn't really make up for everything, but she would take what she could get.

* * *

C.C. padded through the house barefoot in a pair of shorts and an oversized t-shirt, combing her hair out with her fingers as she searched for the newcomer. She'd missed the initial altercation last night, but according to some of the servant gossip, it had been spectacular. After all, it wasn't every day that Abigail was insulted to her face.

She would have liked to see it, but she would have to settle for meeting the boy who had done it instead. She found him in his room. It was in the same wing as hers, as far away from Lelouch's room as possible. He was looking out the window with his arms crossed over his chest, scowl in place.

The family resemblance to Abigail was immediately apparent and she had to squash down on her immediate dislike. Before this week, she hadn't actually disliked the princess, but after watching her power play to get Lelouch into bed with her, any lingering feelings of ambivalence had quickly evaporated.

Abigail had manipulated Lelouch. That made her a threat. She wasn't about to have her contractor leashed by some silver-tongued girl. So from now on, all of the princess' motives were suspect, especially the immediate call for her half-brother to join her.

"So, you're the infamous Carson, are you?" She said to announce herself at the door.

He glanced over his shoulder, gaze slowly taking in her appearance. "And you are?"

"C.C."

He frowned. "C.C.?" He asked. "That's your name?"

"Why do I always get that reaction?" She sighed in exasperation.

"Because it's not a real name." He replied, as if the answer were obvious.

"Well, I beg to differ. I think it works just fine as a name." She countered.

He snorted, as if she amused him before turning to face her and leaning back against the wall. "So, what did you seek me out for then, C.C.?"

"I just wanted to meet the infamous newcomer." She replied with a shrug as she let herself further into the room. She looked around but didn't see anything out of place. There was nothing of his here and no hint as to what kind of person he was. No help at all. It was as if he had come here without any luggage at all.

"Infamous already?"

"Well, it's not every day that someone gets to say what we're all thinking to the princess' face." She replied, moving to join him at the window. It looked out over the driveway and the main gate to the estate. The perfect vantage to note the comings and goings of all of the people of the villa.

"I see you know my sister well." He said with a smirk, eyeing her over again carefully. His gaze lingered, so she'd at least piqued his interest, though whether it was the topic they were discussing or the amount of leg that she was showing that was interesting him she couldn't quite tell.

"You could say that." C.C. shrugged.

"So who are you that you can think of her that way in her own house?" He asked suspiciously.

"Her house?" She asked with a taunting smirk. "This is not her house."

He quirked an eyebrow at her. "So then what-"

He cut himself off as a maid laden with garments entered the room, then froze. "Ah . . . Mr. Lowsley . . . and Miss C.C. . . I didn't expect to find you two together . . . in here." The woman said awkwardly, then seemed to get a hold of herself and curtseyed. "Please forgive my interruption. I've come to bring Mr. Lowsley some new clothes."

"Then I'll let you do that. I was just leaving anyway." She said with a shrug before turning for the door. The maid hurried to curtsey again as she passed.

C.C. smirked slightly as she left the room and stood just out of view or the room's occupants. There was silence within for a few charged seconds before the maid went about her task of laying out the clothes she'd brought.

"If there's anything you dislike, or if there's anything you would prefer, you need only tell me and I'll be sure to rectify the problem." The maid said softly.

"Yeah, this is fine." Carson said dismissively. There was another long moment of silence before the boy sighed. "Was there something else?"

"Perhaps it's not my place to speak, but I would caution you against getting too close to Miss C.C.." The maid said after a moment of hesitation.

"Why?" Carson asked darkly.

"Ah . . . well . . . Miss C.C. is . . . she's Master Lelouch's . . . erm . . . mistress." The maid said awkwardly.

"His mistress?" The boy asked disbelievingly. "In the same house?"

C.C. chuckled softly and continued her way down the corridor. At least all of her earlier hard work hadn't been undone by the arrival of Abigail. She was still considered Lelouch's mistress by the staff despite the fact that they'd hardly spent any time together in the last few weeks.

She'd have to ensure that her reputation didn't change. And she'd have to keep an eye on Carson as well. From what she'd be able to find out from the rumour mill, he'd been summoned here by the princess, though for what reason no one was entirely sure. Any way she looked at it, it looked like Abigail was gathering power in Lelouch's house. But to what end, she didn't know.

Just another mystery, and just another possible obstacle to keeping her prince safe.

* * *

It seemed that Prince Lelouch did not hold court. He did not dictate policy from a throne surrounded by his chosen. All of his decisions came from his office or a board room, passed along by his underlings. There was no place set aside for the nobility to have exclusive access to him.

In short, he did not rule like any other Viceroy Gino had met. Which made his assignment more troublesome by far. He had not called ahead to warn the prince of his coming for the simple reason that he wasn't sure of the welcome he would receive. He didn't want to give Lelouch the advanced warning he would need to avoid him altogether, or to lay a trap.

So instead, he arrived at the Viceroy's Palace shortly after lunch when there was the highest chance of the prince being in his office. He bullied his way past the guards using his status as a Knight of the Round and made his way directly to the prince's office, preceded by less than a minute by a hurrying maid intent on warning the prince of his imminent arrival.

She was still hurriedly trying to explain what was happening when he knocked on the door and was waspishly told to enter. Prince Lelouch was seated behind his desk, both Sir Kururugi and Sir Gottwald standing to either side, while the maid stood caught between them.

"Ah . . . I see." Lelouch said before turning to the maid. "Thank you, you may go."

"Of course, Master." The maid said, sinking into a curtsey before hurrying past Gino through the door.

Gino watched her go before turning back to the prince and bowing at the waist. "Your highness."

"I wondered when we'd be seeing you again, Sir Weinberg. Take Suzaku, if you must." Prince Lelouch sighed reluctantly, earning a glower from the Japanese Knight.

"Actually . . . this time . . . I'm here for you, your highness." He said hesitantly, aware that the prince was _not _going to be amused. "My orders are to aid and protect you."

"Spy on me, you mean." Lelouch said, eyes narrowing into a glare.

"I was not given orders in that regard." He replied.

The prince stared him down, his intense violet gaze stripping him down to the bone. It was uncomfortable, but Gino made sure to meet his gaze and not look away, hoping it would say something for his integrity. The moment seemed to stretch on endlessly as the urge to look away grew stronger until the prince eventually sighed and dropped his gaze.

"If at first you don't succeed, try and try again, right? I thwarted His Majesty's last attempt at spying on my by cutting myself off from Suzaku. So this time he's stuck you to me instead." The prince grumbled.

"If that was the Emperor's intention, I was not informed of it." He said, hoping that this wasn't about to become a big deal again. He knew firsthand what it was like to be on the prince's shit list and it wasn't an experience he was quick to want to repeat. Especially for something that was out of his control.

He was following orders. He _had to_ follow orders, regardless of what they were. He wasn't about to disobey the Emperor just to satisfy Prince Lelouch. That was suicide.

"So be it." The prince said as he stood from his desk. At once, both of the prince's Knights shifted, Sir Gottwald stepping closer to the prince's side, while Sir Kururugi took a step forward. Sword and shield. One to protect while the other attacked.

Gino tensed, eyeing Suzaku warily. He really didn't want to have to fight him. He knew very well just how capable of a Knight Suzaku was and he knew just how deadly the Japanese boy could be in a fight. It would take all of his effort to ensure that he wasn't defeated by Suzaku, and that wasn't even taking into account the no doubt deadly skills of Sir Gottwald as well.

But with a mute gesture from the prince, both Knight's backed off and Lelouch stepped around the desk toward him.

"Welcome back, Sir Weinberg." Prince Lelouch said, holding out his hand to shake. "Since I'm stuck with you, let's try to play nice this time."

Gino let out a sigh of relief and shook the prince's hand. "Thank you, your highness. I have every intention of 'playing nice'."

"Good. I will be returning to Osaka soon and I might just be able to find you something to do while we're there." The prince said.

"I look forward to being of use to you, sir." He said.

The prince considered him for a long moment before nodding slightly. "You may choose quarters for yourself here, within the Viceroy's Palace."

Gino hesitated for a moment. He knew that Prince Lelouch did not live within the Viceroy's Palace and he wondered if he should press the issue and insist on staying at the prince's other estate. But the moment passed and he decided not to push his luck when he already knew that the prince was well protected by Suzaku in his home. Besides, being invited to stay in the Viceroy's Palace was an honour. The prince could have just as easily turned him out and forced him to procure his own lodgings, either on the base or in a hotel.

"Thank you for your invitation, your highness. I shall go see myself settled." He said before reaching into his breast pocket to procure his card. "My number, should I not be with you in the case of an emergency. I have brought the Tristan with me as well. I can get to any location five times faster than any other Knight with it, so please do not hesitate on calling on me should a situation arise."

"Thank you. I shall keep it in mind." Prince Lelouch said as he took the card, glancing momentarily at the number before slipping it into his pocket.

Gino bowed again then took his leave. Warily suspicious was about as good as he could hope for. Not even in the most optimistic of the scenarios he'd envisioned for this meeting had the prince met him with open arms. All in all, the meeting had gone better than he'd expected, and it seemed he'd be able to complete his mission here without too much resistance on the prince's part.

Thanks be for small miracles.

* * *

AN: Holy crap you guys are great. I've pretty much been bombarded with great things to motivate me.

First, Handroid has adopted Succession Games and has uploaded the first chapter already. Go check it out. It's good.

Then, ArchAng3l wrote a sidestory, "Dauntless: Reaking Havok" and has uploaded that as well.

THEN!, just now, like seriously ten minutes ago, I got a message from Lilacalosa that she's finished a great fanart of Hector, which can be found at her deviantart page under the same name or here, after I horrifically butcher the url. - art/Dauntless-Hector- Zimmerman-369987584?q=gallery%3Alilacalosa&qo=0 (that might work if you take the spaces out)

And on top of all of that great stuff, Francis D. Saber is working on a new sidestory as well to compliment this chapter. It's not quite finished yet, but keep your eyes open for it in the next few days. :)

I'm seriously happy right now.

Thanks to SplitIce for the beta, like usual and thanks everyone else for reading. Drop me a review to let me know what you think, ya?

Allora


	95. Chapter 95: Cold Shoulders

Chapter 95: Cold Shoulders

Euphemia smoothed down her clothes as she stepped into the hospital, her face mostly obscured behind a pair of oversized sunglasses and her distinctive hair tucked up under her hat. Villetta was out of uniform behind her, hopefully inconspicuous despite being armed. Her Knight had been on high alert ever since they'd left Britannia; prepared for the worst.

She also had a full entourage of other security agents discreetly shadowing her every move, ready to jump in and save her if the need arose. She wasn't taking any chances this time. She refused to be careless. She wouldn't let anyone else be hurt because of her.

She stepped up to the front desk and smiled at the receptionist. "Hello, I'd like to speak to Dr. Hawthorne please."

"Alright, your name please?" The woman asked.

"We'd like to remain anonymous for the time being." Villetta interjected.

Euphy glanced at her Knight, but said nothing about the interruption. She had agreed to let Villetta make the call whenever she felt something was unsafe. And she had to kind of agree anyway. She didn't want to flood the hospital with reporters looking for a scoop.

"Um . . ." The receptionist said uncertainly, "well, I'll see if he's available."

Euphy waited patiently as the woman made the call, talking softly into her phone so that they couldn't overhear her. Security was probably being alerted to keep an eye out for the two suspicious looking women who didn't want to give their names.

After a few more moments the receptionist turned back to them and smiled. "Dr. Hawthorne will be down in a few moments to see you."

"Thank you very much." She said to the woman before turning to sit in a chair in the waiting area.

She did notice when a hospital security guard inconspicuously entered the waiting room but didn't pay him any mind. The doctor arrived a few minutes after that, glancing questioningly toward the receptionist who gestured in their direction. He was tall and thin with greying hair and black, plastic rimmed glasses. He somehow managed to make harried look dignified.

She rose and approached him, offering her hand to shake. "Dr. Hawthorne, hello. We've spoken on the phone about Lukas Zimmerman's recovery."

The man shook her hand for a moment as if trying to figure out what her cryptic introduction meant before his eyes widened. "Your highness!" He said in surprise. "Forgive me, I didn't expect to meet you in person."

"Of course. Thank you for coming to meet with me." She said kindly. "We're trying to keep my identity a secret here, so if you wouldn't mind, please just call me Euphy and act like you would with anyone else."

"Ah, I see. As you wish, Euphy." The man said, taking to the idea of informality far more quickly than anyone else she had met. "Shall we take this to my office?"

"Yes, please."

The doctor escorted them to the elevator and up to the fourth floor to a cluttered office. There were family pictures on the desk, the doctor and his wife posing with their teenaged son and daughter on various special occasions and vacations. Dr. Hawthorne sat behind his desk then gestured for her to take the seat across from him.

"So, you've come to ask about Sir Lukas' recovery?"

"Yes. I wanted to get the facts from you before I saw him myself." She answered. "How is he?"

"He'd doing very well. He was lucky. The skin grafts took very well and he suffered only minor nerve damage from the burns. He should retain almost full mobility of his hand, which was the major concern. There will be some stiffness and his dexterity may suffer with very fine grasping movements." The doctor explained, demonstrating by making a pinching motion with his fingers. "But such limitations shouldn't hamper his military career at all. It would only be a real hindrance if he decided to take up bead working or something like that."

"What about the gash in his arm? The infection?" She asked.

"Both have been taken care of. The wound was closed with a few stitches and the infection was treated with an antibiotic." The doctor answered. "His recovery is actually almost complete. He's scheduled to be released next week supposing that nothing goes wrong in that time. Not that we expect anything to go wrong, it's just a precaution."

"I see. That's good. I'm relieved." She said.

She'd been preparing for the worst; for learning that Lukas had still been sugarcoating the details of his recovery and was actually in terrible shape. But this was good. This was better than she had even dared to hoped for.

"I would like to go see him now." She said as she stood up from her seat.

"Of course. I'll take you to his room." He said as he walked around his desk.

"That's not necessary. I don't want to take up any more of your valuable time. I'm sure I can find it myself if you give me directions." She protested.

"It would still be better if I take you. A visitor's ban was put on his room after a couple of reporters snuck in and got footage of him while he was unconscious. We managed to catch them and confiscate the footage, of course, but it's rather difficult to get in to see him now." The doctor explained.

"That's terrible." She said. Did that mean that no one had come to visit him? No wonder he always seemed so happy for her calls.

"It's this way, Euphy." The doctor said as he led her back out of the office and up the elevator another two floors.

The woman at the nursing station gave them a curious look before falling into step beside the doctor. "Can I help you with anything, Dr. Hawthorne?"

"No. That's quite alright, Nurse Grayson." The doctor said, evidently trying to brush her off as he made his way down the hall.

The nurse frowned and noted their intended direction. "I'm sorry, doctor, but even if they come with you they cannot visit Lukas Zimmerman without being cleared first."

"These ladies have already been cleared by Princess Euphemia, who, I'm sure you're aware, is one of Sir Lukas' benefactors." The man said in a clipped tone.

"Who are they?" Nurse Grayson asked.

"These are Sir Lukas' sisters."

Euphy almost laughed at the lie. She and Villetta looked nothing alike, let alone anything like the Zimmermans. The nurse gave them a suspicious once over; Euphy made sure to keep her gaze averted and hoped the woman wouldn't recognize her. It seemed she was safe because a moment later the nurse pushed open the door to one of the rooms.

"Your sisters are here to visit, Mr. Zimmerman." The nurse said.

"Huh? She's _here_? Holy shit. Send her away. She's gonna kill me." Lukas yelped. "And learn to knock, woman!"

Euphy peeked her head around the corner and blushed. Lukas was standing beside his bed dressed in only a pair of black pants. The rest of his clothes were laid out across the bed. They had apparently caught him at a bad time.

Lukas' eyes bugged out when he caught sight of her. "Oh. . . that sister." He said, then turned away and pulled on the closest article of clothing, a tight fitting white under shirt. "Uh. . ."

"We'll leave you to your visit." Doctor Hawthorne said, ushering the nurse away as she and Villetta mutely entered the room.

Lukas waited until the door was closed before speaking again. "What the hell are you doing here, Euphy?"

She blinked in surprise. She'd expected him to be happy to see her, but he actually sounded a little mad. "I wanted to see you." She answered.

"Does Lelouch know you're here? He doesn't, right?" Lukas asked with a frustrated laugh.

"I'm going to see him next, but I wanted to see you first."

"I'm _flattered_. Really. But you need to think of your own safety first. Jesus Christ, Euphy." Lukas grumbled as he reached for his white dress shirt and began pulling it on. "And you only brought one guard."

"There's a bunch of them outside. And she's my Knight, not just a guard.." She said, gesturing to where Villetta was standing on guard next to the door.

"Well congratulations, Dame." Lukas said with a distracted nod toward the older woman as he struggled to do up the buttons of his shirt with his bad arm. Euphy watched piteously for a moment as a spike of guilt shot through her. If it hadn't been for her, he would never have gotten hurt. If he hadn't protected her, he wouldn't have had any problems with buttons.

He flicked her on the forehead and she jerked back in surprise. "Stop that."

"Stop what?" She asked as she rubbed at the spot he'd just touched.

"You're easy to read, Euphy. It wasn't your fault so there's no use in feeling sorry." He said before going back to struggling with his buttons.

Euphy frowned, watching him struggle with the buttons for a few more seconds before batting his hands out of the way and doing them up for him. Even if he said that, it wasn't like she could help how she felt.

"Thanks." He said softly as she finished fastening his cufflinks. He tucked the shirt into his pants before turning back to the bed and pulling on his jacket.

It was only now that she realized these weren't just clothes that he was putting on so he wouldn't have to be in hospital garb. It was a _uniform_. More specifically, it was Lelouch's uniform; a uniform Lukas had once told her he had never received because he'd been assigned to her immediately after joining the Royal Guard.

"Why are you wearing that?" She demanded.

He quirked his eyebrow at her. "Well, I _am_ a member of Lelouch's Royal Guard."

"But the doctor said you wouldn't be released from the hospital for another week!" She protested.

"Psh." Lukas scoffed, holding up his injured hand and flexing it, the discoloured pink and white scar tissue on display. "See, perfectly fine and healed. I'm not going to sit around in a hospital doing nothing when I have a ton of shit to do elsewhere. Lelouch needs me on the top of my game before we get to Osaka, so I need to spend simulator time in my new Knightmare."

"Lukas!" She said, aghast. "You need to do as the doctor orders, not what Lelouch orders. Your health is more important than anything else."

He chuckled and tied his cravat with expert skill, no problems from his stiff fingers. It really did seem that he only had problems with small, fiddly things. "Want to let me bum a ride with you to go see Lelouch?"

She gaped in surprise. He wasn't listening to her at all. Not that he always had, but he'd never so blatantly just disregarded her concerns without even a comment. He watched her expectantly and she suddenly realized why it was so different.

He was no longer beholden to her. He had never directly served her, but he had always conducted himself professionally toward her even despite her insistence that they were friends. But now, there was nothing tying them together and determining their conduct. He was finally treating her as she'd asked him to; as a friend.

It made her heart twist painfully in her chest that only now, when he was more distant from her, could they actually get closer. Only now, when she wouldn't get to see him as much, could they actually befriend each other. There was something profoundly sad about that.

"You okay, Euphy?" He asked quietly, reaching out to gently touch her elbow. She looked up to see compassion and tenderness in his eyes and wondered if that was what had always lurked beneath the veneer of duty he had shown her.

She forced a smile onto her face and squeezed his hand. "Yes. I'm fine. And of course you can come with us to see Lelouch. _If_ your doctor gives you the go ahead and discharges you." She challenged.

He smirked at her tone and pulled on his cape with a flourish, the iconic grey wolf's head symbol coming to rest over his shoulders. "I'd like to see the doctor try to stop me."

* * *

Jeremiah was surprised by how well the prince was tolerating the presence of the Knight of Three. Especially considering that the last time Weinberg had tried to meddle in Lelouch's business he had gone so far as to sever himself from Kururugi as a means of avoiding the interloper. This time, Lelouch was accepting Weinberg's presence with far more grace.

Perhaps it was simply Lelouch abiding by the agreement to cooperate he had made with the Knight when Princess Euphemia had needed to be escorted out of the country. Or perhaps Lelouch had realized just how futile resistance would have been. Nothing the boy could have said would have been able to send the Knight of the Round on his way since Weinberg was operating under orders from the Emperor. And since his prince wasn't quite ready to make his move yet, they would have to tolerate the annoying blonde's presence.

Still, just Weinberg's presence opened an entirely new can of worms. Was the Emperor already suspicious of Lelouch's motives? Had Weinberg been sent as a deterrent (at best) or an assassin (at worst)? There were precedents for a Knight of the Round being assigned to another member of the royal family, but it was rare and the situations were in no way similar. The last occasion that he could think of had occurred during the Emperor's great grandfather's regime. The Emperor at the time had been blessed with many daughters, but with only one son. The boy in question had been named heir apparent despite being the youngest of his siblings and had been assigned the protection of two Knights of the Round in addition to his own Knight of Honour; a pity that he'd wound up dying of the flu even despite all of the added protection.

But that was generally the only reason a Knight of the Round had ever been assigned to any other member of the royal family, so Weinberg's assignment was especially suspicious. From what he'd learned in the months since he'd joined Lelouch's entourage, the Emperor cared little to nothing about the prince. It was possible that the man had even tried to have the boy killed during the invasion. Therefore, any agent of the Emperor, even if he was an annoyingly cheerful boy of eighteen, needed to be treated with suspicion. He simply couldn't risk leaving the prince's life in Weinberg's care and he certainly couldn't leave them alone together.

He was drawn out of his musing by a familiar fragrance. He had smelled it so often that he was sure that he would never forget it; Villetta's personal scent. She had spent an obscene amount on having the perfume made by some famous perfumer and had then jealously guarded the recipe. No one but she could possibly be wearing her perfume.

He paused in his tracks and surveyed his surroundings, earning a concerned frown from Lelouch. He didn't miss the way both Kururugi and Weinberg drew a bit closer to the prince, though the thought of an attack here, in the middle of the Viceroy's Palace, was almost laughable. He ignored them, far more curious about the scent he had caught for the time being.

It didn't take long to find her, she had always been a particularly striking woman and even the lack of a uniform couldn't hide that. She was approaching him in a pair of form fitting blue jeans and a loose, off the shoulder top that did wonders to hide her military posture and the gun she had hidden beneath the fabric. At her side was another woman and Lukas Zimmerman, dressed in full uniform.

"Villetta." He said in surprise, drawing Lelouch's attention to what he was looking at.

"Sir Jeremiah." She answered with a perfect salute. "Your highness."

Lelouch ignored her, his gaze zeroing in on Lukas instead. "What is the meaning of this, Lukas?" The prince demanded, stepping out from the protective huddle of his Knights.

The young guardsman straightened, saluting crisply before settling in attention. "They came to visit me at the hospital as I was getting discharged. I made sure they came straight to see you from there, sir."

Lelouch frowned before turning his attention to the other girl in their company. "Go home, Euphy."

"No."

It was only then that he realized that the girl was actually Princess Euphemia in a disguise. Lelouch's gaze narrowed into a glare that caused even the princess to flinch back.

"Lelouch -" She protested.

"It's not safe, Euphy. What the hell are you doing here?" Lelouch snapped.

"I want to help you." The princess said firmly.

"I don't need your help." Lelouch retorted immediately. "Now go back before you get yourself or someone else killed. Or have you forgotten what happened to you at Ashford?"

Princess Euphemia grimaced painfully, as if the prince had physically struck her. "Of course I remember. How could I ever forget? But I won't let that paralyse me and stop me from doing something worthwhile. I will remain conscious of my position and take my safety seriously. I will never allow the tragedy that transpired at Ashford Academy to ever happen again. So let me help you, Lelouch."

The prince's face was blank for a moment before he turned his back on her. "I'm not going to have your blood on my hands too, Euphy. You have twenty four hours to leave the country before I get Cornelia involved. If you won't listen to me, I'm sure you'll listen to her."

Jeremiah was shocked. Last time Princess Euphemia had come to see Lelouch, he had doted on her like she could do no wrong. He had never dismissed her like this so easily. Apparently he wasn't the only one who was surprised. He sent a backward glance toward the shell shocked princess and his former second-in-command, but his place was by Lelouch's side. He turned to follow the prince, reclaiming his place by the boy's side before a certain blonde intruder could replace him.

It remained to be seen whether the princess would follow Lelouch's advice or not.

* * *

Gino followed in the prince's entourage on pins and needles. Prince Lelouch's mood had taken a turn for the worst after bumping into Princess Euphemia and he couldn't help but notice the suspicious, sideways glances the prince kept sending his way. Prince Lelouch's gaze could hit a person with a tangible force; he felt it scald him every time the prince looked his way.

"And? Where is she now?" The prince demanded of his assistant as they trailed in his wake as he stretched his legs from all of the office work. The rooftop gardens of the Viceroy's Palace were sublime and commanded a full view of the Tokyo skyline. It was the perfect place to take a break.

"Princess Euphemia has retreated to your house to visit with Princess Abigail." The prince's hyper-efficient assistant replied easily, as though keeping tabs on a princess were easy. "It is likely that she will still be there when we get home this evening."

Prince Lelouch sighed and leaned back against the banister. "A pincer attack, huh?" He muttered, shooting Gino another suspicious glance. Unlike on previous occasions that afternoon, this time he strove to meet the prince's gaze. "Or is it a three-pronged attacked?"

"Are you suggesting that I had something to do with Princess Euphemia returning to Area Eleven, your highness?" He asked.

"Are you suggesting that you did not? That both of you would return to this country at the same time is highly suspicious. I can't help but wonder what you might be planning." The prince countered.

Gino had had over a year of practice at this now. He sank to his knee before the prince without hesitation, crossing an arm over his chest. "On my honour as a Knight of the Round and as the heir of the Weinberg family, I swear that I knew nothing of Princess Euphemia's return to Area Eleven and that my intentions here are only to fulfil my orders by protecting and serving you, your highness."

"Then how do you explain Euphy's return to Area Eleven only a day after your own?" Prince Lelouch asked, arching an eyebrow in challenge.

"A coincidence and no more, you highness." Gino answered.

"Dispelling suspicion with the careless use of the word 'coincidence' is a good way to get yourself killed, Sir Gino." The prince replied casually.

He didn't move from his place at the prince's feet. "Then, if it is a plot, I can assure you that I have no knowledge of it."

The prince snorted and turned away, crossing his arms over the banister as he stared out at the cityscape around them. "You may rise, Sir Gino, Knight of Three. But do not make the mistake of thinking that I believe you."

He bit back his immediate retort and rose to his feet again as he'd been told. There was no point in alienating himself from the prince. Especially not now that he'd been put in this position. He wasn't an idiot. He knew what it meant. He would be a fool not to treat the prince very well from now on.

"Yes, your highness."

"So obedient." The prince sighed without even looking his way. "So humble. So different from the cocky bastard who shot me in the back last time we met. Why is that?"

Gino grimaced at the reminder of what was likely to remain the worst moment of his entire career, but answered the questions anyway. "Because His Majesty has made his intention clear towards you."

"And what intention is that?" The prince asked and, though neither of them moved, both Suzaku and Sir Jeremiah tensed as though ready to attack.

"That you are to succeed him." He answered.

Prince Lelouch's gaze snapped around to him in evident surprise. "Did he say that?" He demanded, tone bewildered.

"Not in so many words, your highness, but there's no other reason for a Knight of the Round to be assigned to a prince." He said.

The prince gave him a hard look for a moment before throwing his head back and laughing. "You're a fool, Weinberg. His Majesty would never be so stupid as to openly declare an heir apparent. If he leaves the succession ambiguous, all of us potential heirs will be too busy turning on each other to ever turn on him. That man is many things, but stupid isn't one of them."

"There's no other reason for him to have sent me." He insisted.

The prince gave him an ugly smile that was half sad and half snide. "I'm sure that if you think very hard, there's something else that he intends for you to do here." Prince Lelouch said before heading for the elevator, his knights following in his wake.

Gino watched him go with a frown on his lips. What had the prince had to have gone through that he was wary of assistance even from his own father? What Prince Lelouch had said about the succession made sense, but so did his own convictions that His Majesty intended for Lelouch to become the next Emperor. After all, the prince hadn't witnessed His Majesty declaring that he cared for Prince Lelouch above all of his other children.

He sighed and hurried after the prince to catch up. Whatever anyone else said, he knew the truth. He had seen it with his own eyes. Prince Lelouch would one day be his liege.

* * *

Kallen sighed, feeling awkward and uncomfortable in her stiff uniform with its heavy cape draped over her shoulders. No doubt most other knights felt comforted or proud of the mark of their distinction, but she felt weighed down by it, like it was smothering her. It branded her as a traitor and she hated the feeling.

She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the wall behind her, decidedly not a part of the festivities around her. This was a welcome party, but it was not for her. Instead, it was for Lukas, who had just been discharged from the hospital after sustaining some major injuries during the bombing at Ashford Academy.

She'd always known that Lukas was a soldier, some special bodyguard-type, but she hadn't known that he was actually a member of the Royal Guard until today. It had also come as a surprise to find that he was the captain's brother. She should have figured, though. They were all a close-knit bunch and she knew well enough just how much good networking could do when it came to hoity-toity nobles and royalty. It probably hadn't been hard for the captain to get his rookie brother onto the Royal Guard.

She glanced across the room toward Lukas, who was engaging in happy conversation with the captain and the lieutenant. They had welcomed him to the group like the return of a conquering hero. She knew it was stupid and to be expected, but she couldn't quite squash the part of her that resented him. She had not been accepted into the group. They were wary of her and often gave her the cold-shoulder.

She existed on the peripheral edge of their group, rarely spoken to except in curt orders and criticisms. And she had already had her confidence knocked down a peg or two. Her first day on the Royal Guard, mere hours after being recruited, the captain had had her strapped into a simulator for the most humiliating loss she'd ever taken in a Knightmare.

She might be an Ace and an excellent pilot, but so was Captain Zimmerman. And Zimmerman had years of experience on her. Well, experience and a fancy new Knightmare frame to pilot. She was going to be stuck piloting a Sutherland while the rest of the Royal Guard got to pilot the more advanced Lionel frames.

If someone had told her half a year ago that she'd be feeling shortchanged for _only_ getting to pilot a Sutherland, she wouldn't have believed them. Not that she had much cause for complaint. The Sutherland was still a vastly better machine than the Glasgow she had learned on, but she was itching to get inside one of those Lionels.

"Hey, Wallbridge, can we talk for a minute?"

She blinked out of her thoughts and glanced to the side to find Nick leaning against the wall beside her. He stood a full head and shoulders taller than her and his proximity might have been intimidating if he hadn't been sending her an awkward, uncertain smile.

"Sure. What's up?" She shrugged.

"Not here." He said, nodding over his shoulder toward the corridor. Lelouch had given them full reign over the Viceroy's Palace for the night and they had settled into their festivities in a medium sized living room with a poker table and a kick ass stereo. She hadn't lasted very long in the earlier poker game, but at least the music had been okay.

She frowned suspiciously and looked back to the captain. She wasn't technically 'on duty' but she'd been told that her attendance to the party was mandatory. But the party seemed to be wrapping up, so her presence probably wouldn't be too missed. Captain Zimmerman was on his phone, his back turned to her. Furthermore, Amanda already had her jacket on and was checking for her keys and other assorted belongings. It seemed like the party was finally ending.

Thank god.

If she'd been given the choice, she never would have come.

"Fine." She grumbled, pushing herself off of the wall.

"Come on." Nick said with that same smile and gestured for her to follow him.

He led her out of the room and down the hall before turning into a room further down the corridor. She followed him inside, annoyed with the secrecy and silently praying that he wasn't about to declare his love for her.

Rough hands were on her the second she crossed the threshold, pulling her arms behind her back and dragging her toward a chair sitting out in the middle of the room. Nick closed the door calmly and leaned against it.

"What the fuck?!" She yelled as she struggled to free her arms and kicked wildly against her assailant. She craned her neck to try to get a look at the person behind her, but could only catch a glimpse of blonde hair. It solved the mystery. The captain was out on the phone at the moment, which meant her attacker could only be one person. "Lukas, you fucking asshole! Let me go!"

He didn't comply. Instead he forced her into the chair and she felt the uncannily familiar sensation of handcuffs closing around her wrists, attaching her to the piece of furniture. The sound of duct tape being pulled from the roll spiked her adrenaline even further, and the might have jumped right out of the chair if Lukas hadn't locked her in a headlock as soon as her hands were restrained.

Her heart sank into her stomach when she realized that it was none other than the lieutenant wielding the duct tape, wrapping it securely around her calves and the legs of the chair. "Why?" She demanded.

She was a member of the Royal Guard. They couldn't just do this to her. She was one of them now. An equal.

The lieutenant smirked before looking past her to presumably address Lukas. "You ever done this before, rookie?"

"Tch. How hard can it be? And it doesn't really matter what kind of condition she's in at the end, right?" Lukas said nonchalantly.

Kallen took a deep breath and focused on steadying her thundering heartbeat. "Does Lelouch know you're doing this?" She demanded.

Had that bastard prince lured her here into a false sense of security only to let this happen? Surely not, right? He could have killed or tortured her plenty of times before. He hadn't had to put her through Basic Training or force her into his Royal Guard if he was just going to hurt and kill her in the end, right?

"Lelouch suggested this." Roy answered with a shrug before standing up and moving behind her and out of her field of vision.

That bastard prince was a sadistic asshole.

"Fuck." She cursed under her breath and glanced desperately toward the door. Nick was still standing guard over it, looking unperturbed. She tensed, bracing herself for the imminent pain. She still vividly remembered the way Gottwald had threatened to break her fingers when Lelouch had brought her in for interrogation about the Ashford bombing. This time she probably wouldn't get off so lightly.

"What the hell are you doing, Luke? Don't do that. It'll bleed all over the fucking place if you do that. Lelouch will probably be pissed if we ruin the carpet." Roy hissed quietly behind her.

"You're the one who decided to do this in a room with carpets." Lukas retorted.

"Because it had lots of windows. It stinks once you get started. Besides, it's not like I know every room in this place. This was close and I didn't have a lot of time to set this up." The lieutenant said.

Fucking hell. She almost wanted to scream at them to get it over with already. She could barely breath thanks to the anxiety and fear choking her and every muscle in her body had tensed up to the point that it was painful. Part of her wanted to convince herself that the anticipation was worse than anything they could do to her, but she couldn't get the image of Naoto's broken body out of her mind. He'd been tortured to death.

She panted and tugged against her restraints, but she already knew that it was impossible to move. Her best hope was that she'd be able to break the chair somehow, but even if she managed that there was still three of them against one of her and they were all taller and more heavily muscled. Not to mention that both Roy and Nick had years of experience on her and she'd still be handcuffed.

"Okay, whatever. Do you want to hold her still or what?" Lukas asked.

"Let her flail. It will just make it worse in the end." Roy said carelessly.

"Jesus, I have to do everything myself, huh?" Lukas grumbled and reached for her head. She flinched and jerked away from his touch, causing him to painfully twist his fingers in her hair.

Embarrassingly, she yelped at the sudden shot of pain, causing the lieutenant to chuckle. "Looks like she's a screamer, Lukas."

"Shut up. Both of you." Lukas laughed before her nostrils were flooded with a harsh chemical smell and something wet and cold was pressed against the top of her head.

She froze. It didn't hurt. She swallowed nervously and another swipe of something cold and wet trickled against her scalp. The first application was beginning to itch, but there was still no pain. Then it hit her.

Hair dye. It was hair dye.

"The fucking hell, you guys?!" She snarled and jerked her head away from Lukas again. "I'm going to kill you all!"

All three of her assailants laughed and Lukas smeared more hair dye into her locks, big gobs of it that she could feel slide across her ear. Asshole. Irrationally, she was more pissed off about the hair dye than she had been about the prospect of being tortured. A man didn't casually fuck with a girl's hair and hope to get away with it. A woman's hair was sacrosanct and she couldn't even see what they were doing it. For all she knew, they were dying her purple or some other god awful colour.

Lukas smeared more dye into her hair and she was pretty sure that he got half of her right eyebrow as well. She had never been a particularly vain person, but she didn't want to look like a fucking idiot either.

"Let me go, fucktards! The second I get out of this chair, I'm going to beat your faces in." She yelled. They were contradictory statements, maybe, but she was pissed enough not to care.

"What the _hell _is going on in here?" A new voice demanded, accompanied by Nick staggering forward and the door slamming into the wall. On the threshold stood Captain Zimmerman, looking thoroughly angry. "What the fuck do you think you guys are doing?"

"Relax, Hector." Roy shrugged. "Remember, Lelouch mentioned this the other day."

"Lelouch mentioned asking her if she'd mind changing her appearance. He did not mention handcuffing her to a chair and dyeing her hair black against her will."

Black. They'd dyed her hair black. She was almost shell-shocked by the statement. She'd never really given much thought about dying her hair, but she'd always figured that if she had, she'd have gone a bit lighter. Maybe a couple blonde highlights or something. Not black. She was going to look stupid. Especially with red eyebrows and lashes. Even more especially with one eyebrow which may or may not be half dyed.

"Chill, bro. It's not like we're hurting her." Lukas said from behind her, rubbing her head like she were come kind of well-behaving puppy while scrunching the dye into every lock of her hair.

"This is harassment of a female squad member and I will _not_ have something like that staining the reputation of the Royal Guard. For Amanda's sake, if not for any other reason." The captain snapped. She glared at him for the intended slight but he was busy staring down the others. "Now, let her go. And get this shit cleaned up. I expect all three of you to report to me first thing tomorrow morning for a lecture on proper conduct toward the women of the Royal Guard, understood?"

"Yes, sir." All three of her assailants said despondently before Lukas pulled off a pair of slimy black latex gloves and began fiddling with the handcuffs to release her.

The captain huffed in aggravation, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. "Roy, we need to have a talk." He said, gesturing for the door. The lieutenant grimaced but followed after his friend, letting the captain slam the door behind them.

Kallen was up and out of her seat the second Nick cut through the duct tape holding her to the chair. She was torn between punching him in the face and desperately searching for a mirror so she could gauge the damage they'd done to her hair. Ultimately she decided that vengeance had to come first since the damage had already been done and she threw a wild punch at Nick, who merely jumped out of the way of the blow.

Both Nick and Lukas laughed at her fury, as if they weren't about to receive an official reprimand for their actions. She glared at Lukas in particular since he was the one who had done this to her. "The captain might be your brother, but he won't let this slide." She snarled.

The blonde shrugged unconcernedly. "He was only 'officially' pissed off," He said, making air quotations. "because he's the captain. But we're all off duty right now. If he were actually pissed off, he'd have had no problem with laying a beat down on us." Lukas explained.

She processed that information carefully. If the captain was only reprimanding them because of his position, their punishment would be light. It also meant that he was predisposed to side against her, though that wasn't necessarily surprising. She remembered seeing him at the knighting ceremony when she'd foiled her own assassination attempt on Lelouch.

She scowled and turned away from them. What else had she expected upon joining the Royal Guard? They would never see her as anything less than a threat; even Lukas and Nick right now could smile at her like this had been a joke without ever losing the wariness in their eyes. And she wasn't sure if she actually wanted it any other way. Their suspicion almost didn't make her feel like the turncoat she was.

"You're both idiots. The lieutenant too." She grumbled, gingerly touching her hair. Her fingers came away black. "I hope you all have cursed interactions with all women from now on."

They chuckled again but she ignored them and headed for the door to see if her hair could possibly be salvaged. She'd have to tread lightly until she was more certain of her position within the Royal Guard, but she'd get them back eventually. Ten fold.

* * *

AN: Another chapter for you all. Sorry about the wait but work has been kind of hectic. I've spent three of the last however many weeks since I last updated out of town, so obviously no writing was being done then. Work should be similarly hectic throughout the summer, so be prepared for that.

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed the chapter and that the wait wasn't so long that some of you don't want to read any more.

Thanks for reading. Drop me a review, eh?

Allora

PS: OH! And definitely go check out Laniessa's LukasxEuphy fanart called "who was I thinking of in that moment of blaze?" It can be found on deviant art if you just search it, or if you find my page it's in my favourites. Leave her lots of comments too!


	96. Chapter 96: Peer Pressure

Chapter 96: Peer Pressure

Kaguya smoothed her hands over the silk of her kimono, trying to calm her nerves. Ever since her first day on Lelouch's council, she'd been too proud to change her style of dress. She'd gone in traditional Japanese fashion to make a statement, and she wasn't about to retract it now, even if the rest of the council disliked her for it. But for all that they seemed to dislike her, it didn't seem to really matter. Lelouch let them bicker amongst themselves before steamrolling them into doing things his way regardless of their opinions.

This council was a mockery. A ruse. Just lip service the prince was willing to pay for the cooperation of the JLF. She hated everything about it, but she was stuck there now. A hostage that Lelouch knew was involved with the resistance movement of Japan.

She touched her hair gently, making sure her pin was still in place and that nothing had come loose on the ride to the Viceroy's Palace. It was earlier than their regular meetings, meaning that there were less politicians in the halls and more servants.

She fidgeted again, wishing that she was allowed to bring her bodyguard here. But Lelouch had been very strict on that front. None except his own people were allowed to carry weapons into the Viceroy's Palace, and he had guaranteed the safety of all of the council members. If she'd insisted on bringing her bodyguard despite Lelouch's assurances, she ran the risk of offending him and further damaging her reputation amongst the other council members.

She raised her head, drawing on confidence that had been ground into her since childhood. She was a Sumeragi, the princess of an ancient and distinguished line of Japanese nobles. She had heritage and tradition spanning back longer than the Britannian Empire had even existed. The tassells from her hair pin jingled softly as she made her way forward with small, geisha steps and her hands delicately folded within the sleeves of her kimono in front of her.

When she reached Lelouch's office and his assistant ushered her inside, she bowed as she had been taught as a child instead of adopting the Britannian curtsey that the prince seemed to prefer. He was at his desk, a recently abandoned document sitting in front of him as he regarded her coolly. Sir Jeremiah was next to the desk sending her nothing less than a full on glare.

Suzuku was conspicuously absent, replaced with a blonde knight she didn't recognize.

The bad feeling she'd had since she'd been scheduled for this private meeting with Lelouch compounded, twisting in her stomach until she felt lightheaded and anxious. She clamped down on the reaction and smiled instead. "You wanted to speak with me, your highness?"

Lelouch silently ran his gaze over her for a moment before gesturing toward the armchair across from his desk. "Please, have a seat."

She did as she was told, sinking onto the chair with as much stiff poise as she could manage. She kept her back straight and her head high, refusing to rest against the back of the chair or seem too relaxed in his presence. Neither of them would be making the mistake of thinking that they were friends due to their history together. Maybe if Nunnally had survived she'd have been able to leverage a bit more goodwill out of him, but not as the situation stood now.

Sir Jeremiah shifted slightly closer to her seat, towering over her. It was an intimidation technique and set the mood for their meeting. She decided to forgo any pleasantries that might have been appropriate at the moment in favour of meeting and holding the prince's stare. She wouldn't show fear. She wouldn't break his gaze even if the proximity of his knight was making her sweat a little.

"I wanted to speak with you. It shouldn't be surprising. You had to have known this was coming." Lelouch said. "What's your involvement with the Kenshiki Faction?"

She stiffened slightly then let out a slow breath. "I have had nothing to do with the Kenshiki Faction." She said evenly, still meeting his gaze. If he was any good at judging the truth of a statement, he'd be able to tell that she wasn't lying.

Lelouch frowned. "You expect me to believe that?"

"I do. It's the truth." She replied.

"I know about Kei Tanaka, Kaguya." The prince said with a slightly smug expression. "Your beloved cousin. Are you sure you don't want to rescind your previous statement?"

She felt a thrill of dread shoot through her. It explained why the quarantine around Osaka was still in effect even after Saito's execution. She pressed her lips into a thin line and glared slightly. "No. I don't need to change my statement."

"So your cousin runs what is arguably the most ruthless and most active terrorist faction in the country and you, a member of an organization that funds terrorist factions, has had nothing to with him and his compatriots?" Lelouch reiterated skeptically.

"I already said it's the truth." She replied. "The Kenshiki Faction was never supported by my organization due to their extreme methods."

"Even though Kei is related to you by blood?"

"Even so." She said firmly. "I cut ties with him a long time ago."

Well, that wasn't necessarily true. It hadn't been too long ago since Kei had forced himself into her home to demand her cooperation. But that had been the very last straw in their already tenuous familial relations. Even before the war, the Tanaka family had been upset that yet another Sumeragi princess was going to be sent to the Kururugis. The destruction of Japan had done nothing to lessen the rift, and her recent actions, along with Suzaku's recent actions, might have been the final nail in the coffin. At least, that was if Kei knew that she had joined Lelouch's council.

"Then prove it." Lelouch challenged.

"How would I do that?"

"Come to Osaka with me tomorrow. Watch as I bring him down."

She let out a slow breath to steady herself and closed her eyes. Lelouch was cruel. She and Kei might not have been close, she might not have supported him, but they were still family. Watching anyone she knew die was always difficult, but it was even more so when they were family.

But this was even worse than that. Lelouch was going to have Kei executed. The prince might even get angry enough to kill Kei with his own hands like he had done with the other leader of the Kenshiki. Could she really stand by his side and watch him do it while knowing that any hint of grief could condemn her?

And at the same time, could she not? She didn't have a choice. This was a trap if ever she'd seen one. But to refuse right now would likely only lead to her arrest as a co-conspirator of the Kenshiki. The Six Houses were counting on her to remain in Lelouch's inner circle, she couldn't lose her space so easily.

"As you wish, your highness." She said, though her tone was sharp and disapproving. "I will go with you to Osaka."

* * *

Euphy fought hard to keep herself as charming as physically possible as she spoke to Duke Hamilton, Duke Calares and Lord Mars. She drew upon every subtle charm and conversation tactic she knew of to pull Mr. Ichigawa into the conversation as well. He reluctantly did so, nervously voicing his opinion while shooting furtive glances at Duke Hamilton. She smiled brightly and agreed with him, validating his contribution.

It was hard work and a single misstep could turn them all against her, but she'd learned from one of the best. Schneizel had always chidingly coached her when she made the mistake of not saying something diplomatically enough for his liking. Usually she tried not to put his lessons to use in everyday conversation since she didn't like how cunning and contrived it all was. But this was not an everyday conversation and she would take advantage of every edge she could get.

She was playing a dangerous game and only had a limited amount of time before she had to have visible results. Mr. Albertson was the next to join them, entering a few minutes later than the others. She welcomed him to the group while simultaneously keeping up their previous conversation. It was about something dreadfully boring, but she had managed what Abigail told her even Lelouch hadn't been able to. They were all having a civil conversation together and agreeing with each other.

She met Abigail's gaze across from her for a moment and received an encouraging smile from her sister-in-law. She was doing it. She was really doing it. Finally, she was able to do something worthwhile; something that she could look back and be proud of.

The door opened and all conversation paused as Lelouch and Miss Sumeragi entered. Her brother stopped on the threshold, eyes widening slightly at the sight of her amongst his council members after he'd specifically ordered her to leave the country last night. She met his gaze evenly, not looking away even when he glared.

But he didn't say anything. Abigail had said that he wouldn't. He wouldn't risk looking anything less than in control in front of people as powerful as Duke Hamilton. She was thankful, as the other possibility had had him forcibly removing her from the room. Instead, he sat down at the head of the table and gestured for the rest of them to do the same.

Then he carefully went about dismantling everything that she'd accomplished that morning. He pit the council members against each other, deliberately drawing them into arguments with each other. The entire council descended into a mess of conflicts and politely delivered barbs.

She understood now. She understood just why he didn't want her help. He had no intention of giving up even an ounce of power. This council was for show, likely to gain more support from the Elevens.

Not that it changed anything. She wasn't about to give up just because Lelouch didn't want to cooperate. She had come here to deliver a voice to the people. Lelouch already had the foundation in place. She was going to build on it and turn this council into something her brother couldn't even have imagined.

He'd thank her for it eventually.

Though apparently not today, as Lelouch was currently going about destroying any kind of goodwill she'd cultivated between Lords Hamilton and Mars. Their conversation devolved into a petty argument and the lack of surprise around the table told her that this was actually the norm.

"You puffed up bigot. Your suggestion is both pointless and counterproductive." Lord Mars snarled to a suggestion the duke had made which had essentially proposed that all Elevens be forced into labour camps to recoup the costs of repairing the infrastructure damages caused by the Kenshiki's reign of terror.

It was rare that a noble would actually insult another to their face except for in the most extreme of circumstances. Abigail had warned her in advance that the two lords disliked each other, but she hadn't even considered that it could be to such a level.

She wanted to bury her face in her hands in frustration at the sabotage of all of her hard work, but she didn't. She remained cheerful and as charismatic as possible throughout the duration of the meeting. She hated to admit it, but she was more than just thankful when Lelouch finally glanced at his watch and signalled that he was done with the meeting.

"These meetings will have to be cancelled for the upcoming few weeks while I'm away in Osaka dealing with the last of the Kenshiki." Lelouch said as he nonchalantly flipped a few pages into the folder in front of him.

"With all due respect, your highness, isn't the purpose of this council to oversee the running of the country while you are busy with your other duties?" Mr. Albertson enquired.

"It is. But until I can trust you all to conduct yourself in an appropriate fashion without oversight, I must remain present during these meetings. Besides, a quarter of the council will be coming with me to Osaka anyway, and it would hardly be fair to let you make important decision without them." Lelouch answered casually.

"Oh? And might I ask just which members of the council you are taking with you, your highness?" Lord Hamilton asked.

"My wife will be coming with me, as will Miss Sumeragi." Her brother answered, gesturing to the two women. From the way that Abigail's jaw clenched minutely, Euphy could tell that this was news to her. Some kind of punishment for helping her infiltrate the council, maybe.

"I see. Well, the reason for bringing your wife is obvious, but what reason do you have for bringing the Sumeragi girl with you?" Duke Hamilton asked again.

"Miss Sumeragi asked to come to see what has become of the city." Lelouch answered easily.

"If that is the case, then I would also like to come with you, your highness. I have significant holdings within Osaka and I would like to see what has become of them since the city was quarantined." The duke requested.

Lelouch arched his eyebrow and cocked his head slightly to the side, giving the request some thought before he shrugged slightly. "If you wish, though be warned that I will be going to Osaka to conduct military operations. I won't be expending my time and resources to escort you around the city while I have other duties."

"That is fair, my prince. I would still like to go. I can provide my own security detail for my time within the city." Duke Hamilton said.

"I would like to go as well, your highness." Mr. Albertson said. "For the same reason. My businesses in Osaka need to be assessed."

Lelouch nodded his assent and Lord Mars issued a similar request a moment later, followed thereafter by Mr. Ichigawa who wanted to witness for himself the state that the city was left in after being segregated from the rest of the country so long.

"I will go as well." Euphy said.

A moment of silence hung in the air as all of the council members looked between her and Lelouch. Maybe it was simply due to her heritage, or maybe it had more to do with the fact that she hadn't asked for his permission. She had merely informed him of what she intended to do.

Lelouch scrutinized her, a frown tugging at his lips. She sat a little straighter in her chair, shoulders back and chin up, to meet his gaze evenly. She wasn't going to back down this time. She had plans, and those plans centred around her being a part of this council. She couldn't allow the council to go to Osaka without her, especially not this soon after forcing her way into their midst.

Her brother's violet gaze skipped past her for a moment to land on Villetta standing behind her chair instead. Her knight shifted slightly, the sound of her uniform rustling behind her alerting her to the woman's discomfort. Then Lelouch glanced away an once again nonchalantly shrugged.

"So be it." Lelouch said after a moment of tense silence. "Should your sister give you her permission, I will bring you along."

She bit the inside of her lip to hold back her scowl at him. There was no way in hell that Cornelia would agree to such a thing. She hadn't even gone to see her sister yet for fear that she would be immediately deported back to Pendragon.

And she hated the way Lelouch had compromised everything she wanted to accomplish here by treating her like a child. Lelouch himself had only just turned eighteen a few weeks ago, but she just knew that everyone else in the room was now seeing her a kid trying to get some attention, rather than as a princess and diplomat in her own right. He might have just ruined everything.

"Of course." She replied as evenly as she could.

His lip twitched slightly in response, assured of the victory he'd just scored. Well then, she'd just have to find some way to get Cornelia to agree with her going to Osaka.

* * *

Lelouch stalked into his house and tossed his suit jacket onto the nearest piece of furniture, where it was almost immediately picked up by one of the maids. He was in a foul mood and he had been all day. He couldn't decide who he was more angry with; Euphy or Abigail.

On the one hand, Euphy had directly disobeyed him and had exhibited nothing but Britannian stubbornness since she'd returned to the country. But Abigail had betrayed him. She had sided against him and enabled Euphy's infiltration of his council, knowing full well that he wouldn't do anything to compromise the image of impenetrable authority he had over the members of his council.

It had been grating at him all day. He was honestly surprised, though he didn't know why he should be. His wife had exhibited her underhanded nature practically from day one. Hell, she'd openly admit to spying on him for Schneizel. It had been foolish to think that he could buy her support by acting as her brother's patron.

Speaking of the brother . . .

Lelouch paused in his stormy march through the halls outside of the library and frowned. Carson was seated at one of the reading tables but he was not alone. C.C. leaned over the table across from him, exhibiting ample amounts of cleavage. Like any fifteen year old boy, Carson was having a hard time keeping his eyes on her face.

"C.C." He said icily from the threshold.

Carson jumped and flushed guiltily as he leaned back in his chair as far away from C.C. as possible without leaving his seat. C.C. merely arched her eyebrow at him curiously.

Lelouch glanced between the two of them for another moment before sighing. "A word, please." He needed to put a stop to whatever shenanigans it was that C.C. was planning with Abigail's brother. He didn't have the time or inclination to deal with the fallout of whatever she was scheming, so it was best to nip this in the bud.

"Whatever you want, Lelouch." She purred as she stalked toward him like a cat sighting its prey. "Though words are usually the last thing you want from me."

Carson blushed at the innuendo as Lelouch fought to keep himself from rolling his eyes. It wasn't a lie, per se, as he couldn't even count how many times he'd told her to shut up since she'd decided to move in with him, but the tone set the statement in an entirely different light. She latched herself onto his arm and began dragging him away from the door before he managed to shake her off.

"What the hell are you doing with that boy?" He growled as he continued his way down the hall and out into the garden. She fell into step easily beside him, like she'd been doing it her whole life, and shrugged carelessly.

"Just having a little fun." She said.

"Well, don't. He's a minor." He growled irritably.

C.C. let out a short peal of laughter at that. "If I recall correctly, you were a minor when I met you too."

"That's not the same and you know it. Just leave him alone." Lelouch snapped.

"Why? Are you jealous?" She quipped.

Lelouch stopped mid-step and turned to face her, eyes narrowing into a glare.

Before he could snarl out an insult and a denial, the mirth dropped from her face as she scrutinized him carefully, her amber gaze searing through him. "No, you're not jealous, are you, Lelouch? You're scared. You're scared that I might pick him over you, aren't you? You're scared that I might give him Geass."

Lelouch stiffened, the insult he'd been about to hurl shrivelled up and died in his throat. It was times like this that he remembered that C.C. was dangerous. That she could completely and utterly destroy him and everything he was working toward. And also that she could cut her losses and replace him at any time, like she had with Mao.

"C.C." He said warningly, though his tone was soft as he took a step closer to her, searching her face and body language for any hint of betrayal.

"Lelouch." She replied just as softly as she took another small step toward him, leaving them mere inches apart. She gazed up at him evenly, as though silently urging him to remember something and he couldn't look away from her, mind racing as he tried to place just what it was she was trying to say without words.

He remembered the way she had fallen mere minutes after meeting him, taking a fatal injury in his stead. And he remembered the countless times she'd sworn her allegiance to him; sworn that she would do absolutely anything for him.

Ultimately it came down to whether or not he trusted her. Did he trust that she was telling the truth? Did he trust her not to betray him? Unfortunately for him, he did. She'd had too many opportunities to screw him over by now. And she was far too important of an ally to ruin his relationship with.

He sighed and let his head drop, resting his forehead against hers. If she wanted into his mind right this second, she could probably do it. It was as profound of a declaration of trust as he could think of at the moment. She closed her eyes and he had no idea if she was in his head, rifling around in his memories at that moment without his knowledge or not.

"What do you want from me?" He asked quietly to distract himself from the disturbing thought.

"You don't confide in me anymore." She replied almost instantly, although she didn't pull away from him.

It was true. Since Abigail had come to the country he'd been making a concerted effort to avoid her except in a group with other witnesses so that they could avoid looking like guilty lovers. It wasn't like he'd deliberately tried to cut her out of his life, but he had enough shit going on with his job and his mission that he didn't want to deal with a war when he got home. C.C. and Abigail were both such a handful to deal with separately, let alone when he had both of them coming after him.

"I'm sorry." He said.

"So do something about it." She said, though her tone remained evenly monotone. "Tell me why the boy is here."

Lelouch hesitated for a moment before deciding that he was pissed enough at Abigail's most recent transgression that he didn't care so much for her privacy. "It was a part of a deal to keep Abigail from trying to conceive."

She snorted in disbelief and pulled back to arch her eyebrow at him skeptically.

"It's true." He said defensively.

"He said you were making him your heir." She prodded.

Lelouch groaned. "I told him not to tell anyone. It makes me wonder how many other people he's told."

"So that was true." She said with a frown. "You've given her too much sway over you. Now she's gotten you to make her own brother your heir."

"It was my idea. Much as I don't want to defend her at the moment, she had nothing to do with it."

C.C.'s frown deepened as she mutely examined him or a moment. "This is part of your long-term plan? Wrapping up your loose ends?"

Lelouch frowned and wondered just how much C.C. had been able to glean about what he was planning from her foray into his mindscape. "I've got it under control. You don't need to worry about me." He said as he stepped away from her a little.

"Lelouch," she said calmly, "don't forget about me when the time comes. I'll be able to help you more than you expect."

He scrutinized her for a moment, trying to parse the hidden meaning behind those words. What exactly was she trying to offer him? He couldn't even guess. He smirked to cover up his confusion and nodded. "Sure." He said, before he turned away, only to find Abigail watching them from the garden entrance.

His wife's lips were pressed into a thin line as she glared at the both of them. For once, Lelouch refused to look guilty about spending time with C.C.. Abigail's overactive imagination was her own problem. There was nothing romantic between him and C.C. and after the stunt Abigail had played today with Euphy, she was the last one who should be feeling betrayed here.

Lelouch met her gaze evenly for a moment before turning back to C.C.. "Try not to cause too much trouble with this." He chided before taking off down the walking path into the garden and leaving both women behind.

"Why do you always want the impossible, Lelouch?" She called after him with a short laugh.

* * *

The morning was still crisp, with only a hint of spring in the air as Suzaku stood on the tarmac at the Tokyo Base, watching as the Lancelot and the Royal Guard's Lionels were loaded onto transports. Nick and Lukas were with him, quietly joking with each other while studiously ignoring the way that a newly dark-haired Kallen kept shooting them withering glares.

He'd heard about the hair-dying incident from Hector and hadn't been able to disagree with the gruelling physical labour Nick, Lukas and even Roy had been made to do as a punishment, much as he would have liked to. He didn't want to feel sympathy for Kallen and he certainly didn't want to side with her, but in this matter she'd been the victim and the idiots beside him had been out of line.

His gaze darted momentarily to the half-Japanese woman as a Sutherland was loaded onto the Royal Guard transport. She was glaring at the machine with a visible sneer. He was the one who had suggested that Lelouch keep Kallen out of an advanced knightmare frame. It was only fair since, when she inevitably turned on them, he was the one who was going to have to take her down. Giving her a machine that would let her compete on almost the same level as the Lancelot, especially with her skills, was to be avoided at all costs.

He hadn't felt ashamed or weak for his recommendation. It was Lelouch that was continuously singing praises about his aptitude in a knightmare. Suzaku just wanted to do what was necessary to get Lelouch to the point that knightmare combat was no longer necessary in Japan; wanted to get Lelouch to fulfil his promise about fixing this country. If he had to beat down Kallen to do that, he didn't mind taking an unfair advantage. None of this was about pride.

Suzaku's attention was drawn away from the Royal Guard by the arrival of a sleek black car. Duke Hamilton, Lord Mars and Mr. Albertson had already arrived, each with a security detail in tow that put Lelouch's to shame. Kaguya stepped out, conspicuously alone except for her driver, who quickly moved around the car to fetch her luggage. Suzaku frowned, wondering what she was up to now, though he supposed it was always possible that she had employees waiting for her in Osaka already.

Mr. Ichigawa arrived alone via taxi, carrying his own luggage. He was the very picture of humility next to all of these over-privileged nobles. Suzaku sent him a brief nod in greeting as he passed, which the man stopped to return respectfully before continuing on his way to greet Lelouch.

Suzaku wasn't exactly sure how all of this had happened. He'd left the house the other day to run some tests on the Lancelot with Lloyd, when the plan had been that they would return to Osaka to actively root out the remaining members of the Kenshiki and retrieve the stolen knightmares. When he'd come home, he'd been informed by Gino that the entire council had decided to go on a working holiday and come with.

It was ridiculous. What the hell did they think they were going to be able to accomplish while confined to Lelouch's palace? And just why had Lelouch agreed to it anyway? But whatever. It was probably part of Lelouch's big plan. He'd recently given up on trying to keep straight the details of it all and instead focused only on what Lelouch asked him to do.

Duke Calares arrived in his personal car, the same one he came to work with every day, accompanied by a single manservant who carried his bag. No security. Apparently the duke didn't fancy touring the city like the rest of the council.

Lelouch glanced to where the last of the knightmares were being loaded up and Suzaku could tell that he was impatient to be on their way. He began making his way toward the prince, anticipating their departure within the next few minutes.

Then another pair of expensive black cars pulled up and he paused. The entire council was already accounted for. The car door opened and Princess Cornelia stepped out, her chin raised defiantly as she stepped out of the way to allow Princess Euphemia to exit the vehicle. The princesses were joined by their knights of honour and all five of the Glaston Knights.

Lelouch went rigid and, though he didn't say a word, all of the Royal Guard with the exception of Kallen began making their way over to the prince, flanking him as the Glaston Knights were flanking the princesses. Lelouch glared at both of his sisters, but they ignored his furious expression and made their way toward the prince regardless.

"Here to see us off, sisters?" Lelouch asked, his tone clipped and harsh. Euphemia pursed her lips anxiously but said nothing.

"Not quite, Lelouch." Princess Cornelia answered, running her gaze over Lelouch's entourage. It hit the Royal Guard like a physical force, dragging them all into stiff attention as they found themselves under the scrutiny of their former commander.

It was at this time that Kallen finally realized that she was supposed to have picked a side and slowly moseyed over to take her place next to Amanda and Gino. The movement drew the princess' attention to her for a moment before it focused on Gino instead.

"Sir Gino Weinberg," Princess Cornelia said in surprise, "I wasn't aware the Knights of the Round were operating in Area Eleven. What orders were you given?" She demanded.

"Disregard her, Gino." Lelouch answered immediately.

Princess Cornelia stiffened in surprise as Gino glanced in confusion back and forth between the two royals. It seemed he still thought Lelouch was destined for the throne, as he kept his mouth shut and adopted a stance at attention instead. Cornelia's gaze narrowed at the defiance, but she turned it on her brother rather than the Knight of the Round.

"What are you up to now?" She asked suspiciously.

Lelouch ignored the question. "Why are you here, Cornelia?"

"Um," Euphemia said, finally piping up. "You said that if I had Cornelia's permission, I could come with you to Osaka. And, well, everyone else was bringing bodyguards and I thought it might be a bit much for Villetta, so I asked if we could bring the Glaston Knights as well."

"We?" Lelouch asked dangerously.

"I'll be coming as well, of course." Cornelia answered.

"You have a job to do and I did not give you leave to take a vacation." Lelouch countered coldly.

"I can do my job from anywhere, Lelouch. I need not be in my office so long as I have access to my information." Cornelia answered smugly, gesturing vaguely to where one of the drivers was bringing out their luggage and a fair amount of computer equipment. "Come now, Euphy, let's get settled on the plane."

Cornelia swept past Lelouch, Euphemia following more hesitantly in her wake. Lelouch stood completely still for a moment, gritting his teeth in frustration, before he let the tension seep from his body and rolled his eyes tolerantly, as if it had all been nothing more than a sibling spat.

Only then did Suzaku remember that all of that had taken place in front of the members of Lelouch's council and their minions. Cornelia had probably calculated for that. He stepped closer to Lelouch and dropped his voice. "Do you want us to remove the princesses from the plane?" He asked.

Personally, he couldn't believe that Euphemia would betray Lelouch to this extent, but it was a lesson well learned. Euphemia might seem sweet on the outside, but underneath she was just as calculating as any other royal.

Lelouch shook his head minutely. "The damage is done now. Just leave it." He sighed.

He nodded and turned away, where he found Gino trying to subtly catch his eye, looking for all the world like he had no idea what the hell was going on. Suzaku didn't really blame him. The interpersonal relationships between all of the royals were just way too complex.

* * *

AN: Sincerest apologies for the huge delay on this. The fall is the busiest time of year for me and I've spent more than a month of it living in hotel rooms without access to a computer, and even when I was home it was long days. But the season is wrapping up now and I've been hit with some kind of super virus that has essentially kicked me out of the field, so my hiking days are over for another year and I will hopefully have more time to write.

Thanks to SplitIce and Giriath for betaing for me. And thanks to everyone who kept sending me reviews to remind me to get my ass in gear. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Thanks for sticking with me,

Allora


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